Opposition bills and promised support
Brendan Howlin criticises delays to promised government support for his crisis pregnancy counselling Bill and the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill. The Taoiseach says he supports the crisis pregnancy measure, will check on progress, and then agrees the gender pay gap issue is about transparency.
May I ask the Taoiseach about Opposition legislation the Government has promised to support? Second Stage of my legislation to ban rogue crisis pregnancy counselling agencies was passed in this House almost a year ago. In response to the Bill, we were promised a statutory instrument before the summer recess. We have not seen that statutory instrument yet. Second Stage of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill was completed in the Seanad in May. We were promised that the Government would table supportive Committee Stage amendments, but we have yet to see these. These measures have in common that they support women. When will we see a definitive timeline for the progression of these measures?
Comment on this
I will have to come back to the Deputy on both counts. Certainly, in regard to the regulation of crisis pregnancy counselling services, we very much support the approach outlined in the Deputy's Bill. Women who face a crisis pregnancy need to get accurate and impartial advice. It is of great concern to me and the Government that some people may be providing misleading or inaccurate advice and information. I will check with the Minister as to when the legislation can be progressed. He has mentioned it himself in discussions and is keen to develop it.
I will come back to the Deputy on the gender pay gap legislation, which I believe is with the Department of Justice and Equality at the moment. Separately, the Tánaiste, as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, is in the process of consulting industry on carrying out gender-related pay surveys. Key to that is identifying the reasons behind the gender pay gap in various companies and the extent to which it has to do with hours worked, different levels of qualifications and so on. There are often more factors at play than simply gender.
Comment on this
The Bill is about transparency.