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

I apologise but I just needed to recall where we were in the discussion. On amendment No. 35, the Bill requires companies to make public their gender pay gap information and the regulations will set out clearly how this will be carried out. There are some policy questions to be settled on how this will operate in reality. Today I am not in a position to give a complete and conclusive explanation of how exactly the evidence of compliance will be established but that guidance will be provided in the context of the finalised regulations. I ask the Senator to indulge us in doing that. The Senator is proposing in amendment No. 36 that compliance with this legislation would have implications for accessing public funds or public contracts. Such a proposal goes very significantly beyond the current provisions of this Bill and would have wider implications. If a company was to lose out on a contract, or something like that, through potential judicial reviews of measures taken under this Bill, it very significantly raises the stakes. It might be said, correctly so. Senator Seery Kearney made the point that adherence by a company bidding for public contracts is relevant to other legislation as well.

The proposed new EU directive on pay transparency makes some proposals in this regard. These are being given cross-governmental consideration at present regarding their broader implications. In a context where we want to move this legislation forward and get it up and running, this amendment, though absolutely worthy of consideration, has not been part of that wider conversation around what we are seeking to achieve. It is now part of the conversation about the EU directive. I suggest not addressing it within the context of this legislation.