Ms Pauline O'Hare:

I will briefly deal with a couple of the issues that have been raised before handing over to my colleague Dr. McGann. On the point about caring responsibilities, why they fall on women and how there should be a more equal division, at the time that the extension of parental leave was being considered at European level a number of years ago, many member states were allowing leave to be transferred. This was stopped, so men had to use it or lose it. This showed that men were not taking up the leave, and would not do so even if we increased their statutory leave. This raises a question as to why they are not taking parental leave and why caring responsibilities fall where they do.

The right to disconnect is an important issue. We published our code of practice on the matter recently. Disconnecting is an important health and safety issue. Our code of practice looked not just at the obligations on employers, but also at the obligations on employees in terms of disconnecting under health and safety legislation, in particular section 13. This is not just a working time issue, but a health and safety one as well. The importance of disconnecting has been outlined. In terms of employers' needs and other business needs, we do not live in a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. world anymore and employers need to meet consumer demand. There is a good balanced framework and best practice in the code of practice. At European level, the social partners and the European Commission are examining the idea of legislating for the right to disconnect. It is a timely issue.

There is a minimum wage exemption, but the application must go to the Labour Court with the consent of the majority of workers and where the employer can show that, if it were compelled to pay that wage, doing so would result in layoffs or dismissals. It is also only a one-off exemption. This is a high bar for employers to meet. We are in a time where many businesses, in particular SMEs, are facing a number of challenges. For example, the energy costs that employers are facing have been well reported. There have been major cost increases and many policy initiatives are coming down the road, so it is not as easy as saying that an exemption can be availed of.

Regarding a couple of other-----