Results 1-20 of 84 for going forward speaker:Willie O'Dea

Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Apr 2024)

Willie O'Dea: ...Gníomhach very much and I am very reluctant to interrupt Deputy Healy-Rae whose speech I was enjoying immensely. I sincerely congratulate the Minister on bringing this legislation forward. It is very timely in view of the fact that it has been approximately 25 years in gestation since the late Séamus Brennan first mentioned it. In the UK, auto-enrolment has been in place...

Consumer Rights Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 May 2022)

Willie O'Dea: ...system. I wish that forum the very best of luck. I do not know whether it has yet been set up but, if not, it certainly needs to be done very quickly. In addition, the powers of the CCPC are going to be massively increased. That will require extra staff. There are several organisations in this country, the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, being one that springs to mind immediately,...

Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2021)

Willie O'Dea: ...to restrict directors is being extended, which is welcome. The qualifications of directors and liquidators are being addressed in this Bill. I am surprised this issue was not dealt with long ago, but it is nevertheless welcome even if it is late. There are some basic provisions, such as the requirement in certain circumstances for directors and liquidators to produce their PPS numbers....

Environmental Impact of Quarries and Incinerators: Motion [Private Members] (4 Dec 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...of both unauthorised quarries and the issuing of licences to companies who have previously broken with regulations; — local authorities and the courts have pursued some quarry operators; and — An Taisce has worked to pursue unauthorised quarry operators; and calls on the Government to: — ensure that the right to public participation, including early and open...

Social Welfare (Payment Order) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (28 Nov 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...next sign-on date, their payments will be terminated. This is deeply unfair. While this Bill will not address all the issues regarding maintenance, it will address a gap in the legislation and may go some way towards assisting lone parents, who are one of the household types most exposed to poverty and social exclusion. The reforms to the one-parent family payment that were made some...

State Ex Gratia Scheme: Statements (10 Jul 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...fact seems to be that, even while the previous Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, was congratulating Louise O'Keeffe on her courage, her fortitude, and her tenacity in achieving victory in Europe his Government was, at the very same time, searching for some device, some artifice, to ensure that nobody would benefit from the victory of Louise O'Keeffe. It is a shameful chapter in the history of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-budget Submissions: Discussion (4 Jul 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ..., is we are starting the process of negotiating a budget. We have all been given the figures and they are fairly tight, unfortunately, and that position will not be improved in the event of Brexit going wrong. Various justifications have been advanced over the years for this policy of treating people under the age of 26 differently to normal adults but there has been no cost-benefit...

Carers: Motion [Private Members] (26 Jun 2019)

Willie O'Dea: .... The ostrich approach is no longer sufficient. I have examined the proposals made in the Labour Party's motion. In fairness, many of them would cost very little. I myself have put some of them forward. I would say that in all cases, we would be talking about a gross cost. The net cost would be far lower. In fact, the net cost would be a fantastic substantial benefit to the...

Housing (Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (29 May 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...constituents will know that the administration of housing adaptation grants is very slow, tedious, bureaucratic and varies from one local authority to another. That very fact was recognised in the Government's National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021, which gave a definitive commitment to review how the application process should be streamlined. If the application process was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Scrutiny of the Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 (Resumed): Discussion (9 May 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...in the UK, which I have been following closely. The witnesses have said that it has not solved the problem there. Of course, it has not solved every problem in the UK and the legislation put forward by Deputy Brady or whatever legislation ultimately becomes law here will not solve the problem entirely either. There will be situations were companies will be found to be not solvent, the...

Prohibition of Bogus Self Employment Bill 2019: First Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...as an employer. Among the other consequences for the cohort of false self-employed is the inability to bargain collectively, as was recently recognised by the European Court of Justice. In putting forward this legislation, I am in no way intending to prevent legitimate arrangements unless it is an obvious and blatant tax avoidance measure. The legislation I put forward today contains a...

Civil Registration Bill 2019: Second Stage (19 Feb 2019)

Willie O'Dea: ...? That is the least the people concerned are entitled to expect. Irish society has changed enormously and the law has to reflect those changes, but law written in the Statute Book is no good unless it is in operation. I was reading the Bill this morning. It is extremely complex because it involves amending the parent legislation, the two Acts of 2014. The Bill consists of a series...

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: From the Seanad (19 Dec 2018)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy Brady is right. The Minister did raise some issues on Report Stage about the fact that this had come in on Report Stage rather Committee Stage. I put forward an amendment on Committee Stage that only provided for a code of practice. It did not provide for legislative protection. The committee took the view that this was not strong enough and I agreed. This is why the amendment...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill: Report Stage (29 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ...shall review the issue of bogus self-employment and its consequences, including the cost to the Exchequer and the implications for those who have been wrongly designated as self-employed and shall bring forward a report on the same within 3 months of this Bill being enacted.”. Perhaps I am being a bit ambitious in looking for this to be done in three months but I think it should be...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ...two rates of payment, she more or less told me that all the people in this country between the ages of 18 and 26 are the sort of people who would prefer to sit at home watching "Judge Judy" than to go out and get a job or take on training. That feeds into the narrative. She should withdraw the remark in question. While we are on the subject of jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's...

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (12 Jul 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I thank everybody who contributed to this amendment. I listened carefully to what has been said. I put forward the amendment because there is a cancer called bogus self-employment. It was originally confined to one or two sectors of the economy, namely, construction etc. It has spread, however, and is spreading. If, as the Minister indicated, the Government is doing this, that and the...

Community Employment Pension Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ...deal with the issue as responsibility for community employment schemes was moving to the Department of Social Protection. This meant the community employment supervisors and their representatives had to negotiate with that Department. A number of further meetings took place but another nine months slipped by until 21 June 2011 when the Department sought a meeting with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: EU Employment Legislation and JobPath: Discussion (8 Mar 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ...any of them have been discontinued. I agree with the Chairman in that all the anecdotal evidence coming to me suggests that the LES and the Jobs Clubs have been adversely affected, so I look forward to the Department's list of referrals in that regard. Regarding the data the witnesses have provided, I will tell them straight out that I am amazed at the cost of this: €1.2...

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ..., they are lower paid and have lower job satisfaction. They enjoy less on-the-job training and are considerably less likely to be promoted. All of the research shows that they form the category at the highest risk of poverty in the population. I have also seen a huge amount of anecdotal evidence of the consequences for their mental and physical well-being. Many studies have shown...

Social Welfare (Payment Order) Bill 2018: First Stage (24 Jan 2018)

Willie O'Dea: ...would be terminated. This is deeply unfair and unjust. While the Bill will not address all the issues regarding maintenance, it will nevertheless address a gap in the legislation. It may go some way towards assisting lone parents, who are one of the household groups most exposed to poverty and social exclusion. The reforms to the one-parent family payment in 2012 had a detrimental...