Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if an assessment will be carried out to determine whether workers are being denied adequate toilet breaks by employers in view of the fact that such actions by employers, which have been encountered in other jurisdictions, can result in potentially serious health problems for workers. [18343/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 transposed into Irish law the EU Council Directive 93/104/EC of 22 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time. One of the objectives of the Directive is the improvement of workers' safety, hygiene and health at work.

The 1997 Act provides that an employee is entitled to a break of 15 minutes after working for more than four and a half hours and to a further break of 15 minutes after working for more than six hours. The Act did not specifically define the types of break in order to give both employees and employers flexibility on the issue.

If an employee is being denied such breaks by his or her employer it would be open to such an employee to refer the matter to a Rights Commissioner under the 1997 Act claiming a breach of that Act. A Rights Commissioner can award an employee an amount up to two years remuneration for a breach of the Act.

It would also be open to an employee who is in dispute with his or her employer over the issue of breaks to refer the matter to a Rights Commissioner under the Industrial Relations Acts. However, this is a voluntary service and if the employer refuses to attend the hearing of the Rights Commissioner the case cannot be heard.

In such a situation an employee can refer the dispute to the Labour Court under section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969. To make such a referral the employee must undertake beforehand to be bound by the recommendation of the Rights Commissioner. The Labour Court will hear the case even in the absence of the employer. It should be pointed out that neither the recommendations of the Rights Commissioner or of the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Acts are legally binding. However, they are widely accepted as being morally binding.

Having regard to the above legislative provisions, I do not propose to carry out an assessment in order to determine whether workers are being denied adequate breaks by their employers. I would, nevertheless, expect and indeed urge, all employers to take a reasonable and common sense approach to the granting of breaks by allowing employees to take such breaks as and when they are required.