I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber. It is very important, in celebrating the progress made by women for women in this country, that we also acknowledge the Minister's role in that. I will comment on some of that progress shortly. Just as important, we need to reflect on the enormous challenges women in this country have been facing for a long time. Thousands of women are trapped in low-paid employment, usually part-time work. The State can help to address that. There are women who have had to cut back t…

I understand. The six minutes-----

Okay. Tá brón orm. The point is that in the Gender Pay Gap Information Act - this is the amendment that we would like to see happen over the next year - we do not have comparison between full-time and part-time pay. Unless we have that, we will not make further progress in closing that gap over the coming period.

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank our Sinn Féin colleagues for bringing this motion. It is important to mark the Windsor Framework agreement and the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The Windsor Framework takes place in the context of increasing unrest, particularly among workers, in the North. It is striking that Northern Ireland Housing Executive workers have been in an industrial dispute about pay for nearly six months now. There have been striking workers in the health service and e…

The House stands adjourned until 9.30 a.m. tomorrow in accordance with the order of the Seanad today.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber and thank the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for updating us on the NDP. Notwithstanding that there are very serious sums involved in the national planning framework and national development plan, there are serious questions about the scale of ambition in the national development plan. The Government acknowledges it is going to cost about €28 billion to retrofit all houses. The Minister of State knows how important the deep retrofitting of houses is going to be in …

I support amendment No. 4. I note my party's amendment No. 5 has been ruled out of order. I do not understand why given that it is, to all intents and purposes, the same as amendment No. 4. Nonetheless, my party will support amendment No. 4. On the previous occasion, I said clearly that my party welcomes the introduction of domestic violence leave. All of us in this Chamber want it to work but we have to look at the details ensuring that it will work. As Senator Gavan and others said, Women's Aid, the women's counc…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, to delete lines 19 to 43, and in page 12, to delete lines 1 to 10.

The Minister has listened to what we had to say about getting the detail right. We have listened to what he has had to say about the importance of a process and engagement. The reality is that he has had a number of groups, those who know in great detail what the life of those who experience domestic violence is like and what they have to go through. They have engaged with the Minister and they have written to him. I understand that he wants to get it right in terms of having the criteria right to set it up, but we…

I thank Senators Ardagh and Crowe and the Fianna Fáil group for bringing forward this Bill. It is very timely as we have International Women's Day next week and also because the EU pay transparency directive was agreed by the European Council on 20 December this year. I welcome the Bill and, as Senator Ardagh said, it follows in line with some of the provisions contained within the directive. The Bill before us seeks to amend the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which is groundbreaking legislation. My colleague…

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber. I also thank my colleague, Senator Annie Hoey, for drafting this motion and tabling it this evening. On the Minister's watch, there are workers in the Irish health service going to work in fear, stressed about what is going to happen in the course of their work. It is on his watch that we heard testimonies from healthcare workers about being shoved, grabbed, slapped, and kicked and all of the other testimonies that Senators Hoey and Wall talked about earlier today, as…

Sorry, Cathaoirleach-----

Cathaoirleach-----.

On a point of order-----

Unlike Senator Keogan, I commend the LGFA. I went through the guidelines it published last Friday in detail. They must be commended for their overall sensitive and well-rounded approach to welcoming transgender players into the code. It is not easy to develop a policy, but the reality is that trans women are already playing ladies’ football. It is already there and it is nothing to be afraid of. The Ladies Gaelic Football Association, LGFA, has done a very decent job in its policy. The other issue I want to raise i…

Amendments Nos. 36, 55 and 57 are related and may be discussed together. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Amendments Nos. 37 and 58 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.

I move amendment No. 46: In page 22, lines 40 and 41, to delete “ shall not assess the merits of” and substitute “may where appropriate consider and take into account the reasonableness of”. This amendment relates to the right to appeal the decision by the employer. It is worth reading into the record what exactly is in the legislation. The proposed section 21A(6) states: In making a decision referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (3), an adjudication officer or the Labour Court, as the case may be, shall not assess…

I agree with everything Senator Higgins said. We know that not all work is suitable for flexible working conditions. I do not think any of us advocating for a right to flexible work has ever said that, notwithstanding that some on the Government side - and I am not saying this about the Minister - have tried to throw this at us. The key question is whether it is the role of the Government and legislation to decide what work is suitable for flexible work arrangements or whether it should be left up to the Workplace …

I too welcome the announcement about the citizens' assembly today. It is no exaggeration to say there is a weight of expectation in regard to what the assembly might recommend. Obviously, we do not want to pre-empt the outcome of what the assembly might say but the attempt to prosecute our way to a drug-free country has simply failed. Because of that approach over a number of decades, there are thousands of people suffering in private or in a more public form from the stigma and shame within their own communities a…