Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

As I indicated to the House in reply to Questions Nos. 129 to 131, inclusive, from Deputy Willie O'Dea on 6 December last, I asked Forfás to examine the potential impact on competitiveness and employment of statutory sick pay, if such a scheme were to be introduced in this country. I indicated at the time that it would be premature of me to comment on the report provided to me by Forfás until the Cabinet has completed its consideration of the issue.

I reiterated the position to Deputy O'Dea in a topical issue debate on Tuesday, 21 February, when I explained that interactions between an agency and a Minister engaged in a consultative process are not generally published. For this reason, I do not propose to publish the Forfás report at this stage.

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, who has policy responsibility for the illness benefit scheme, held a consultative meeting recently to discuss the feasibility and potential impacts of introducing a statutory sick pay scheme in this country. That was very much a first step in considering a range of issues that need to be examined in detail before any proposals can be progressed to possible implementation. The Minister, Deputy Burton, clearly indicated at the consultative forum that nothing has been decided yet on statutory sick pay.

Forfás attended the Minister's consultative forum and commented that any proposal that would increase costs for business would be of concern, and that further work was required to assess the potential cost of the proposal to enterprise, how these costs might be borne across different sectors, what implications the costs might have for employment, and what other actions could be taken to achieve the required goal of reducing the cost to the Exchequer of illness benefit.

I also appreciate the concerns of business representative bodies about the cost a statutory sick pay scheme might have on businesses. For those reasons, while I recognise that there are legitimate issues regarding the management of illness benefit budgets, it is clear that further research is required before any decision can be made by the Government on a statutory sick pay scheme.

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