Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

491. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the centralised website portal will include overall breakdowns and averages of the gender pay gap across all of those required to report in relation to gender pay gap reporting. [58904/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

492. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the centralised website portal will include breakdowns and averages of the gender pay gap for those required to report to be presented, for example, by sector, occupation, and income decile. [58905/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

493. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on a matter (details supplied). [58906/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

494. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth his views on a matter (details supplied). [58907/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

495. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the resources from the Government that will be provided to develop the reporting website for gender pay gap reporting. [58908/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

496. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way in which compliance with the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 will be monitored; if the reporting will be monitored by his Department and or if a separate body will be established. [58909/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

497. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department has a complete list of all businesses required to report, in order to enable them to track compliance. [58910/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

498. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if there will be a register of employers that have not complied with the requirements in relation to gender pay gap reporting. [58911/22]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

507. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the centralised online reporting system that he announced in September (details supplied) will include overall breakdowns and averages of the gender pay gap for all employers included in the scheme, as required by the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021; if it will include breakdowns or averages of the GPG for employers who are not required to report under the scheme; if it will provide a summary list by employer of the size of the gender pay gap by each of the different measures on which businesses are required to report; if it will provide a summary in order to track of the size of the gender pay gap of each employer over time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59270/22]

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

508. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the resources that are being made available by his Department to develop the centralised online reporting system announced in September under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021; his views on the way that compliance with the Act will be monitored; if this will be carried out by his Department or by another body; if his Department will keep a complete list of all businesses required to report on their gender pay gap under the Act; if his Department will maintain a register of employers that have not complied with their responsibilities and requirements under the Act; if such a register will be made available publicly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59271/22]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 498, 507 and 508 together.

Regulations have been made under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 which enable reporting in 2022. The Regulations also require employers to publish a statement setting out, in the employers’ opinion, the reasons for the gender pay gap in their company and what measures are being taken or proposed to be taken by the employer to eliminate or reduce that pay gap. Employers will be required to publish their report and statement in a manner easily accessible to the public, such as on their website.

Future regulations made under the Act may provide for a central website on to which employers will be required to upload their information. Such a system is not in place for the 2022 reporting cycle. Plans are in place to develop an online reporting system for future reporting cycles. The specification of this system is at an early stage of development. It is envisaged that it would provide for the publication of employers' reports as specified in the Regulations, and reports for previous years as specified in the Regulations. It may Include reports produced voluntarily by employers who are not currently required to report. Aggregate statistics for employers reporting gender pay gap information will not be produced on this system. Statistical information on the gender pay gap in Ireland is published by Eurostat from data provided periodically by the Central Statistics Office and available disaggregated by sector (NACE Rev.1.1 and Rev.2 activity), age class, public or private ownership of organisation, and full-time or part-time working. The necessary costs will be assessed in the development of any tender.

Measures concerning enforcement of reporting obligations by relevant employers are provided for in Section 3 of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which inserted new sections 85B and 85C in the Employment Equality Act 1998. Section 85B enables the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, to apply to the Circuit Court or the High Court for an order requiring a person to comply with the regulations. A person who fails to comply with a Court order is in contempt of that Court. Section 85C allows for an employee to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, of non-compliance with reporting regulations by their employer. The Director General of the WRC or an adjudication officer, to whom one would expect this function will be delegated, will investigate the complaint if satisfied that there is a prima facie case. If, on investigation, the officer finds in favour of the complainant, he or she may make an order requiring the employer to take a specified course of action in order to comply. Enforcement of WRC orders is through the District Court.

The Department does not maintain a list of individual employers required to report and does not have a role under the legislation in enforcing compliance, including in terms of maintaining a register of employers that have not complied with their responsibilities.