Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There was no PLS conducted on this section of that Bill. The PLS was on an entirely different piece of legislation. That is the point I was making. If it was any way unclear, I apologise, but I thought it was a fairly simple and straightforward point. The PLS and the report that arose from it was on a completely different piece of legislation. I am not disputing that PLS took place in regard to the work life balance Bill but there was no PLS on this section. I understand the Minister took on board some of what was in the recommendations. However, there was no PLS conducted on this Bill, which is essentially, or should be, in my opinion, a stand-alone piece of legislation, and it is not. What is effectively a Bill on its own has now been wedged into another Bill. That is fine. That is the Government's prerogative, it has the votes and that is grand, but it is being wedged into another Bill. To say that PLS has been done on it is not correct. PLS was done on an entirely different piece of legislation. It was done on the work life balance Bill without what is effectively another Bill being put into it. That is the point I was making. It is a relatively straightforward point but it would be erroneous for anyone listening to this to think that PLS had been conducted on that section of this Bill. Some of the PLS which was conducted on another piece of legislation has been incorporated into this, and I do not dispute that, but there was no PLS done on that section of the Bill. It was done on the work life balance Bill without that section in it. It was done on an entirely different piece of legislation by another committee in regard to the right to request remote working.

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