Vol. 395 No. 9
63 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Labour if he will consider introducing an amendment to labour law to require employers to grant unpaid leave of absence for a reasonable period of time to employees elected to the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The current position in relation to the granting of leave of absence to employees elected to the Oireachtas varies depending on where one is employed. In general, public service employees are granted leave of absence on election to the Oireachtas either on a statutory basis or on the basis of custom and practice. The situation in relation to private sector employees is not covered by any legislative provision and is normally dealt with in negotiation between the employer and the employee concerned.
The Deputy's question requests that I should amend existing labour law to require employers to grant unpaid leave of absence to employees elected to the Oireachtas. I am aware that a case related to this issue is scheduled to come before the Employment Appeals Tribunal shortly and I do not wish to comment on it. However, the general position is that in the vast majority of cases employers and employees negotiate suitable arrangements to cover this situation. In the history of the State, Members of the Oireachtas have been drawn from a great variety of employments and there is no evidence that a general problem exists.
