Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Rose Conway-Walsh for her support for the Bill, as well as Senator Colette Kelleher who expressed strong support earlier for it and Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee.

I know that the amendment is in the spirit of trying to strengthen the Bill and that the Minister of State will obviously have a view on it. There may a process issue involved in the provision for multiple fines and in any case it would probably have to be tweaked. We should look at the penalty again. We have included a class A fine for a breach of the scheme. I am conscious that section 33 of the 2014 Act under which the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, was established provides for a class C fine or imprisonment for a term of up to one year for somebody who fails to comply with a substantive notice on foot of an equality review or action plan. As there are already different penalties provided for in that legislation, it may be a case of having to tweak it.

On naming companies and having a public database, we should be careful to say this is not just about naming and shaming but also about naming and faming and celebrating companies that positively promote gender equality and that do not have a gender pay gap. We just do not know what gender pay gap there is in particular sectors or organisations. We just have the very global figure of 13.9% in Ireland. The curative aspect is very important. We need to make sure we get the penalty right and that we are open to amendments. I thank the Senator for bringing forward the amendment.