Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Senator Ross told me last week that the Independent Senators would look after it for me. He said they would take it over and deal with it. However, I had better be diplomatic. I have a hill to climb.

The flexible working Bill is one of the propositions in my child care document. As happens in the UK, we should have legislation whereby a parent with a child under six years old or a disabled child under 18 should be entitled to negotiate special flexible working arrangements with their employer. The employer should have a statutory obligation to negotiate. That does not mean the employer must accept the proposition but this is part of 21st century working. With the availability of e-mail, laptop computers, broadband and teleworking, there is no reason that people must be under the same roof from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The flexible working Bill will not only be a contribution to child care but also be helpful for a parent with a disabled child.

Recently, The Irish Times published an article on research that was carried out into flexible working. Despite the fact that Irish management is supportive of the concept of flexible working, only 11% of Irish companies allow it, compared with 55% of European companies. The research showed that the management of Irish companies is more inclined to utilise flexible working itself rather than allow the staff to do so. Even though a new document published yesterday by IBEC and ICTU promotes the concept of work-life balance and flexible working, I intend to go further and introduce a Bill in the Seanad to enshrine it in legislation. I hope the Members will support me in that.