Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news from the Government today with regard to sick pay but its proposals do not go far enough. We in the Labour Party have been calling for a more robust and effective sick pay scheme for some time now. My colleague Senator Sherlock has pointed out that the scheme proposed by the Government will not address the real needs of many of those who are in the most vulnerable categories of work. We had called for a proper effective sick pay scheme in September 2020 on foot of appeals from representatives of those working in meat plants and because we saw that employees in the childcare and early years sector were unable to access sick pay in the context of the Covid pandemic. Our concern now is that the Government's proposal does not represent a right to access sick pay from the start of employment. In particular, seasonal workers and early years educators, such as those working in the early childhood care and education scheme, ECCE, who are employed for part of the year will not be covered because the scheme envisages a 13-week period before people are entitled to access. Will the Taoiseach change the scheme to ensure it covers all workers?

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