Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They may indeed refer a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission but they need a rest now and as the Tánaiste knows, it can take months, if not years, to get those complaints resolved. The purpose of the legislation is to reflect these extraordinary times we are in and while I respect the conversations he has had with employers and others with regard to them saying it is not a significant problem at this time, my understanding is that it is a problem and one that can be fixed.

Many people may not be in a position to take their leave and want to carry it over. As the Minister and members of the Government have said, we are not out of the woods yet. This could go on for many months, and indeed past the first six months of 2021. We should give people the entitlement to have the benefit of that rest and to carry that leave forward, not just into 2021 but into 2022. The intention of this legislation is to reflect the extraordinary nature of the times that we are in. It does not just refer to front-line medical and other workers but to those workers who we now all regard as essential, who may not have been regarded as essential previously, such as supply chain workers and people in meat processing factories, and who kept us fed and supplied throughout the pandemic. I think giving them the legal right to carry forward their annual leave is important.

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