Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage

Photo of Maurice QuinlivanMaurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A number of amendments tabled on Committee Stage have, unfortunately, been ruled out of order. Amendments Nos. 1 and 9 in the name of Deputy O'Reilly form a composite proposal which would allow employees to self-certify for sick leave instead of being required to provide a medical certificate. We will come to all of these as we go through the Bill.

Amendment No. 7, in the name of Deputy Paul Murphy, would require a medical certificate only after the tenth day of sick leave. Amendment No. 8, in the name of Deputy Ó Ríordáin, would only require a medical certificate after three consecutive days of illness. These amendments would create a statutory entitlement to sick leave pay for public servants above and beyond what is currently the case under regulations. This would potentially lead to greater costs for the Exchequer arising from sick leave payments.

Sick leave remuneration for public servants is determined by way of ministerial regulations made under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. The current regulations under the Act are the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014, Sl 124 of 2014. Under those regulations, public service employees must provide a medical certificate to qualify for sick pay, except where a local employer decides to waive that requirement. In accordance with Standing Order 212(3), the amendments must be ruled out of order as they have the potential to impose a charge on the revenue.

Amendments Nos. 25 and 27, in the name of Deputy Paul Murphy, would remove the 20-week cap on the amount of remuneration that may be awarded by the Labour Court. This exposes the Exchequer to higher costs in the event of a public sector employee winning a case. In accordance with Standing Order 212(3), the amendments must be ruled out of order as they have the potential to impose a charge on the revenue.

The remaining amendments will be considered at today's meeting. The groupings are as follows: amendments Nos. 2, 3 and 16 to 18, inclusive; amendments Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive; amendments Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive; amendments Nos. 20 to 24, inclusive; and amendments Nos. 26 and 28. I propose that we try to complete our consideration of the Committee Stage of the Bill today. Is that agreed? Agreed.

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