Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also commend Senator Bacik on introducing this important legislation. As my colleague stated, we will support the Bill. Indeed, we share the frustration of the Labour Party with Government foot-dragging on the issue. The gender pay gap is not a new issue. A multitude of research has been undertaken across the EU and in Ireland on the subject. Back in 2002 the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform commissioned Indecon to undertake a study on male-female wage differentials in a number of sectors. So accepted is the fact of the gender pay gap that the EU has an annual European Equal Pay Day to highlight the gap which we all know now stands at just under 14%.

With all this in mind, why on earth is the Government frustrating the introduction of gender pay gap reporting in Ireland? When this legislation was first introduced 17 months ago, the Minister of State with responsibility for equality acknowledged that the Bill echoed current programme for Government commitments. However, despite this, the Government failed to engage and dragged its heels before finally producing its own heads of Bill more than a year later.

In justifying this decision, the Taoiseach told us last week that a new Bill was necessary as changes were needed to the Long Title and Short Title. That is simply not credible, nor is the Minister of State's concern with the new section 32A. His concern seems to be that oversight and initiative are robbed from the Minister and that it falls to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. I am very happy to see such a change. We have waited so long and the political establishment and the Government have been in such a state of splendid inertia on this issue, I am very happy for a commission with responsibility for human rights and equality to set the pace on this. God knows, if we were waiting for the Government we would be waiting a very long time. Irish women and Irish society are no longer prepared to wait.

It is not just about the reporting of gender pay differentials. We need to be honest about this and look at low-paid sectors in our economy. We need to be honest about this and look at cost of living. We need to be honest and say we need to do so much more, including the introduction of a living wage and rent caps. We need market interventions. For today, we support this legislation. The Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is a reasonable person and I do not question his good faith on these matters. I appeal to him; for God's sake let us stop the delay. This is good legislation. If he wants to argue for amendments, I think he is concerned unnecessarily.

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