Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department co-ordinates Ireland's annual national reports under the revised version of the Council of Europe's European Social Charter. Ireland's 19th national report on the implementation of the charter was submitted to the Council of Europe in December 2021. The report covered the period 2017 to 2020 and focused on the accepted provisions under the thematic group of labour rights. The European Committee of Social Rights's assessment of Ireland's report was published in March this year. While the committee found that Ireland was not conforming with some areas of the charter, it also found Ireland to be in conformity with ten other areas. It should be noted that the assessment could not take into account the many employment rights initiatives introduced since 2020 across a range of areas including many referred to by the assessment, such as the gender pay gap. The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which comes under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, was signed into law in 2021.

The ECSR assessment for Ireland will be considered in the context of the existing legislation protecting workers in Ireland and appropriate improvements to employment rights. Many of the labour rights flagged in the ECSR's assessment already have significant statutory protections set out in our national legislation, including in the Organisation of Working Time Act, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, the Unfair Dismissals Acts, the Protection of Employment (Collective Redundancies) Acts, the National Minimum Wage Act and the Payment of Wages Act. These form part of our national suite of employment law which is regularly updated and is robustly enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission. In addition, the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, which incorporates the right to request remote working, came into effect on 4 April last. This Act provides for the introduction of new rights for employees to support a better balance of family life, work life and caring responsibilities.

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