Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 19, after line 25, to insert the following:

“Report on involuntary underemployment

21. The Minister shall, within twelve months of the passing of this Act and following an appropriate public consultation, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas, a report and recommendations on the issue of involuntary underemployment and the advertisement or allocation of additional hours within the workplace.”.

We had a detailed discussion about the original proposal from Senator Ruane and she clearly replaced that original proposal, which I believe was problematic as well in terms of operability and practicality. The Senator has a fair point on the need for very clear analysis to inform policy discussions around underemployment and so on, particularly for part-time workers.

I am happy to withdraw the amendment on behalf of Senator Ruane if the Minister could give a commitment that her Department would look closely at this matter and possibly present a report or take the opportunity to consider it in advance of the social welfare Bill and come back to the House with some suggestions as to how we could move forward to try to ensure we have a strong evidence base to inform policymaking on underemployment in Ireland, which is an issue for some, as we know.