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

I am pleased to address the House on Second Stage of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The primary purpose of this Bill is to ensure that Ireland has fully transposed Articles 6 and 9 of the EU Work-life Balance Directive, which are the final elements not already compatible with Irish law. The Bill also fulfils an important and long-standing commitment to extend the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks under the Maternity Protection Acts. With this extension, women returning to work after having a baby will be entitled to these breaks for two years after the birth of the child, raising that period from six months, as is the current situation. Breastfeeding numbers in Ireland remain low, particularly for extended breastfeeding. These breaks make combining the return to work and breastfeeding that bit easier and also normalise something which still can have a stigma attached to it.

On Committee Stage in the Dáil, amendments were added to this Bill which will introduce five days' paid domestic violence leave. Addressing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence has always been a priority of mine, and I am pleased to be able to bring forward these legislative amendments which will mean that Ireland will now become one of the first countries in Europe to introduce a right to paid leave for victims of domestic violence.On Report Stage, further amendments were tabled to incorporate a right to request remote working for all employees, following a Government decision to bring forward the provisions of the Tánaiste's right to request remote working Bill as part of this Bill.

I will now outline the main provisions of the Bill. Part 1 is a standard provision. Part 2 provides for the measures to transpose the EU work-life balance directive and provide for domestic violence leave. Section 6 inserts a new section 13A into the Parental Leave Act to provide for leave for medical care purposes. This new form of leave matches the provisions of Article 6 of the work-life balance directive on carer's leave. The Carer's Leave Act 2001 already provides for a form of leave for those with caring responsibilities but for a more extended period. In order to meet the requirements of the directive for a form of leave that can be taken flexibly, and without a notice period, it was necessary to introduce leave for medical care purposes. Under these provisions, up to five days' leave can be taken in any 12-month period and it can be taken in individual days or consecutively. The leave is available to care for a child for whom the employee is a relevant parent under the Parental Leave Act and also to care for a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, parent or grandparent, brother or sister or a person who resides in the same household. The leave is unpaid and in order to provide the necessary flexibility required under the directive it is not possible to provide a social protection benefit.

Section 7 inserts a new section 13AA into the Parental Leave Act to provide for five days' paid domestic violence leave in a 12-month period. The leave is available where an employee or a relevant person has experienced in the past, or is currently experiencing, domestic violence. The leave can be used to seek medical attention, obtain services from a victim services organisation or other counselling, relocate temporarily or permanently or obtain an order under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 or other legal support.

Section 8 inserts new sections 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E, 13F and 13G into the Parental Leave Act that outline the right to request flexible working and the procedures which must be followed by the employee and employer. These provisions give effect to Article 9 of the work-life balance directive. A request must be made in writing, set out the form of the flexible working arrangement sought and be submitted not later than eight weeks before the proposed commencement of the flexible working arrangement. As with the leave for medical care purposes, the employer may seek further information. There are also provisions around the variation or termination of a flexible working arrangement.

On Report Stage, a new section 13H was also added which provides for the review of the provisions under Part 2 within two years of their commencement to assess their operation. This will include consideration of whether the five days of domestic violence leave should be extended and whether the right to request flexible working should be extended to a wider cohort of employees.

Part 3 provides for a right to request remote working for all employees. These provisions closely mirror those in Part 2 providing for the right to request flexible working. The request must be made in writing and the same timelines apply. There is also a review provision for this Part, to take place within two years of commencement.

Part 4 includes a provision for a code of practice for remote and flexible working to be developed by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. This code of practice will provide guidance to employers and employees on the operation of the right to request remote working and the right to request flexible working. Part 4 also includes amendments to the Maternity Protection Act 1994, at section 2(1), to provide for a new definition of "employee who is breastfeeding", which extends the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks under the Act from six months to two years. This Part also deletes section 7(2) and amends section 16(1) by substituting "woman or other person" for "woman". These small number of amendments are necessary to ensure the entitlement to maternity leave is available to any person who gives birth. In addition, Part 4 contains the miscellaneous provisions of the Bill, which include technical and other necessary amendments to the Birth Information and Tracing Act, the Adoption Act and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act.

What we have is a wide-ranging set of measures that not only implements European Union law but includes measures that go beyond our EU law requirements. It is a suite of measures designed to protect and promote women's participation in the workplace. It will see the introduction of five days medical care; a right to request flexible work for parents and carers; a right to request remote working for all workers; and the extension of breastfeeding breaks, which will be a genuinely transformative development. Women are currently entitled to breastfeeding breaks for six months after giving birth but for any woman who avails of her full maternity leave, that period will have elapsed. While the right to breaks is on the books, it is not accessible in practice for the vast majority of women. Women will be able to take breastfeeding breaks of up to an hour's length per day to breastfeed or express milk for a period of two years after the birth of their child. It is a genuinely significant expansion of this right and one that will benefit tens of thousands of women every year as they return from maternity leave.

I refer to the introduction of paid domestic violence leave. As Senators will know, when this Government took up office, we identified that there was an epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, in our society. We have introduced a wide range of measures, principally through the Department of Justice, with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, bringing forward the third national action plan against DSGBV, as well as the introduction of an Act that will create a new agency to tackle DSGBV. We are taking an important step with this Bill in recognising that those fleeing domestic violence, who are primarily but not only women, are more at risk of poverty because of the disruption fleeing one's home often entails. This is an important step towards recognising this and ensuring such persons have paid leave to do some of the things they need to do in the context of suffering domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is important to note that Ireland will be one of the first European Union countries to introduce this leave. It is a very new form of leave and there are not many countries around the world that provide for it as a paid measure. The programme for Government and the Green Party's manifesto made commitments to support victims of domestic violence in all circumstances, and this is an important step in delivering those.

The Bill represents an important step forward in providing work-life balance and recognising that a parent's or carer's role is not suspended between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day. These provisions make it easier and allow more people to balance their working and caring commitments. I look forward to hearing the views of Senators. I commend the Bill to the House.