Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 7, lines 14 to 30, to delete all words from and including “, and” in line 14, down to and including “reason” in line 30.

The amendment addresses deficiencies in the Bill that have not been addressed. Concerns were raised during pre-legislative scrutiny and those same concerns still remain. Under this section and the section dealing with flexible working arrangements for caring purposes, workers applying for these forms of leave would have to share information such as birth certificates and medical certificates relating to the person who needs care. This requires sharing personal information from a third party which, for one, has general data protection regulation. GDPR, implications.

Applying for oneself is one thing but then employees are required to share intimate details about their loved ones with their employer. We have to interpret the Bill with the understanding that some employers will permit whatever the Bill allows for. Will the Minister clarify what happens in a situation where a worker has to take leave to care for an elderly parent, for example, but that parent is adamant that his or her information is not shared? Many people have strong feelings about others knowing their personal details. It might be a common situation. What would happen in that case?

The pre-legislative scrutiny report sought clarity on those matters. I repeated concerns on Second Stage and, unfortunately, we have not been provided with any changes or reassurances. Therefore, the only course open to me is to propose to remove those sections.