Vol. 444 No. 7
11 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform his views on whether we have yet to put the support systems in place to accompany the growth in the number of women at work and seeking work shown in the labour force survey for 1992 published recently by the CSO; and the plans, if any, he has to ensure greater flexibility at work to help employees combine work and family responsibilities and to introduce regulated standards of child care.
The promotion of greater flexibility at work can be achieved primarily through arrangements negotiated between employers, employees and their representative organisations. For that reason, I welcome their commitments in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work to support voluntary initiatives at enterprise level on equal pay, equal treatment and equal opportunities.
For its part, the Government is undertaking a number of legislative initiatives to provide support for women at work. The Adoptive Leave Bill which I recently introduced is to be followed shortly by improved maternity protection legislation giving protection for women workers who are pregnant, have recently given birth or are breasfeeding. In addition, employment equality legislation proposals currently being prepared will not only seek to provide protection against discrimination but will also support positive action to remove present inequalities.
Over and above these legislative proposals increasing support for the reconciliation of family and work commitments also arises in the Government's backing for the draft EU Directive on Parental Leave and its agreement to the EU Working Time Directive which will be implemented by my colleague the Minister for Enterprise and Employment.
However, a purely legislative approach would not be sufficient. Hence there have been a number of commitments enshrined in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work in relation to both public service action and voluntary initiative at enterprise level. A more resolute application of equal opportunities policies and programmes by public service employers is one such commitment which is already being actively pursued. The preparation of a national code of practice on sexual harassment is also nearing completion.
The Programme for Competitiveness and Work envisages several actions in the childcare area. These include a scheme of pilot projects which will focus on innovative childcare arrangements in disadvantaged areas and which my Department will be funding in the current year. The regulation of minimum standards for childcare facilities is also a commitment under the programme and will be implemented by the health authorities under the Child Care Act by 1996.
Would the Minister agree that one of the obstacles to women returning to the workforce is lack of suitable child care facilities? The Minister referred to a pilot project on child care programmes in disadvantaged areas. Has he plans to expand this and what time scale is he talking about? On minimum standards for child care, 1996 is a long way off. Is there any way in which we would hasten progress in that regard? There is a great deal of discomfiture about the regulation of standards of child care. It is imperative that standards are established and adhered to.
I fully support the concerns of Deputy Keogh about national standards for child care and I will convey her comments to the Minister for Health. She might raise a question on the issue with him. As far as the pilot programme is concerned, arrangements are proceeding apace. There is a further question on this subject on the Order Paper and perhaps we can deal with the matter there.
