Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would disagree that it is not automatic. It is automatic. It simply states the employer may extend the four-week period by a further period, not exceeding eight weeks. It is absolutely at the discretion of the employer to extend it by the extra two months. Simply saying you have informed somebody that you have extended it by two months does not mean it is not an automatic right to extend it by two months. I was not even taking away the automatic right to extend it. I was simply saying that as well as informing the employee they are taking another two months to decide, it would be reasonable to say they are taking another two months to decide for certain reasons. It is a difficult thing for people even to put in this request, and they are being left in limbo for a quarter of a year waiting for the decision. The Minister mentioned that they may not have come to a conclusion. It may be that they have not even begun the process of thinking about it. By inserting my amendment, where they at least have to give a reason as to why they want the extension, it would be a positive incentive for employers to have at least begun the process. They have to at least have begun the process to be able to give a reason as to why they need the extension. At the moment, difficulty assessing the viability could literally be they have decided not to start assessing the viability. Their schedule could be busy and they could have other things they want to do instead. The imperative in the Bill is very low for an employer to decide within the first month. I do not believe the balance has been rightly struck here, and I would again urge the Minister to consider what I think is an incredibly mild amendment. I am not removing the eight week extension. I was simply looking that, be they only two sentences, a reason would be given for the eight-week extension.