Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I recently launched a Sinn Féin policy proposal, entitled "Keeping Our Schools Open", in which we identified the key elements for ensuring that we keep our children in school safely and sustainably. This will be just as challenging as getting schools open in the first place was. We have identified clearly that protecting the incomes and jobs of workers and parents is a crucial component. The reasons for this are obvious. Parents want to do the right thing by their children, themselves and their children's schools. In the context of the pandemic, this often means that parents will have to keep their children at home if they are symptomatic or if either a child or parent tests positive or is connected to a positive case by way of a close contact. This has obvious implications for workers who might have to take time off. Crèches and childminders will be off the table as options. The option of grandparents minding children will often be off the table as well. As such, many workers will have no protection. They will have to take unpaid leave, particularly if this happens more than once. Many employers will be reasonable and flexible and some workers may have the option of using leave, but others will not have that protection.

In most developed countries, sick pay has been extended during the pandemic to cover such circumstances.

In most developed countries, they have a statutory sick pay scheme. Imagine that. It is a disgrace that Ireland has such desperately poor protections for workers in terms of sick pay. Should parents be obliged to stay at home with children, the Government must act to protect their incomes and jobs. Keeping the virus out of schools necessarily means supporting parents to do the right thing and keeping symptomatic children home. That is why Sinn Féin has proposed a significant extension of emergency leave and why Sinn Féin is supporting this legislation and I commend the Labour Party on bringing it forward. The Government's approach to this, proposing a delay of six months, is lamentable. It would be laughable if it were not so serious. We do not have six months to play around with. I know there are details in this regard that must be worked out but that is why we have Committee Stage hearings. That is the forum in which to navigate the complexities of the detail of this legislation. It can be done and this is just a delaying tactic in order that the Government does not have to vote this down, which was probably its first impulse.

It is not only Sinn Féin that has identified protecting the income workers as a key element to protecting workers and ensuring schools can remain open. None other than the acting Chief Medical Officer, CMO, Dr. Ronan Glynn, has affirmed this position. He noted that people who need to self-isolate should have no fear about their employment and stated "Economic circumstances simply should not be a barrier to people coming forward and getting tested." Schools are open, which is good, but to keep them open safely and sustainably, the Government needs to do a number of things. It needs to reduce class sizes, introduce rapid testing and remove the fears of parents as to how they will cope if their children fall sick. It is unconscionable that parents should fear being unable to pay the bills because they have to keep children at home and take unpaid time off. The same principle applies to workers across the board and many workers can scarcely afford to call in sick, which we have seen in the meat factories and so on. The Government should give parents and workers security and confidence and should protect their incomes and jobs. It is a crucial and strategic part of the fight against the pandemic.

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