Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for facilitating this discussion. We were anxious to get this legislation through before the summer break of the Houses, so that is important.I thank everybody for their help and for all their work. I thank the officials. Ms Wendy Gray who put a lot of work into this legislation over a long period of time could not be with us today. I want to give her a shout-out because she put a lot of work into this important Bill that both Houses wanted. Approximately a year and a half ago the Tánaiste committed that we would bring it forward.

We are conscious this will mean extra costs for employers. Senator Casey clarified the difference between larger businesses and smaller and medium enterprises. Senators Crowe and Ahearn mentioned customer-facing roles. Certainly when it comes to retail and hospitality there is a lot of pressure on the system. Many businesses tell us their concern is not so much about the beginning of the sick leave scheme but about when employees increase their number of days. It is something the Tánaiste, departmental officials and I have committed to keeping an eye on and reviewing. We will do this as part of our ongoing review of legislation. Some of the amendments proposed a rebate. There should be some supports for businesses and this is something we will analyse. On Committee Stage I said we could look at other supports through a development agency, perhaps the local employment offices. We are aware and conscious of it.

This is important legislation. Everybody wanted it. We are one of the few countries in Europe that does not have a statutory sick pay scheme. We are conscious that it will put extra pressure on employers. We want to continue with a very strong jobs-led recovery but we cannot take it for granted. We are conscious that any increase in costs can jeopardise jobs. We will keep an eye on it and we are prepared to step in if needs be. We have to keep our cost base in order. We are conscious that it will be more difficult for some sectors.

With regard to legislation generally, we try to find the sweet spot to be able to assist small businesses. It can be difficult because a small business can have a large turnover. It is not always easy to find the spot to kick in. We will track and monitor this and we will respond if needs be. I am conscious we had a similar conversation with Senator Gavan on the cost of medical bills and certification costs. It is outside the scope of the Bill but it is something we are working on to be able to assist overall. It is a positive measure and it will be important legislation for employees. It will also strengthen Ireland's hand in attracting talent and staff. We have a difficulty with sourcing the talent we need from the European employee market. I hope we will be able to build on this and become a more attractive place for employees.