Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

As outlined on Committee Stage, the provisions contained in section 9(2) reflect the Supreme Court ruling on the Employment Equality Act 1996, that one can only place social obligations in the public interest on private property owners where no more than nominal costs will be incurred. The legal advice available to me is that it is necessary to use this particular construction in the Bill. Rather than removing a perceived negative aspect of the Bill, as suggested on Committee Stage, omitting the reference to nominal cost would remove the clarity this subsection adds, which is that the employer may not be required to spend more than a nominal amount on breastfeeding facilities in the workplace. Furthermore, the maternity working group, which had time to examine this issue in its entirety, recognised the necessity to include a reference to a nominal cost limitation and made explicit reference to this in its recommendation. While I thank Senator Tuffy for having raised the issue again, I cannot accept her amendment for the legal reasons I have outlined.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.