Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have always acknowledged the work that Deputy O'Reilly has done on this issue. We looked very closely at the Bill she put forward. We do not believe that the avenue indicated there around using the Organisation of Work Time Act is the right way to go. We are looking to create separate leave in the way that we have parental leave and maternity leave. We are looking to create a separate leave space which we think is the best route to take. Deputy O'Reilly probably disagrees with us on that point. The work-life balance directive has to be passed by the summer in order to become compliant with EU law. This Bill have priority drafting. That is another reason we decided to merge it in with that rather than letting the issue be addressed separately.