Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “That Seanad Éireann:” and substitute the following:

“welcomes:

- the recent introduction of a new social insurance-based paid parental benefit scheme and extended parental leave rights;

- the Government’s intention to examine a further extension of this leave in response to Covid-19 and acknowledges that work is underway in this regard;

acknowledges:

- that the €7.4 billion July stimulus package was in addition to the existing measures totalling €12 billion in supports for Covid-19 impacted businesses announced earlier in the year, including liquidity supports, rates waivers from local authorities and the warehousing of tax liabilities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by Revenue;

resolves that An Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Minister for Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands will progress consultations with unions and employers as quickly as possible, which will allow for:

- consideration of reforms and improvements to Ireland’s statutory sick pay laws and any related change to illness benefit which is funded through PRSI contributions as referred to in the Programme for Government;

- research into the extent and exact nature of the problems being experienced, including a full evaluation of the costs that a Statutory Sick Pay Scheme would place on employers, particularly micro, small and medium sized enterprises that have been severely hit by Covid-19 and have required a suite of State supports to help them deal with the challenges;

- consideration of other practical issues and consequences that may arise, such as increased business costs and business viability,as a result of the proposals; and

- to consider other options for change which might be available, and which would not make it more difficult for employers to remain viable.”

I thank my colleagues from the Labour Party for proposing the original motion. I am supporting the amendment I have moved.

There is nothing unreasonable in the proposals. The only things that are unreasonable are the times in which we are living. Ireland is one of only five countries in the EU in which employees have no statutory right to be paid by their employer if absent from work due to an illness. The pandemic has revealed a vulnerability that must be addressed, a safety net staff and the State need. The lack of statutory employee sick pay in Ireland is a reflection of the challenges faced by previous Governments and a general acceptance of the status quo. It has been on the radar but has not been prioritised enough. A cursory glance at the Labour Party and Sinn Féin 2020 general election manifestos, for instance, reveals no reference to statutory sick pay that I could see.

When people are sick, they need to put recovery first, not worry about household finances. As a modern, caring State, we must reduce any barriers to staying at home and safe. Never has this been more important. I welcome the commitment of the Tánaiste and hope for the same from the Minister of State, Deputy English, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Minister for Justice and Equality, as well as broad support across our party and the Government, to research the extent and exact nature of the problems being experienced by workers. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection will consider reforms to statutory sick pay laws and any related change to illness benefit, funded through PRSI. This was already committed to in the programme for Government but the timing is right to do it now and with urgency. With cross-party support, I hope those Ministers will succeed where others have not.

It is true that paid sick leave is entirely at the discretion of employers but much has been done to enhance illness benefit during the pandemic. The rate has been increased to €350 per week for all employees no matter their PRSI contributions. Any employee with Covid-19 symptoms who is required to self-isolate or is a probable source of infection has access to that payment. The payment is made from the first day of illness so there are no waiting days. It applies for two weeks for a person who is a probable risk of infection and up to ten weeks for a person who is diagnosed with Covid-19. I am told that payments are now being processed in approximately one week.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection will spend an estimated €599 million on illness benefit alone in 2020. More than 60,000 workers have availed of it so far, including front-line agency workers, meat factory workers, childcare workers, the self-employed, delivery drivers, zero-hour contractors and more. There is still some necessary rigmarole around applying for the Covid-19 illness benefit. An applicant requires his or her doctor to send a medical certificate to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and wait for the okay. Even though the benefit is back paid once an application is approved, access to seamless sick pay maintained at the right level of benefit would be the best approach now and going forward. In the North, for instance, statutory sick pay stands at £95.98 per week for up to six months. We can and should do better than that.

Some contributors to this debate over the past couple of weeks, not those who have spoken today, have referred to the Government's willingness to rush Covid-19 legislation through on other issues but not on this matter. They have said that if we are supporting businesses through this crisis, we should push for reform or get something back from them. Business owners have given us enough by going against every instinct they have to shut down their businesses and watch their revenues fall by 70% or more while paying fixed costs, week after week.

Statutory sick pay is our commitment to supporting sick workers at all times and not just in times of crisis. We must remember that many Irish employers already pay contractual sick pay, but this step provides for situations where employers do not. The legislation requires collaboration, not coercion, from small and medium-sized enterprises. That is what the Tánaiste has committed to doing and has already begun in earnest with trade unions and business representatives.

A particular body of work is required for early years professionals and healthcare staff to address pay and retention issues and problems. This is a separate piece of work that the Minister with responsibility for children, disability, equality, integration and youth, Deputy O'Gorman, has taken on and must be addressed as soon as possible for childcare providers, workers, parents and children. I absolutely agree and have previously referenced that a disproportionate burden fell on women during lockdown and falls to them if children are sick or unable to go to school or preschool. That pressure is even more acute for single or lone parents. When some people's work-life balance improved during the pandemic, others disintegrated as they juggled home-schooling and home-working. It underlines the difference between the potential of flexible and remote work, and working from home during a pandemic, which are two very different things. I welcome, therefore, the Government's commitment to examine the extension of parental leave in response to Covid-19.It took a global pandemic to make us reconsider how we do things, especially how we work. Reforms to statutory sick pay and illness benefit should be part of that.

I support the aims and overarching objectives of the motion, but I accept that more work needs to be done both to support Ireland's workers at this difficult time and to build the workforce of our future. I am confident that the Tánaiste and the Minister are working to achieve this.