Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is lovely to address Senator McDowell in the Chair. I am not the spokesperson for equality so I feel like I am gate-crashing Final Stage. I have been invested in this over the years. I left my job because of a lack of flexibility. I recognise that there are more than 60 Bills relating to employment and equality that we will work on. This is the benchmark. It is up to us to then provide the solutions. As Senator Pauline O'Reilly said, that is a core part of the programme for Government. It is apt that I refer to my previous career because I worked in communications. It is up to us as a Government to communicate what best practice is at all times. That is particularly relevant coming out of Covid when there has been so much pressure on people. It has resulted in pressure on women. We will see changes related to flexibility and remote working. There is a role for us in establishing what best practice is or is not. While this is about benchmarking and identifying the problem, we have to be leaders in rolling out solutions and what can work for people.I recognise the work of the WorkEqual campaign of which I am a co-chair. The people involved have done fantastic work in this area over the last few years and have really kept it on the agenda. We should also recognise the importance of this day, not just for the various spokespersons for equality or us as Senators but for everyone. People will be able to go to a website and see how their company performs with respect to the gender pay gap, which is of huge significance. We are going to empower them and that is where I hope to see the cultural change. This is all about cultural change in workplaces. As I said, we should play a role there in assisting them with best practice.