Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2019: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2021-07-05
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Emer Currie (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I echo the sentiments expressed by other Senators. We do want to get to the point where companies with fewer than 50 employees will be part of this benchmarking. There is nothing to stop them doing it voluntarily but we do have to consider, with all of the pressures they are under, especially at present, whether they have the HR infrastructure to cope. There is also the capacity and resources in the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. It will have a role in this, as it is enabled to apply to the Circuit Court for an order requiring employers to comply with the regulations. This is something we will have to monitor as part of the review in the context of whether employers have the existing capacity to deal with this. Employers need to be taken into consideration but this is wide-ranging legislation and we need to consider how we support it from an infrastructural point of view. I agree with the sentiment. We are moving in the right direction and, as Senator Pauline O'Reilly said, it is an historic day.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:29+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-07-05