Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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197. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to identify and address gender pay disparity in his Department and public bodies and agencies that operate under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17355/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 introduced a legislative basis for gender pay gap reporting in Ireland and reporting by organisations with over 250 employees will begin this year.

Regulations to give effect to this legislation are in preparation and will be published in the coming weeks together with guidance for employers by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Affairs.

Gender pay gap reporting will enable my Department, offices and agencies to identify the drivers behind individual gender pay gaps and as part of the reporting process, to explain the gender pay gap and to propose measures and steps to be taken to address areas identified.

My Department is working with other Government Departments and the National Shared Services Office to develop reports to measure the gender pay gap.

Areas being considered are:

- technology and supports required to make the calculations

- The pay elements required to be included in the calculations

- Consistent analyses of payroll data

- Developing a reporting template to publish a statement which will set out the Gender Pay Gap, and detail the reasons for the gap and any measures that will be taken to address the gap including to identify and mitigate any equal pay or discrimination issue

Once the regulations are completed reports will be developed to ensure consistency of measurement and to meet the December 2022 commencement date for reporting. This new legislation is another step in ensuring we all work towards achieving gender equality in the workplace.