Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As I understand this grouping of amendments, there are several issues pushed together. I will address just two of them in the context of smaller companies. It is an issue if almost half of the employees in the State are not going to be captured in this legislation when we consider smaller companies. This is a concern. Again, it is a matter of trying to look at what the patterns are for how this can be addressed and the ways it could be addressed. It may be that not all of the provisions would apply to those companies, but there must be something that gives us a way or a route towards every company, to be in line with Sweden, Finland and other countries where this is considered as part of the normal practice in any company and becomes part of the self-awareness and the corporate business culture and ethics, which many companies have As Senator Warfield has mentioned, a number of smaller companies may be quite happy to comply with these regulations but the Bill, effectively, excludes them from doing so. This is one of my concerns.

I am also very aware of another aspect with regard to smaller companies. I do not know if it is captured in the regulations and I will certainly reserve the right to bring an amendment on Report Stage. The Minister might consider a measure for the company that is a group of companies. Companies might be structured in such a way with a parent company and multiple subsidiary companies that are all part of the same company. Effectively, the main company would meet the threshold of passing 250 persons, possibly substantially, but a number of its subsidiaries may not. I am a little concerned about this as an issue in the context of the smaller company piece. There are smaller businesses that we all have in our minds when we speak of smaller companies, but sometimes smaller companies are part of a suite of subsidiaries. We must not end up with a loophole developing there.

The other element I feel very strongly about is the three-year delay. I will bring this back on Report Stage and I will push votes on this point or on something similar to this. Perhaps I can adjust the numbers somewhat on Report Stage on the idea of the three-year delay for employers of 150 employees. A three-year time delay is so long before we move on it. It is one thing to talk about the companies of 50 employees, but section 20A in the Bill states that the regulations "shall not apply to an employer having fewer than 150 employees until the 3rd anniversary of the making of the first regulations under this section". This is a real concern for me. The third anniversary seems very far out.

The House will note that Sinn Féin has put forward an amendment around the 12 months following the second anniversary. My amendment suggests the first anniversary of the commencement of the section in the Bill. I am concerned about the rigidity of that provision in the section because it may be that some companies are not ready. The pseudonymisation may take time, but I would prefer it if the Minister gave himself the scope to say, for example, that the Minister will commence the application of the section to employers of 140 employees or fewer at a date that will not be later than the third anniversary of the commencement, and to have the third anniversary specified as an end point or as a caveat, not placed as a limitation.

As it currently stands, and as I read it, it would take primary legislation to apply these regulations to employers of fewer than 250 employees before the second anniversary, and to employers of fewer than 150 employees by the third anniversary. Rather than requiring brand new legislation to come through, why not build in a flexibility so there is scope to move faster if this is going wonderfully when we are 12 months in, when all those companies of 300 employees are already complying and we feel that we are ready to roll with the companies of 150 or 250 employees? There is scope for flexibility here. We may have underestimated businesses by placing such a rigid and lengthy timeframe on the application. I am sure there are some companies and employees of companies, and even some HR staff, who might be a bit disheartened to think, "We will have to wait another three years before we can start to apply these regulations."