Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. I have similar amendments, relating to another Part of the Bill, on the six-month criterion. The six-month requirement makes it less likely that people will be able to enter employment in the first place because requiring full-time availability for six months with no flexibility is exactly the obstacle for those who are parenting alone or returning to the workforce. One of the huge employment issues in Ireland is that women, in particular, tend to leave the workforce and then face an obstacle on re-entering. Where an employer is considering what is needed for the employment and so forth, I would imagine that there are many circumstances in which the employer would indeed be very happy to arrange and accommodate a flexible working arrangement for somebody re-entering the workplace, perhaps with significant skills. There is a presumption that such an arrangement is granted rather than something that just makes sense for both the employer and the employee. It is unnecessary to have such a large obstacle. It means there may be a six-month hurdle, perhaps involving childcare and trying to get care arrangements in place, before one can re-enter the workforce, rather than being able to have a conversation very early on about flexible working arrangements.