On 21 April the Government gave its approval for the drafting of a Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The General Scheme of the proposed Bill is published on my Department's website. The main purpose of the proposed legislation is to transpose elements of the EU Work Life Balance Directive and provide new rights to parents and carers in order to support a better work life balance.Under the proposed legislation, parents and carers will see a right to request flexible working in line with Article 9 of the Directive and the introduction of five days leave per year for medical care purposes in line with Article 6.
The General Scheme has been referred to the Office of the Attorney General for drafting and will be brought to Government when completed.
The General Scheme was also referred for pre-legislative scrutiny to the Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which published its report on 9 June.
Unfortunately it was not possible to finalise this Bill in time for it to be introduced to the Oireachtas and enacted in this term due to the significant volume of current legislative work and the importance in ensuring that the Directive is correctly transposed. The proposals under the General Scheme will be formally communicated to the EU Commission, along with information on how Ireland has transposed other aspects of the Directive, including the extension of the entitlement to Parent's Leave and Benefit to seven weeks earlier this month.
I am committed to bringing this Bill to Government at the earliest opportunity in the autumn. I also intend to bring to Government proposals for a form of domestic violence leave which will be brought as Committee Stage amendments to this Bill.
