Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department this morning issued an email to all Department staff to remind them again of the policies and procedures that are in place. It is important to note they are in place across the Civil Service, in particular the dignity at work policy and grievance procedure. The dignity at work policy defines what is meant by bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. Indeed, we have been hearing an awful lot about this in our media recently. There is a mechanism for reporting and for investigating bullying or harassment complaints. Similarly, the grievance procedure is in place to ensure that managers and staff encourage and maintain good employee relations. I agree that a lot of work was done over 20 years ago to make sure this was understood but I would make the point that, as we see from all the recent revelations, this issue in regard to women's equality is ongoing and needs constant vigilance and monitoring.

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