David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

However, the general scheme of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill contains provisions under which contraventions of gender pay gap reporting regulations would be made public. Head 4 of that Bill would permit the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to apply to the Circuit Court for an order requiring an employer to comply with the regulations. These proceedings would, of course, be in public. Head 6 would allow an employee who claims that his or her employer is not complying with the regulations to bring a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. It also provides that where decisions of the Labour Court are appealed to that body, the relevant publications of decisions and determinations shall include the names of the parties involved. This goes even further than the previous legislation. The Government proposal contains provisions in respect of publicity, although not in the form envisaged in the amendment. There is not much between us but we are moving along the same lines.

On what Senator Back stated earlier about the Bill being published and then having to go to the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality for pre-legislative scrutiny, in fact it is at the committee for pre-legislative scrutiny now. We are waiting for the joint committee to come back with its determination. As soon as that is happens, the Government will publish its Bill immediately. The only thing that is delaying the Bill is the very serious work that the joint committee has to do in respect of it. I will speak about that more later if I may.