Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the mistakes we make here in this Chamber is that sometimes we take far too long with legislation and other times we rush it. There are some really good positives in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 and it is welcome. As I mentioned, there are many groups such as Family Carer's Ireland which are really happy to see this come forward.

This particular section being inserted into it is unfair to the Bill, for want of better words, but also as there are many queries raised by Deputy O'Reilly, we should have the normal time to tease them out through pre-legislative scrutiny, Committee Stage and all other stages. It needs to be separate legislation. That is not what is going to happen now obviously but I want to make the point that I see where Deputy O'Reilly is coming from in this regard and how we should have the opportunity to interrogate this separately. It takes away from all the good things and the long-overdue aspects in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill around leave for parents with sick children etc for which many people have been waiting a long time. There are genuine questions in regard to that. I do not know whether we will get sufficient answers to them this evening. Is this part of it going to be reviewed? Will it be reviewed separately? There was mention earlier of a two-year review. Will that be built into it? Has the Minister comments on that?

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