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

I thank the Senators and I am pleased to be able to address the House on the Third Stage of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill. From our discussion on Second Stage, I know there is a strong desire to see this Bill implemented swiftly and this has been mentioned in the debate today. It is the Government’s belief that the Bill is robust and is proportionate in its approach as regard compliance and the timetable for implementation. On Report Stage in Dáil Éireann, I took a number of steps towards strengthening this Bill in broadening the definition of what constitutes a public body. The Bill allows for the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to take an employer that does not meet the provisions of the legislation to the High Court, as well as the Circuit Court, including the additional publicity and potential for fines that comes from a High Court decision of contempt. I also shortened the timeframe for review of this legislation from five to four years.

I refer to the specific amendments Nos. 2 and 3 from the Labour Party and Senator Higgins. I thank Senators for those amendments. I give my assurance to the House, as I did in the Dáil, that it is my intention, provided the Bill is enacted during this term, to have the regulations flowing from the Bill in place by the end of 2021. That is the timeline my officials are working towards and I believe it can be done. I accept, in the context of the lifetime of this Bill, that it has been a long and drawn out process. However, since the matters contained in this Bill were moved to my Department in October last year, I have expedited it in conjunction with my officials, and this has been recognised. When we spoke to the matter with Senators Bacik and Sherlock, we made a commitment in terms of moving the Bill forward. I believe we have met those commitments.

The Government sees this legislation as being central to the equality agenda we are pushing forward. The current text "as soon as is reasonably practicable", which is contained in the Bill, is a term of art in many pieces of legislation and it is what we are familiar with. My Department and I have shown the determination to prove that this Bill is a priority for us, and we will prioritise those regulations.