Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

That was as clear as mud; we do not have an answer. Is the Minister going to deliver the sick days that are promised to workers, which the Minister said are not just an issue of workers' rights but also public health? This is about forcing mostly low-paid workers to go to work when they are sick. Is the Minister going to deliver on that or pause it in the interests of those business lobbyists who are calling for this? During the debate on the Bill, I pointed out that a wide-open loophole had been stitched into the Bill precisely to allow the Government, under pressure from business lobbyists, not to proceed with this measure. At the time, we were told there was no need for our amendment, the Government would go ahead with this and workers would get their sick days. However, the Minister is not giving a clear answer today as to whether the sick pay days will be increased in line with what was promised. Even the promised increase to ten days would still leave us behind many other European countries. We should not believe the stories of big businesses putting on the poor mouth when profits are actually going up. They are just looking for an excuse not to give more rights to workers in terms of sick pay.

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