Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

All our competitors, including those countries which have good social protection systems, have followed the advice of the OECD to develop schemes of statutory sick pay, under which the cost for first few days is taken care of by the employee before the employer and, after a period of time, the state steps in. North of the Border and in Britain the period is 28 weeks. We are proposing that in this country employers take responsibility for a period of four weeks.

In regard to how businesses operate in other jurisdictions, our competitors are acting in line with the recommendations of the OECD which recommended these reforms because illness days claimed constitute a significant cost to businesses and social insurance systems. This year we have spent €940 million on illness benefit and a further €1.8 billion on disability and invalidity allowances. We have one of the lowest contribution rates of employee and employer social insurance in the OECD.

We have had a broad outline discussion with IBEC. Introducing a scheme of this nature would require detailed legislation and further consultation with trade unions and employers.

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