Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I move amendment No. 17:

In page 13, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following:

"13.—The Minister shall take measures to ensure that a civil service-wide code of practice to combat bullying and harassment is enforced in respect of all civil servants to whom this Act applies, and kept under regular review; and non-compliance with such a code shall be deemed to be misconduct for the purposes of the Principal Act or for the purposes of any proposal to dismiss a civil servant.".

This is an anti-bullying measure that was discussed at length by Deputy Burton on Second and Committee Stages. It is an extremely serious issue that involves every workplace. We cannot assume any workplace is free of bullying and we need not only clear guidelines and working practices but anti-bullying measures in statute law. There is a code of conduct and a code of practice and people have addressed the issue of bullying in the Civil Service in a serious and structured way. If we are serious about the issue, however, we should refer to it in the statute and be clear that it has the force of law, not just a code of conduct. I hope the Minister of State has had the opportunity to reflect on the matter since Deputy Burton first alluded to it on Second Stage and that the amendment will be accepted.

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