Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for joining the committee. As we are all familiar, when this was last discussed before the committee, there was widespread agreement that the Bill in its current format was weighted too heavily in favour of employers. The comments this morning with regard to a reduction in grounds being considered, strengthening the redress provision and the right to appeal are welcome. Obviously, businesses will have genuine reasons they cannot facilitate some requests but the legislation can certainly strike a better balance than it does currently.

It would seem, for example, that the reasons employers can offer in terms of concerns around businesses, mainly around confidentiality and intellectual property, are unnecessary given the safeguards that can be put in place from an IT standpoint. Naturally enough, confidentiality and intellectual property are a constant risk for some companies but I do not see the risk being higher whether an employee is working from home on a company laptop or working in an office. Is that one of the grounds that may be removed? Could I get more detail on what grounds are being considered for removal?