Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The introduction of statutory sick leave marked a key policy development for this country. It was introduced by this Government. For the first time, employees have a statutory right to employer-paid sick leave. That was done without us having carried out any comprehensive analysis of the sick pay landscape in the country. The data being collected now will be valuable in bridging the gaps within the scheme. The qualitative study being undertaken by our officials will give us additional insight into existing sick leave policies and the gaps within it, and also the impacts on businesses and employees. We have to look at it on both frames. The research will be very clear in terms of existing company sick pay provisions and it will set out the landscape properly, which was not done previously.

I assure Deputy O'Reilly there is no intention to celebrate anything here. The information will be led by the data, as opposed to the current lack of information. I also assure her that there will be consultation before any final decisions are made.

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