Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I listened carefully to what the Deputy said so he might listen to me. There is a requirement for those of us who want to have a future for the public service, and to have decent quality public services, to have regard for the norms that apply across the working environment and to try to make these adjustments. That is why we engaged with all the public sector unions and why we have taken a very long time to bring these matters to the Labour Court. The Labour Court has had very careful deliberation on all these matters.

The Deputy made a point on the specific issue of gender proofing. The idea is that it does not refer to any gender. It refers to the degree of sickness. On the important point made about equality proofing, under the proposed scheme there is no differentiation between different groups of workers and we do not differentiate between workers as women and men. There are, as Deputy Fleming rightly said, significant bodies of law protecting pregnant women in the workplace and elsewhere, which is important. We fully recognise and support the need to protect women during pregnancy. The public service will continue to operate the provisions of pregnancy related illness in accordance with all the relevant European Court of Justice rulings and Labour Court rulings. In fact, the public service in Ireland is one of the best places for women to work in regard to terms and conditions. That will remain the case and I am determined it will be so.

In terms of this being draconian, it is hardly worthwhile to comment on the remarks of Deputy Fleming or Deputy Boyd Barrett because they have a continuous similar rant on every issue we bring forward. We want to cure a broken economic situation in order that we have quality public services we can pay for, not allow them to collapse, and that we have security of terms of employment for workers in the public service in order that they can have a future.

Let me quote from the Labour Court recommendation-----

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