Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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89. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the status of his engagement with unions on the introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35177/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to bringing in a statutory sick pay scheme for Ireland and it is my intention that this scheme will be designed in consultation with unions and employer groups. Work is well underway.

As a starting point I presented a draft issues paper on statutory sick pay to the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) sub-group on employment legislation and regulation on Wednesday, 30 September, with a view to commencing a consultation process. Following an initial discussion, I asked the union and employer groups to consider the range of issues and policy options set out in the paper and submit their views to the Department. Submissions have now been received and reviewed and we will take their comments into consideration. Further engagement with the union and employer groups will take place at an upcoming meeting of the LEEF sub-group this month.

To complement this input, I will be launching a full public consultation very shortly on the introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme in Ireland which will run for six weeks. I encourage employers, employees and unions to engage with this consultation and make their views known.

There are various cross-departmental matters to consider and to iron out. But the Government is committed to moving through the process and settling issues as quickly as possible and to publish the General Scheme of a Bill by March 2021, with a view to having the Bill enacted as soon as possible after that.