Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. That is why we are bringing forward the policy development element. We will commission independent work on the development of those policies.

There is some nervousness. Some of the groups representing some small employers flagged nervousness with us regarding the sensitivity of these issues. Ireland is a small country. People who know the victim may also know the perpetrator. People are wondering about the legal position vis-à-visthe perpetrator once they know such information. To try to address those issues and provide meaningful support to all businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, we will introduce policies on addressing the application of the new leave provisions and the wider response, in particular supporting their employees to remain in work and recover, following the abuse that they suffered.

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