The Bill includes other amendments to civil registration previously agreed by the Government, including provisions that allow a mother to more easily rebut presumption of paternity of her estranged husband in registering a birth, to provide a role for a next of kin to register a death in cases involving a coroner, to allow the General Register Office, GRO, to share historical records with the National Library and National Archives and to allow the Central Statistics Office, CSO, to comply with EU regulations concerning data collected in death registrations.
I thank the Minister for all the work she has done. We owe it to the people who have been waiting for this Bill and we want them to live in our society, to be cherished in our society and to let them move on with their lives.
]]>Antisocial behaviour orders, ASBOs, are not working. I know of young offenders who have 11 or 12 ASBOs. Basically, the hands of gardaí are tied and they cannot do anything. The only way forward is for parents to be made more accountable. Young people must not be allowed to roam the streets at night or to intimidate or attack people. People have been attacked at cash machines in the Trim and south Meath area. On St. Patrick's Day, a young man had his nose broken at a cash machine because of juvenile offenders. The Minster for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, should come to the House today to explore new legislation for young offenders.
]]>Senator Nash has a strong track record in the area. Like the Minister, I am sympathetic to his Bill. We want to work with him and all the Members in the House because we saw what went on during the crash after the Celtic tiger when people who had been in bogus self-employment went looking for their entitlements. They were entitled to absolutely nothing and it was only because of the Minister of the day, Deputy Joan Burton, reducing thresholds that we could get some social protection for those people. They would have starved otherwise because of that bogus self-employment. We saw that in the construction game, the courier business and other areas. The courier business, in particular, is well known for this bogus self-employment, as people were given a job on the basis that they would be self-employed. They would have to look after their own books and get their own accountants. Although people may have been paid well, God forbid if anything went wrong, as they were on their own.
I spoke to the Minister at a social protection committee meeting about one matter. When a person gets a P45 or P60, we should be clearer about the benefits brought by a stamp. If we ask 90% of people what they are entitled to because of a stamp, they would not have a clue. We must educate people about what type of stamp they are paying and how much is coming from their wages as a result. We must also educate them on what entitlements come with this stamp. If people have to look for sick pay or social welfare, they would then know where to go. The information is usually printed on the corner of a P60 or P45 but one would need a magnifying glass to see it. That is if Mystic Meg was not required to find it in the first place. I acknowledge the Minister has overseen an advertising campaign from the Department on the entitlements that come with a stamp but we need to push this more so people will know it exactly. If they have the misfortune to find themselves in bogus self-employment, they will at least know to what they are entitled if something goes wrong. They are currently entitled to nothing and they would be out on their own. That might make them think.
Senator Nash is correct that people may have to take these jobs because there is no alternative. I have no problem in saying the Minister will sort this out. I have total faith in her because she is so passionate about self-employed people. She has done much over the past 12 or 18 months for them.Unfortunately, because of various provisions that are not legally binding we will have to oppose it tonight. However, we are passionate about what we want done for self-employed people, especially bogus self-employed people.
]]>We are going into the unknown here and the Government and the Department have done a good job over the last three months. Unfortunately, we might see Britain go over the cliff on 29 March, which will be very sad. I am worried that Britain has introduced legislation, which not many people know about, providing that when skilled workers come to Britain from other European countries after Brexit they will be allowed to stay for five years while unskilled workers will be allowed to stay for three years. That has been passed by the British Parliament. I cannot understand why there has not been uproar throughout Europe about it. It is in place. However, that is a matter for another day.
]]>This is very unfair to people who might have pensions in other countries and who get forms to fill out every year. There is often a time limit in such countries so these pensions could be stopped. In addition, if people want to get on the housing waiting list and need forms signed to get HAP or they are homeless, they have to wait at least five weeks before they can get into the tax office to speak to somebody. Thankfully, we got in that day and when we got in, we were looked after. However, we had to wait for somebody else to come out of the office after a meeting.
It is scandalous to think the reception areas in Revenue offices are closed and this is the new policy all over the country. The personal touch is gone from Revenue. While some people might be happy that the front door of the Revenue office is closed, if the organisation is providing a service, this is a disgrace. We should ask the Minister to come to the House and reverse this decision. We want the doors open and we want people to go in and out of Revenue reception areas and get the service they used to get.
]]>I want to address the good work that the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust does to repatriate people to Ireland because of tragedies or sudden death. Last year, the trust repatriated over 100 people. This organisation is funded entirely by voluntary donations and charity. I ask that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to come before the House to discuss this matter and indicate whether it might be possible to provide funding for the trust on a yearly basis. Airlines charge ridiculous rip-off prices of anywhere between €20,000 and €40,000 to transport bodies back to this country. That is a disgrace. We should examine this matter in order to discover whether it might be possible to legislate and get the airlines to see sense in the context of what they charge at times when people are desperate and vulnerable. Airlines are ripping people off. Coffins are kept with passengers' luggage on aeroplanes but at a cost of between €20,000 and €40,000. I ask that Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection come to the Seanad to discuss providing the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust - a fabulous organisation - with a yearly funding allocation.
]]>We have seen significant mistakes made down through the years on pensions for people who worked in Bord na gCon in Limerick. At one time, before the crash, the CEO was earning more money than the Taoiseach - the guts of €350,000 for running a State body. We put in €17 million of taxpayers' money and very little of that was coming down to the breeder, trainer or tracks. I hope we have learned a hard lesson and that mistakes of the past will never happen again. I have no problem with anybody getting a decent wage and being paid the proper wage for their work but that was ridiculous. It was a cash cow for certain people. When things went bad, those people just flew into the distance and went away with nothing said.
I thank the Minister of State for all his hard work and there is no doubt this will improve transparency and treatment in greyhound racing. I have seen how much work has been done through the years with retired greyhounds. Every greyhound owner, trainer and breeder loves their greyhound and wants them to have a happy retirement and a happy home. This cannot happen all the time but it is slowly getting there. At some stage, we will be able to retire all the greyhounds and re-home them. I thank the Minister of State for his work.
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