Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Deputy's intent to ensure the reporting requirement is as far-reaching as possible. However, it is important to note that no other specific class of employer, other than by reference to its size, is specifically referred to in the Bill. The Bill instead provides at section 2 for the insertion of a new section 20A into the Employment Equality Act 1998 and that under subsection 4(a) the regulations may prescribe the classes of employer to which the regulations apply. It is the intention that the regulations will apply to all classes of employer, including individual Departments and Government agencies.

Where a legal partnership or a multidisciplinary practice meets the size criteria to fall within the scope of any regulation, as an employer, it will fall within the scope of the regulations made. However - I think this may be the intention of the Deputy's amendment - given that partners are not employees and they take a share of the employer's profits, which is not directly comparable with employees' pay, partners will not be included. They are not covered in the gender pay gap calculations under the legislation. Therefore, the Deputy's proposed amendment, even if it were accepted, would not remedy that. On that basis I do not propose to accept the amendment.

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