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

This amendment to the proposed new section 20A(5) seeks to ensure that the reporting of the gender pay gap information by employers occurs annually. The section as drafted provides some assurances to employers that they will not be required to report more often than annually. However, while it is my intention that such reporting will be done annually, the section as drafted provides that level of flexibility to which I referred earlier and allows for such information to be set out in the regulations rather than the Bill. I reiterate that it is my intention to set out clearly the form, manner and frequency of reporting - that frequency being annually - but I would prefer that the final Act remain flexible to accommodate any issues that may arise during drafting or when reporting commences. On that basis, I will seek to retain the existing wording of the legislation and recommend that the amendment be rejected.