Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has listened to what we had to say about getting the detail right. We have listened to what he has had to say about the importance of a process and engagement. The reality is that he has had a number of groups, those who know in great detail what the life of those who experience domestic violence is like and what they have to go through. They have engaged with the Minister and they have written to him. I understand that he wants to get it right in terms of having the criteria right to set it up, but we must ask what the conclusion will be at the end of the day. The Minister said earlier that there is no suggestion in the legislation that the pay is going to be less than the normal rate of pay and that our inference that it is going to be aligned to sick pay is effectively incorrect. He says that our suspicions and fears that it is going to be aligned to the 70% rate of sick pay are unfounded. If that is the case, the Minister will appreciate that we want it hard-wired into the legislation not only for the current Minister but for all future Ministers. It is very clear the Minister does not want to incorporate that into the legislation, but if he parks the reference to all future Ministers, could the present Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, give a commitment that under his tenure domestic and sexual-based violence leave will be paid at the full rate for the duration of his term as Minister?

That is the message we need to hear from today. We are disappointed that it is not hard-wired into the legislation but there is an opportunity for the Minister to be clear. The Minister can have a process, but he knows what the answer is, as he knows what the groups have said to him. We do not need to commission a piece of research to know. It is evident from our contributions on Committee Stage and Report Stage today that we know what the impact will be if it is anything less than the full rate of pay. Let us park the notion of future Ministers for a moment: what we need to hear is what the Minister going to do in his tenure as Minister.