Results 9,421-9,440 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I wish to comment on the section's amendments. Section 2(a) of the Bill amends the Parental Leave Act 1998 to extend family leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks. It could be argued that this is a rapid increase, a case of too much too soon, and could have an adverse effect on some businesses, especially small businesses and employers, if it was implemented in one fell swoop. The Government may...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: Section 3 of the Bill amends section 7 of the Parental Leave Act 1998 to update the criteria or the manner in which leave can be taken. There is an issue here. The Chair might assist on this. The proposed amendment in section 3(a) of the Bill raises an issue, as it seeks to replace references to "18 working weeks" in subsection (7)1 of the Act. However, there is a problem with the...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: What it actually means is if that section 3 really and truly cannot be taken because it does not make sense, in my view.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: We are in the hands of the committee on this, but when the Bill as proposed has a built-in flaw, which we have identified, we cannot actually allow the section to go forward. It is not possible to do it, because it deletes something which is not in the Bill.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: The Bill as drafted suggests that the phrase "18 working weeks" be deleted, but that particular part of the Act mentions "14 weeks", not "18 working weeks". It is a technical flaw.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: We do not have a proposal to amend it before us.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: It is a Private Members' Bill. We are working on something completely new here, and it has moved very quickly.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I have said we will deal with it on Report stage, but the section here cannot be moved.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: If the committee puts the question "That section 3 stand part of the Bill." and we all agree that it does not, then it does not go forward.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I have already signalled that it is my intention to bring amendments forward on Report Stage, and this would be one of them.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: It is nonsensical because it speaks about deleting something that does not exist.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: We cannot delete something that does not exist.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: If the Chairman wants to adjourn and return another day I am-----

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: With the greatest of respect, the proposal is to delete something that does not exist in the actual legislation. It does not exist. It would do something that is not possible to do. The cleanest way out of it would be to not let this stand and return to it on Report Stage when we can recommit the Bill in the Dáil, if necessary, to tease it out further when we are on Report Stage....

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: The proposed amendment in section 3(a) of the Bill raises an issue, as it seeks to replace references to "18 working weeks" in subsection (7)1 of the Act. However, there is a issue with the amendment in that neither subsection 7(1)(a) nor section 7(2)(a) include references to "18 working weeks", but refer to "14 weeks". As the committee will appreciate, it is not possible to replace text in...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I want to refer to section 4(3) of the Bill, which provides for commencement three months after enactment. As I outlined earlier, the Government may bring forward amendments to reduce the impact on private and public sector employers and small and large businesses, and to allow time for the conclusion of negotiations on the EU draft directive on work-life balance and paid parental leave. In...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I will wait until then because it is a serious issue.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: There are other policy implications here that are wider than this. For instance, parental leave can be shared or not shared as the case may be. We have to be careful the mother does not end up taking the bulk of parental leave, jeopardising chances of promotion later. There are many other issues such as this. The debate is useful and important, but I want to draw the attention of...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: I know.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

David Stanton: The Government is in favour of extended parental leave. We are talking about the first year of a child's life. We are talking about going way beyond this and bringing in paid leave. As I said, there are implications for the EU work-life balance directive and there are other nuances. These must be introduced properly after consultation where people, particularly small businesses, can be...