In 2017, a Bill was introduced to provide paid maternity leave for city and county councillors, which, incredibly, does not already exist. This Bill has since lapsed. When I tell people this, they do not believe me. Maternity leave is not a perk or a pay rise but a human right. Female dominated sectors are often undervalued and underpaid. They including professions such as nurses and carers but I could go on. We must ask whether, if more women were at the decision-making table, this would be the case and, if there were maternity provisions for politicians, there would be more women at these decision-making tables. There are 36 female Deputies and 124 male Deputies in the Dáil. It is an absolute disgrace. The Taoiseach's party returned five female Deputies out of 37. We cannot scratch our heads after every election and wonder again why we have not achieved greater equality when there is this glaringly obvious barrier for women. I know there are complexities. It is an unusual job in terms of its nature, the need to vote and so much more but, of course, there is a way. Will the Taoiseach commit to finding a way to provide councillors, Senators and Deputies with maternity and paternity leave?

I will. The Deputy makes a fair point. Maternity and paternity leave should be provided as it is in other jurisdictions. Politics should not be an exemption in that regard so I will follow that up and keep in touch with Deputy Cairns on it.

The programme for Government pledges to review the legal provisions for collective redundancy, something that is long overdue. We have seen how workers at Clerys and now Debenhams are suffering under liquidation laws that were framed by the Taoiseach's party and Fine Gael when it was leading the Government. This day last week, the Tánaiste met Debenhams workers and their union representatives and undertook to take steps to try to improve the package available to them. My question is twofold. Will the Taoiseach report to the House what progress, if any, the Tánaiste has made on this front over the course of the last seven days? If he does not have that information to hand, will he commit to speak to the Tánaiste today and ask him to report to this House tomorrow before the recess takes place?

I thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue. In my view, the workers have been treated badly. I will meet worker representatives tomorrow and I will engage again with the Tánaiste on the matter. He spoke to me last week about his meeting with the workers and their union representatives. I have not had an update since but the Tánaiste was pursuing certain lines of inquiry in terms of how to be of assistance to the workers concerned. It is a work in progress on which I will revert to the Deputy.