Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. This is a good day. Sinn Féin very much welcomes the passing of this Bill. We want to see it passed as soon as possible. I pay tribute to the Irish Cancer Society in particular for the work it has done and the campaign it fought valiantly to get this change over the line. As it pointed out in its own press release, there is no little irony in the fact that men can postpone paternity leave but women, up until now, are not able to do so. That fact alone speaks volumes.

I wish to pay tribute to Senator Ardagh for her work on the Bill and indeed Senator Sherlock, who has been very strong on this issue on many occasions. I really agree with what Senators Sherlock and Seery Kearney have said. If we are going to get this Bill over the line and get it done quickly that is fine. However, in regard to the proposed new section 14C(11) in section (1)(e), that issue of "necessary medical intervention’, in relation to mental health, means inpatient hospital treatment", seems unreasonable. If there is agreement between the social partners, if IBEC is saying it is unreasonable, and no doubt the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, would view it in the same way, I would have thought it would be a relatively simple amendment to make either here today or next week if it is going to the Dáil next week, just to correct that. It is quite important actually. If we are going to get this right, let us get it as right as we can. I appeal to the Minister to look at that, not just say that we have to move this very quickly, which we do, but there is still scope next week to make that simple amendment. I hope he will do so.

I want to pay tribute to my colleague, Senator Ruane, for her work on NDAs. It is excellent that there is going to be an inclusion of this in the Bill next week. However, it is also frustrating for us. I cannot imagine how frustrating it must be for Senator Ruane because we do not know exactly what those amendments are going to look like. Of course, the fear we have is that they may not be sufficiently watertight. From my time as a trade union official I know that multinational companies in particular were particularly prevalent in terms of using these NDA agreements. I have a concern that maybe that sector might be lobbying to some degree to be careful around this issue. I have seen people's lives ruined by NDAs because whatever compensation they got never actually compensated them for the damage that was done in that workplace. The damage went on for years afterwards and yet people felt silenced. It is a particularly nasty practice. It is very prevalent. Indeed, I had to sign a contract many years ago to start an employment with a multinational company that effectively had an NDA as part of the terms and conditions. Having worked there for a year I could see why, frankly, because there were so many practices that were not just wrong, but illegal at times as well. I really hope the Minister ensures that the NDA amendments are watertight and strong enough, that they are not just tokenistic. Senator Ruane and her colleagues received tremendous support from across the Chamber in relation to her initiative. I hope it will be strong enough.

I will leave it at that. This is a good day. Sinn Féin welcomes this move. As colleagues have pointed out, around 60 women a year, unfortunately, have to undergo cancer treatment. This is an important change, it is long overdue and we very much welcome it.