Latest news with #Helen McEntee
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Delay of law proposal adds to uncertainty around redress for clerical abuse survivors
A proposal for a law that would allow religious organisations to be held liable for abuse by their members will not be considered by the Government until 2027 at the earliest. Many religious organisations are unincorporated bodies. This means they as entities cannot be sued and their assets may be beyond the reach of the courts if and when one of their members are found liable for damages against child sex abuse survivors. Individual members of such religious bodies can face legal action, but case law shows it can be difficult to legally pursue the organisation itself for redress. There are concerns about how the State will recoup redress funds from religious bodies for a scheme being considered for survivors of sexual abuse in schools. READ MORE If set up, it would likely be the largest and most expensive redress scheme in the history of the State. Since 2022, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) has been considering whether the Government should legislate to give unincorporated associations, such as voluntary religious orders, their own legal personality or set out another way by which they may be held liable. Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said: 'The Government will review any recommendations made by the commission in its final report, with a view to introducing any necessary legislative or administrative changes in due course.' However, a spokesman for the LRC said its report on changing the legal status of bodies such as religious organisations will not be ready before the end of next year. 'The report about the liability of unincorporated associations is being scoped at present. We do not yet have a completion date but we do not expect it to be published before the end of 2026,' the spokesman said. Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik has expressed concern about whether a delay in progressing such a law would stymie the ability of the Government to access religious organisations' assets, or the lay-run trusts that their assets may have been transferred to. Ms Bacik said her party is trying to bring forward a Bill that would allow civil proceedings to be taken against unincorporated bodies like religious orders. It would allow any damages awarded in such cases to be recovered from a religious organisation or from 'associated' trusts. The same law, if passed, would also add a one-year extension to the normal limitation period provided for in the statutes of limitations. The Labour Party leader said this was to allow any proceedings that the Bill would cover to be brought within 12 months of it being enacted. She recently personally handed a copy of the Bill to the Attorney General. Given the upcoming Commission of Investigation into historic abuse in schools, the Government cannot afford to 'sit back and wait' for the LRC report to finish, she said.
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Companies have right to strike balance on remote working, McEntee says
Companies have the right to strike a balance on remote working based on their business, Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said. It comes as several companies and State departments shift away from the remote working arrangements introduced in the aftermath of the pandemic. Advertisement The option to work from home came into force during the Covid-19 pandemic due to restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. A right to request remote working came into effect from March 2024, inspired by those arrangements. Mandated 'hybrid' arrangements by employers have raised concerns, where people are able to work from home some days but must come into the office a minimum number of days a week. Earlier this year, the Department of Social Protection made efforts to increase the minimum number of days staff worked from the office from one to two. Advertisement The Department of Finance had also requested an increase in the number of office days, in a move that was resisted by unions. This week, reports emerged that AIB is to reduce the option of working from home five days a week to just two for non-customer facing staff. Asked about the shift in the option to remote work and the effect it would have on families, Ms McEntee said companies 'have that autonomy'. 'I'll be honest, I think it's important that we provide that flexibility and that structure at a government level, but that we also have that autonomy within companies as well,' she said in Dublin. Advertisement 'For some people, it's simply not possible to work from home [with] the type of job or the career they're in. 'For others, there is that flexibility, and I know certainly some companies like to have that balance, that people are in work, they're in the office, they're getting to know their colleagues. 'There's a way in which you can work that you can't when you're at home, or you're perhaps not meeting people face to face. Business Legislation in employers' favour but 'claims of de... Read More 'So I think it's about providing that structure to allow that kind of flexibility. Advertisement 'But ultimately, companies do have to make decisions based on what's right for them, what's right for the way in which they're working, while at the same time trying to support and recognise and acknowledge that people have families, that they have school, that they have commitments, that they have to try and work with them to make sure that everybody benefits from it. 'But you know, it is about that flexibility and the same time acknowledging, for some people it works better than others, and for some companies that will work better than for others.'
