Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am excited about the focus on flexibility and the four-day week has been mentioned. We know that the right to request remote work Bill has gone through pre-legislative scrutiny. I agree with the principle that we do not want to have a two-tier approach on flexibility. The citizens' assembly recommended flexible working in the wider sense and not solely remote working. Should we try to enhance the right to request remote work Bill and deal with some of the issues there or should we bring forward other legislation and put that in train as early as possible? Do the witnesses have further comments as to the instruments that would give effect to this? The flexibility directive was mentioned, which was useful. Can we tackle some of these points through the right to request remote work Bill?

As a follow-up to the pensions piece, I have read the total contributions submission. I was on the social protection committee when we produced our report on those issues. I am looking for a short follow-up note on the gender analysis, the issues of gender equality and the recommendations. There is a valuable perspective to be added on that.

We talked about the question of addressing the gender division in terms of professions and who is employed in what sectors. When we talked about terms and conditions, it was mainly about flexibility. What perspective does the ICTU have around the measures on progressions, which came up throughout the citizens' assembly recommendations? This was mentioned in respect of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation figures. It is not just around ensuring women or men can access areas of employment. It is about ensuring that progression opportunities are built in, in order that people get equal chances to move up the ladder and that the situation does not arise whereby women are pooled at one level of a sector, facing additional obstacles in moving up. We look leadership and entry roles but that mid-level piece is often left out. The witnesses' perspectives on that would be valuable to gain.

While it is great that we might come up with a big action plan on enhancing union membership, it is something everybody should be looking at. Part of a good democracy is the encouragement of union membership. A measure that we should not have to wait for a new task force to come up with is the tax credit for union membership, which was previously in place but was removed as a cost-cutting measure. It was cut as part of an bord snip and the general recessionary cost-cutting measures. Membership of a professional body is still a tax relief one can access. I have been pushing for this for years. We are now at another budget. Would it not be a positive step in the right direction to restore the tax relief for union memberships?