Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2024
513. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health if there are any proposals to provide one day of annual leave to workers for health screenings such as mammograms, cholesterol screening and colonoscopies; if his Department would consider such a proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3848/24]
View answerImproving the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland is central to the work of Government and the vision for Healthy Ireland in the Department of Health. The goal is to create a society where everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential and where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level.
My department's commitment to workplace wellbeing is documented in the Healthy Workplace Framework which was launched in 2021. It provides strategic direction and flexible guidance that can be adapted to any workplace to help create and sustain health and wellbeing among the workforce. To support the implementation of the framework, the Healthy Workplace website was developed last year and provides wellbeing content for all workplaces as well as interactive tools to support them to deliver and evaluate interventions in their organisations.
As Minister for Health and Wellbeing, I am fully supportive of our population health screening programmes and they are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early detection and treatment for many people, and improving the overall health of our population.
Many workplaces already facilitate staff to attend screening programmes with some offering comprehensive screening for their staff within their organisations. However, as you will appreciate, Ireland’s workplaces, and the people who work in them, are diverse with differing competing demands and it would not be feasible to mandate workplaces to offer an additional day over and above the statutory annual leave entitlements at this time.
