Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators who have contributed to the debate. We are all of one mind about the need to address this issue. It was a welcome opportunity to discuss the gender pay gap and the proposal before the Seanad. Almost all Senators stated that the gender pay gap was a real and pressing issue that impacts on women in the workforce throughout their working lives and, as a number of Senators pointed out, in retirement as well. The Government is committed to reducing the gender pay gap but it is also conscious that the regulations published under this Bill are only part of the solution. Senators Clifford-Lee, O'Loughlin and Ward all made that point. With 65% of all employees in the State estimated to fall within the scope of the regulations, the publication of gender pay gap information will provide a range of data about firms and sectors and how they contribute to the gender pay gap in the economy as a whole. Senators Higgins and Currie mentioned that both the mean and the hourly wage gap will be disclosed. The former reflects the entire pay range in a company and the latter excludes the impact of unusually high earners. Data will be published on bonus pay, since this is an important element of remuneration in some sectors. Mean and median pay gaps for part-time employees and employees on temporary contracts will be disclosed. It is important to account for temporary contracts. Women work part time to a greater extent than men.

The proportions of male and female employees in the lower, lower-middle, upper-middle and upper quartile pay bands must be published. This will show the extent to which men and women are represented at the various pay levels in a firm. The publication of this information is likely to incentivise employers to take action to reduce the gender pay gap insofar as that is within their control. Sometimes it will not be within their control, perhaps because of segregation in education or the overall labour market, where women are underrepresented in some areas. However, it will be possible in many cases for employers to pursue positive action measures which are within the law and which will, over time, increase the number of women in high-earning, higher-remunerated roles and levels in firms. Having this information will also support and direct Government policy to take meaningful steps to address the gender pay gap, especially where that is beyond a specific employer's control.

Other relevant provisions in the programme for Government which will work in parallel with the regulations that will be made on foot of this legislation to reduce the gender pay gap include being guided by the Low Pay Commission with regard to any future changes to the minimum wage. It includes reducing the cost of childcare for parents through investment in the national childcare scheme, including universal and targeted subsidies to assist parents with childcare affordability and getting back to work and training. That is something that almost every Senator referenced in their contributions and my Department is working to address it. It includes increased leave and support for parents and increased remote, flexible and hub working arrangements.

The Balance for Better Business initiative has had some success in improving gender balance at senior levels. It was established in July 2018 as one of the actions in the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020. This independent, business-led review group was established by the Government to improve gender balance and senior business leadership in Ireland. Balance for Better Business has set out actionable and progressive targets for companies listed on Euronext Dublin and for private companies in Ireland to encourage them to address the gender balance issue on their boards and leadership of teams as a matter of priority. Since the initiative was launched, the percentage of women on listed company boards continues to improve, with ISEQ 20 companies now having 27.4%, up from 25.3% in September 2019 and 18.1% when Balance for Better Business was announced in 2018. This surpassed the interim target of 25% by the end of 2020. Actions have been identified and prioritised in the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 to address persisting gender stereotypes such as unconscious bias, which is a contributing factor to the gender pay gap.

To address matters outside gender for a moment, Senator Conway spoke about disability and the importance of addressing that issue. I will introduce legislation to deal with elements of the assisted decision-making service.I will also be bringing in provisions from the Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which lapsed at the end of the last Dáil. That includes increasing the public service obligation for employment of persons with disabilities from 3% to 6%, which is a significant increase in the public service obligation. It will be a job of work to achieve that but it is one I am sure the Government and the public sector, working together, can and will achieve.

Senator Mary Seery Kearney and others mentioned the recent Citizens' Assembly on gender, which laid its final report before the Houses of the Oireachtas earlier this month. The issues raised during the work of the Citizens' Assembly and the issues it voted on and made recommendations on reflect the key concerns around addressing some of the biggest challenges we face in moving towards a more gender-equal society. My Department looks forward to working on some of the issues around constitutional amendments, the provision on the position of the woman within the home and dealing with the idea of carers within the home as well. I look forward to working to advance that. The wider recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly are comprehensive and they cut across the work of many Departments. Some 25 of the 45 recommendations sit squarely within my Department, so it was a nice list of work that was handed to us, but it is stuff I am really passionate about working on. Obviously, it is for the Oireachtas, as a whole, to examine and respond to the detailed findings of the Citizens' Assembly. However, as I said, many of the items will be advanced by my Department and, indeed, many of them, like the legislation we are addressing today, were already identified within the programme for Government as something we want to work on.

To conclude, when Senator Bacik and others referenced the issue of the gender pay gap a number of weeks ago, I said it was a priority for my Department and for the Government to have the matter addressed. The slow pace of the development of these proposals has been outlined by the Senator, as well as by Senator Marie Sherlock. What I will say is that we are still within the first year of this Government. We have taken it, we have prioritised it, it has passed through the Dáil and it is coming through this House. I look forward to engaging with Senators on Committee and Report Stages. I and, I think, everyone else want to see this important legislation on the books quickly so we can start to see those reporting mechanisms taking place and we can start to gather the data so wider Government actions can be taken to reduce that gender pay gap, but also to push and support businesses, both in the public and the private sector, to work to reduce and eventually eliminate that gender pay gap.