Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Last night, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions described the Government's small business supports package as being anti-worker. The Government promised workers that the number of statutory sick leave days would rise next January from five to seven, and again in January 2026 from seven to ten days. However, the Minister has stated that he will review the ESRI research on the impact of statutory sick leave before deciding on any further increases. This is a broken promise to more than 1 million workers. The Government is downgrading a definite pledge to a mere possibility. Meanwhile, the Minister has written to the Low Pay Commission asking it to consider a report on rising business costs before making recommendations on next year's national minimum wage rates and has organised a review of the proposed roadmap for increasing minimum annual remuneration thresholds for employment permits. In other words, the Minister is busy undermining the rights of sick people-----

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