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

I thank the Tánaiste for that update. Ten states have already moved ahead of us but it would be good to provide leadership on this. The update is very welcome. The Tánaiste said that our national law has to be in line before the convention can be ratified. I fully appreciate that. One of the important aspects of this convention is that states would be required to put in place laws and measures to address violence in the workplace, including access to paid leave for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. I am sure the Tánaiste is aware that I have legislation on Committee Stage that would do just that. It is an important piece of workers' rights legislation. There is no dissent on this issue and it is in the programme for Government. I encourage the Tánaiste to work with me to get this legislation through so we can be in the best position to ratify the convention. It is welcome that the Government is focused on ratification but, as the Tánaiste has acknowledged, there are some gaps that need to be addressed.

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