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

I thank the Minister of State and acknowledge that today is a historic day. It is a little bit of history. We did not have a statutory sick pay scheme and now we do. It was on foot of a Labour Party Private Member's Bill that this conversation started. The Minister took it on in good faith, we have come to the conclusion of that discussion and workers are in a better position today in Ireland than they were two years ago. While it is not perfect, we will work with it and try to improve it. I credit the Department, the Minister of State and the Tánaiste for working with us to get it to this point. Workers are in a better position today than they were two years ago, and that will always be a good day, particularly for people in the Labour Party. In particular, I thank and pay tribute to the efforts of Senator Sherlock in this regard.

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