Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak in support of the Bill. Like colleagues, I pay tribute to the Labour Party for bringing it forward. I also pay tribute Deputies O'Loughlin, Lisa Chambers and O'Callaghan who are doing extraordinarily good work in this regard, particularly in respect of a Bill they brought forward recently. I also commend Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee on her efforts to make improvements in this area.

Although we have had equal pay legislation on the Statute Book for more than 40 years, we still have a significant problem regarding the gender pay gap. The available statistical information has long shown that progression, if it takes place at all, is excruciatingly slow. It is high time that real action was taken and that we resolved this situation once and for all. The most up-to-date statistics from the CSO show that, on average, women are paid 14% less than men. As Deputy O'Loughlin has pointed out, that would correspond to women working one month in the year for free. While it is in some way understandable that the pay gap is widest for older employees, it is worrying that statistics suggest the gap is now widening for younger women too. While we have been making progress in so many areas on gender equality, it is extraordinary to think that this remains the case. It should not be happening. It is clear from the lack of progression in the area that the only way the gender pay gap can be addressed is through Government intervention. While I welcome the comments of the Minister of State this evening, I urge him and the Government to do everything in their power to come to terms with this issue. As my colleague stated, there have been many national strategies, public consultations, reviews and symposia on the pay gap issue. However, there seems to be very little movement at all on getting something concrete done.

Fianna Fáil introduced a Bill in July that would allow the mother of a newborn child to share her maternity benefit entitlements with the child's other parent, if she so wishes. Our party believes this is an important move towards broadening parental choice, promoting gender equality and supporting a healthy work-life balance. It is relatively unusual within Europe that parents cannot share leave. For example, in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany, there are provisions for parents to share maternity leave allocations. A woman may wish to share her maternity leave with the child's other parent for a variety of reasons. Certain jobs are more amenable to periods of leave. A person at an established company may find it easier to take leave than a self-employed person. Certain women may wish to re-enter the workforce earlier. We believe that this should be for a woman to decide. Parental leave policies that support fathers' involvement are a powerful policy tool to tackle gender inequality.

In the EU, the gender pay gap is shown as a percentage of men's hourly earnings. It does not take into account all of the factors that contribute to the gap such as, for example, differences in education, labour market experience, hours worked, the type of job and many other factors. The Department of Justice and Equality states that the gender pay gap in Ireland was 17.3% in 2007. According to the most recent figures published by EUROSTAT, in 2014 the gender pay gap in Ireland was 13.9% while the gender pay gap across the EU overall was 16.7%. However, a report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, in February 2017 indicated that the gender pay gap in Ireland has widened over the last five years.

I am delighted to support the Bill.

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