Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This legislation comes from the European Union directive. It is welcome that progress is being made on all of these issues. The notion of work-life balance always comes to the fore, as has been mentioned by colleagues, particularly for women who have to balance family life and incorporate work into that life. As the price of houses and the cost of living soar, few families can survive on a single income. Therefore, both partners in a relationship usually have to work. That means if the employer is difficult to deal with in situations like this, family life can often suffer. That needs to be brought into the legislation. Much in it is welcome. However, we feel it does not go far enough in many aspects.

I was thinking as I came down here of people living in rural Ireland. I come from a rural constituency. For the last month, I have had mainly women ringing me at all hours of the day and night about school bus tickets. I am sure the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach has had the same experience in County Clare. They cannot get their children to school. They ask what we will do and say they cannot get to work if they cannot get the children to school. The absence of forethought around family life to make that change is a reflection of a lack of appreciation of what is required for work-life balance in our communities, particularly for people who, to earn a living, depend on the school bus to get their children to school and have that taken away from them.

The other important issue is domestic violence leave. I recently dealt with a young woman who went through a very traumatic experience. One of the most difficult parts, because she needed her independence and to continue working, was that her employer was difficult around all of that. The demand for ten days is the minimum that is required in those circumstances.

In my area of justice, we often deal with victims of serious crime and the trauma that can bring into their lives. There are issues around how employers deal with that. While we should not always have to legislate for these things, unfortunately, because of the winner-takes-all capitalist society we live in, we often do have to legislate and force employers to do the right thing in the most difficult circumstances.

I was thinking as my colleagues were speaking of the event in Donegal, the tragedy that has befallen ten families in a small rural community and what that has done to them. We have to think of the difficulty death can bring for families. Many people in employment in those situations will need their employers to be flexible and will need elements of work-life balance brought into that. Unfortunately, we have to legislate for it.

Since Covid came in, we have seen many more people work from home. We have seen flexibility and employers have embraced that flexibility, in many cases, which is welcome and is moving in the right direction. Much more needs to be done. There is the right of people to be able to switch off at appropriate times when they have things to do. The Minister mentioned breast-feeding. It is welcome that that is put in place but the Minister needs to get clearer on the domestic violence aspect of this Bill, as to how long women will be given for domestic violence leave.

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