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

I welcome the opportunity to come before the House to discuss this incredibly important issue. I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising the matter and I acknowledge her own work on it.

Since its formation, the Government has made clear that tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a key priority. A range of measures to tackle this has been outlined in the programme for Government. It contains a commitment to investigate the provision of paid leave and social protection provision to victims of domestic violence with a view to establishing a statutory entitlement to paid domestic violence leave. The Government agreed on 8 December 2020 to examine establishing a statutory entitlement to paid domestic violence leave and to provide a report within six months with legislative proposals to follow within a further four months.

My Department is advancing work on this proposal. It is preparing a report and recommendations which I hope to bring to the Government in the coming weeks. This will be followed by legislative proposals. The report will include a comparative examination of domestic violence leave provision internationally to identify best practices. As part of this work also, a targeted consultation process has taken place with relevant stakeholders and social partners to examine how a scheme of paid leave should operate to effectively address the needs of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Consultations have taken place with the monitoring committee of the second national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, employers' groups and trade unions, as well as with stakeholders of the national equality strategy committees which fall under my Department’s remit.

I have directly participated in a number of these consultations, engaging with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Financial Services Union. I am aware of the work taking place and the pressure from trade unions for this legislation to be introduced. I also engaged with employers' groups to understand any concerns they might have in order to properly address them. Written submissions were invited from relevant stakeholders and these submissions are currently being examined. They will form part of the report and recommendations I will bring to the Government.

The purpose of this engagement is to develop a scheme for domestic violence leave which will fully address the need for victims of domestic abuse to be able to access the leave they require, while also being mindful of the role that employers will have to play in sensitively managing vulnerable staff members, along with protecting and respecting their privacy.

The economic impact of domestic violence is not always at the forefront of people’s minds when they consider the effect on victims. Experiencing domestic violence can be a contributing factor to women experiencing homelessness and poverty. Lack of economic independence can also be a factor in preventing a victim from leaving an abusive situation. Support for victims who are working, in the form of paid leave, could be crucial to ensuring they retain their employment and have the economic capacity to escape abuse and rebuild their lives.

I am happy to be able to provide to the House this update on the ongoing work to provide for this legislation.

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