Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for allowing me in even though I was a little late arriving. As Senator McGreehan said on behalf of our side of the House, we will not be opposing the Bill. Indeed, we support it. Like other Senators, I compliment Senator Ruane, who has done a lot of work on the Bill. Of course, Senators Black, Flynn and Higgins have given significant support to it.

The Bill proposes the insertion of a new section into the Employment Equality Act 1998 to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements in the context of workplace sexual harassment or discrimination. Of course, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. All Members accept that. We have the responsibility, as legislators, to stamp out that type of thing. The Minister probably clarified a few issues in his contribution. Basically, the Bill would prohibit non-disclosure agreements following incidents of workplace sexual harassment or discrimination in almost all circumstances. The only exceptions to the rule would be when the person who experienced harassment or discrimination requests a non-disclosure agreement to protect his or her confidentiality, or what is known as a victim's exception to a general prohibition rule. The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015 currently do not consider the use of NDAs in the context of sexual harassment and discrimination, so the Bill will introduce a new concept to the legislation.

NDAs have a legitimate basis in the context of a company using them to protect commercial interests and confidentiality. Although it is undesirable for them to be used to cover up discriminatory or illegal behaviour, if they are severely restricted, that may have the effect of limiting the possibility for employees to obtain a settlement without having to take additional and potentially costly action, such as at the Workplace Relations Commission or through the courts. No current data exist on the use of NDAs for that purpose but they are frequently used for commercial purposes. There are no legislative proposals governing NDAs, confidentiality clauses and settlement agreements, but there is increased sensitivity to and scrutiny of the use of NDAs and that is why it is important that we have this discussion on the Bill brought forward by Senator Ruane and her colleagues. The current position is that for a settlement agreement to be enforceable it must be freely entered into without undue pressure or influence, the signatory must have the benefit of independent legal advice and exceptions to confidentiality should be made to allow for a range of disclosures, including to appropriate regulatory or statutory bodies or law enforcement agencies.

Those are my observations. I fully support what the Senator is doing. It is important to stamp out this practice. There is no doubt that women suffer from it more than men, but some men suffer as well. What the Senator has done and is trying to do is important. It is an important debate and I welcome what she is trying to do. She might have some answers to the points I raised and, if so, good and well. I make the points only to set out the current situation. I fully support anything we can do to improve the situation and I genuinely believe that is what Senator Ruane is trying to do.