2706. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the transposition of EU Transparency Directive 2023/970; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56203/26]

2707. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality his views on the importance of progressing the transposition of EU Transparency Directive 2023/970; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56204/26]

2708. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding any research that has been carried out by her Department into the EU Transparency Directive 2023/970; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56205/26]

2851. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide an update on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency; the measures already undertaken to implement the Directive; the timeline for the publication of the remaining legislative proposals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56525/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2706 to 2708, inclusive, and 2851 together.

In 2014 the EU Commission adopted a Recommendation on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency. The Commission’s evaluation of the implementation of the equal pay provisions of Directive 2006/54/EC was published in 2020, and concluded this principle had yet to be fully implemented and enforced. The Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, otherwise known as the Pay Transparency Directive, was then agreed during the term of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council in 2023 following extensive discussions at Council and Parliament levels. The Directive and its contents are based on the Commission's evaluation as well as extensive and multi-lateral research that has been published by international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).

The Government remains fully committed and has a programme of legislative and other work underway to complete the full and meaningful implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 transposed a large portion of the Pay Transparency Directive, particularly in relation to Article 9 on Gender Pay Gap Reporting. The implementation of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act and associated regulations require employers to report their gender pay gap each year, and the measures that are being taken to eliminate or reduce the gap.

The full and complete implementation of the EU Pay Transparency directive is a challenge for many EU member states, with the majority indicating they were not in a position to meet the June 7 deadline, including Ireland. While the June 7 date for full transposition of the Directive has not been achieved, the remaining work to achieve transposition is a priority for the Department.

The Department continues to engage constructively with the European Commission to advise of the ongoing work to transpose the directive as soon as possible, with partial transposition already notified to the Commission.

Work is ongoing at pace to develop the necessary legislation to transpose the remaining provisions of the Pay Transparency Directive as soon as possible, including the obligation for employers to carry out Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation and to categorise employees and calculate the gender pay gap in such categories. A dedicated Irish Employer Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation toolkit, based on the recently published EIGE toolkit, is being commissioned by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Employers will be invited to attend training workshops based on this adapted toolkit.

Rather than commissioning specific research on the Directive, the Department is engaging and working with employers, employees and their representatives to support to enable implementation of the Directive, which will be on a phased basis once the passage of the legislation is complete.

At present, employers will remain obligated to calculate and publish information on their gender pay gap by the end of November and, following a small amendment to the current gender pay gap reporting legislation, employers will be obligated to report that information to the Minister via the dedicated Gender Pay Gap Portal for the 2026 Reporting Cycle.