Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the Minister of State's point that it is a very different type of relationship. It is not a straightforward employer-employee relationship and does not enjoy all of the attendant rights of that relationship. It needs careful monitoring and I know that See Her Elected will do that and I have no doubt that the Minister of State will as well. It must be ensured. It is about the subtle loss of opportunity, the subtleties in how this performed and that cultural piece. If we were to see a lack of any cultural move on the part of a local authority at some time further down the road, there would need to be some sort of penalty built in because the relationship between members of a local authority and that authority and its employees can be almost adversarial. There are subtleties to that which are evident in some of the stories I have heard around the country. I would like us to be sure to have a review mechanism as to how this is operating built in because there is no automatic recourse to employment equality legislation. In straightforward employer-employee situations, the area of maternity is where most litigation related to discrimination arises. Without that straightforwardness, a review of the cultural change will be needed.