Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 21:

In page 7, line 4, after “day” to insert “equivalent to one hundred per cent of an employee’s pay”.

This group of amendments deals with the rate of sick pay. All our amendments are effectively trying to get sick pay of 100%. The level of sick pay proposed by the Government is low, let us be honest. It allows for 70% of pay at up to a maximum of €110 per day. This means when it starts, workers will get a maximum of €330 sick pay per year in the first year of the scheme. That is less than one week’s worth of the enhanced illness benefit, which has been widely and rightly criticised for being too little for many low-paid workers.

The bottom line of my point is that if we accept that workers are genuinely sick and they have a right to sick pay, then why should that be less than their regular pay? A person cannot call the bank and ask to pay 70% of the mortgage this week because he or she is off sick. That same person cannot call the grocery shop and ask for the same deal. He or she cannot pay childcare fees on the same basis. People have lives that are built around certain income. If they are sick, they are presumably sick through no fault of their own and they should not be punished for that. Being sick is enough of a problem on its own. Therefore, we should be guaranteeing that people get 100% of their income so that they and their families can continue to survive on that basis. I will leave it there to give space to others to make a contribution.

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