Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill to the House and I commend Teachta Kelly on the timely introduction of this Bill. I am pleased to be able to speak on this Bill and offer my support to it.

As has been previously mentioned and will be well known to many who have the experience, Ireland is an outlier in terms of sick pay within the European Union. There is little to no legal right to sick pay here. It is instead left to the discretion of the employer, which means many workers, particularly those in poorly paid and non-unionised roles, do not have access to sick pay. I heard this on the doorsteps in Shannon in County Clare during the general election campaign. People were furious as they were at home sick with no pay. They were asking me who had their backs.

No lower or middle income household can survive a week with no income. Unfortunately, it took a major issue like a global pandemic to highlight these issues and force us to make a move on it. Covid-19 clearly showed us the need to have sick pay as a basic right to workers the length and breadth of this State. Imagine the contradiction of a Government Minister telling people who are barely earning enough to get by that if they feel a bit unwell, they should not attend work. I can tell Members that such a decision is not taken easily when one is already struggling to raise a family or keep food in the fridge. Let us say this person does not go to work and loses a day's pay. This could mean he or she goes without fuel in the winter, for example, or without several meals throughout the week. It could also affect his or her children in terms of extra tuition or any hobby or outlet they may have. It has a direct effect on people's well-being.

Section 3 of this Bill deals with the issues around force majeureand the right for a parent to take leave if a child is out sick from school. This is a no-brainer, especially in a time like now with Covid-19. I have received emails from workers, including front-line workers in University Hospital Limerick, for example, who are being told they may have to restrict their children's movements due to suspected close contacts. These parents are being obliged to stay at home, as we are all in this together, yet still they are doing so without any pay. We need to get a grip on reality, come back down to earth and deal with the real issues facing workers and parents. We need to show we can stand with the workers and make sick pay a basic right, while supporting small businesses that may need such support. We need to ensure that a working group is established that will look at all the factors in ensuring that a proper workable solution is found to the benefit of workers and their employers. This steering group must include representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the wider trade union movement to ensure the voice of workers is heard. I call on all Deputies in this House to support this Bill.

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