Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The provision of section 6 that provides for someone who is residing in the same household as the employee in question and who requires serious medical care or support is broad enough to encompass anything suggested in this amendment if this situation arose. If someone is coming out of hospital, to use the Senator's example, the term "resides" is loose enough to encompass these categories where a need arises. I believe an employer would be open to taking that into account. Section 6 is broad enough to include everything suggested in the amendment and other arrangements, including people who are very close and who share a house but who are not actually cohabitants. It is loose enough to include any sort of relationship really, should the need arise.