Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is okay. With regard to the normal daily rate of pay, and this is something we had considered at the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the question is always about whether premiums are included and about what constitutes a normal rate of pay. I am assuming it will be similar to how one would calculate a bank holiday entitlement, which is on a pro ratabasis, and that it would encompass one’s actual pay. For many people, particularly those who work shift work, who are in low pay and who are predominately women, their wages are made slightly more decent by shift premiums, overtime etc. If these factors are not included in it, it will not represent a normal daily rate of pay. I raise this point to put it into the Minister’s mind because people need to be able to access it and not to have to suffer because of it.

To go back to the issue of the ten days, with respect, the Minister has not advanced a good reason as to why that was cut in half.

My understanding is it was Government policy when it was applied to the public service. There will now be two tiers in the public service in relation to a piece of leave, which is something I am not aware of, although I represented public servants for a long time. There was a move by the Government before last to standardise all leave across the civil and public service. The Minister probably remembers this as he was in the public service at the time. We were told individual arrangements could not pertain, that there had to be a standardisation and that was the only fair way to do it. This is a step away from that. That is regrettable.

The Chair was good enough to have me at the committee when we had representatives from trade unions here and they talked about negotiating ten days already with employers. That is known to be the norm. That was opted for in the university sector. It is regrettable that a period of five days was chosen. It is half what the sector and others say is the norm.