Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the contributions from those present. I reiterate the Government appreciates the intention behind this Private Member's Bill and the contributions that have been made. We are all in agreement that increasing the participation rates within the national screening service is something we recognise as vital to our public health priorities. Early detection saves lives and the commitment of the Bill is to supporting better health outcomes and ensuring people live a lot longer and that is very clear.

However, it remains the Government's position that the Organisation of Working Time Act is not the appropriate legislative vehicle to provide health-based entitlements. Most of the entitlements the Government has in place, such as maternity leave, parental leave, care leave, medical care leave, etc., are very much in stand-alone Acts. For that reason it is not appropriate that we would promote and increase access to the national screening service. Moreover, even the definition of what a national screening service encompasses is not clear. It is considered more sustainable and equitable that it would be legislated for as paid leave by the employer.

I explained earlier the fundamental purpose and structure of the Organisation of Working Time Act. It has always been a statute designed to regulate work hours, rest periods and paid annual leave in line with the EU working time directive. That provides a framework on how time is managed in the workplace, not a framework for clinical entitlements or health-related benefits. That is where we have the misalignment in regard to this Private Members' Bill. Also, introducing a health screening leave entitlement into that Act would cut across the long-established legal framework, which would certainly create inconsistencies for both employers and employees.

Second, it is clear that increasing access into the national screening service can be done more sustainably through measures other than legislating for paid leave. I have spoken about the current targets that are being met across many of the current programmes. On the evidence presented by the Labour Party, I am not sure how paid leave will actually increase achievement of the current targets, even for those who are marginalised or who are not in employment. This measure is specifically for those who are in employment. The national screening service equity framework is designed to ensure that the programmes are inclusive and accessible and that everyone is eligible regardless of their background or even their employment status. The data shows that those initiatives have improved accessibility and equity and are succeeding, even though there are one or two we could improve on. The data is positive, as I explained. The national screening service has undertaken a range of additional measures to improve the accessibility of the service, such as the introduction of mobile screening units and the extension of the age cohort. The use of technology through the HSE's health app has also been an important element in this regard.

These improvements benefit not only employees but also people who are outside employment, those who are self-employed, those who are retired and those who are in casual or insecure work. Legislation that applies only to employees cannot be the main tool for addressing a wide population with public health challenges. For those reasons, and while fully recognising the positive intention the Labour Party is putting across within this proposal, we cannot accept or support the Bill. Nonetheless, our focus remains on promoting and strengthening the national screening service to ensure it is accessible and equitable to all.

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