Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend Senator Bacik on timely and long-overdue legislation. The fact it is receiving cross-party support reflects its importance. The people in the Gallery, who are most welcome, are researching this at the moment. They will hopefully have something positive to say about the Oireachtas in their theses.

To give credit where credit is due, an election is taking place at the moment and the Sinn Féin candidate Liadh Ní Riada, MEP, announced a very interesting and worthwhile initiative. If my memory serves me correctly, she announced a President's award for excellent working conditions and fair pay. If she becomes President, it will be a very good initiative. It should be considered whoever becomes President. We should be able to pride ourselves in this country on the way we treat people. We have not had gender equality in this country's history. The time has come for gender equality. This legislation is an extremely important incremental step towards achieving it.

The amendment is a good one. Fine Gael will not have any problem accepting it, but it is really up to Senator Bacik because it is her Bill. The name-and-shame principle should be applied to this. When there are breaches of this nature, the sanction should not just be a fine. Corporations write fines off. The damage being named and shamed could do would be far greater than a €5,000 fine. We need to use the carrot, although it should not be required. When it is not honoured, the stick should be used in every way. The public has a right to know what companies are doing in this area.

Progress has been made in other countries. Some progress has been made in this country, but not nearly enough. It is a very well thought out amendment and that is what this House is for. As legislators, we are here to come up with amendments that will improve and strengthen legislation. The people drafting legislation are so consumed with the big body of work involved in drafting that something like the proposed amendment is more readily identified by people who observe, politically proof and test legislation. That is the nature of this Stage. It is designed to improve legislation. The thinking and motivation behind what this amendment is trying to achieve are certainly things we all share.