Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This provision in the Bill will do more damage than anything else to its potential for success. If I am sick and I am less likely to admit to that because I will get less money and I will be paid less, I will just go to work sick. As has been outlined, it is an expensive business being sick in this country. Not only do people have to pay for a GP visit, because we do not provide that for free, unlike in other countries, there is also the cost of whatever medicines are prescribed. It is not a cheap business being sick in this country. I can see a worker who is struggling to pay the bills deciding to go into work and pretend he or she is well. That is not something any of us wants to see that happening, but that is what will happen.

We must go back to where the worker is coming from. I know the Tánaiste talks about the employer, and he is right to focus on the employer as much as we want to focus on the employee. However, if a worker who has bills to pay and children to feed thinks for a second he or she has to go to work even though he or she is sick, then this Bill will have failed. The most problematic part of this Bill is that it will be worth more to the worker to go to work sick than to avail of the provisions within the Bill.

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