Results 4,941-4,960 of 6,478 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Relations (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand the dispute at the Cadbury Mondelez plant in Coolock relates to redundancies at that site and I would like to assure the Deputy that the State’s industrial relations machinery is available, if required, to assist in this dispute. I know that in similar situations in the past, the parties have facilitated access to commercially sensitive information such as company...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: Ireland’s robust suite of employment rights legislation contains strong safeguards for part-time workers. The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 implemented EU Council Directive 97/81/EC into Irish law. The purpose of the Directive was to implement the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by the European cross-industry organisations UNICE, CEEP and the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Nursing Staff Remuneration (12 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The establishment of a Low Pay Commission is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last. The National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill that provides for the establishment of the Commission on a statutory basis will be published this week with enactment to follow as expeditiously as possible thereafter. The principal function of the...

Topical Issues: National Minimum Wage (7 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Cabinet approved my draft Bill to place the Low Pay Commission on a statutory footing. When I publish the Bill in the coming days, Deputy Maloney will be interested to see one of its key provisions is a legal requirement that the Low Pay Commission produce a report on, or before, 15 July each year. There is a compelling reason for providing in primary legislation that the report be...

Topical Issues: National Minimum Wage (7 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I note that he referred to the recent OECD paper entitled "Minimum wages after the crisis: Making them pay". This is a very interesting cross-OECD report which clearly illustrates that adjustments to the national minimum wage take place within the context of tax and social transfer policies as well as the broader earnings, employment and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay (6 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Living Wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe, decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living is very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and supports such as Child Benefit, Family...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (6 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: Ireland has a robust body of employment law, encompassing a comprehensive range of employment rights together with both civil and criminal remedies to ensure that individuals can vindicate their rights. This body of law is underpinned by a proactive labour inspectorate. Further, the Workplace Relations Bill 2014, when enacted, will deliver a significantly streamlined workplace relations...

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: Citizens of this republic should be very afraid of any advice proffered by the man who leads a party which is, in Northern Ireland, sacking 20,000 public servants, including council workers, teachers, nurses and slashing social welfare on foot of the Westminster Agreement to which it signed up just before Christmas. His party has said a lot but done very little in Northern Ireland to protect...

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: It is pretty clear from the contributions that have been made in the House yesterday and today and form some of the media coverage around the spring statement that the Opposition parties plainly do not like it. In fact, it is clear they would rather debate anything else. However, I believe it is not so much its content they dislike as its purpose and what it says about where our country is...

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: There are 125 new jobs today.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: I do; I will be there tomorrow.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pension Provisions (28 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: I fully appreciate the concerns of retired and deferred members of pension schemes whose schemes are being restructured, particularly where such restructuring may impact on existing or potential pension benefits. In this regard, the question of pensioner groups having access to the State’s industrial relations machinery in pursuing pension scheme grievances is an issue to which...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unfair Dismissals (21 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Deputy will understand that I cannot provide legal advice in relation to the law applying to any particular situation, or the interpretation of legislation. Independent legal advice should be sought if an individual has concerns about a specific employment situation. The Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007 lay down criteria by which the fairness or otherwise of dismissals are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (21 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: As the Deputy will appreciate, neither I, nor any of my Cabinet colleagues, can provide legal advice or an interpretation of the law and its application in relation to individual circumstances.Apart from public sector employees, where certain statutory retirement ages may apply, there is no statutory retirement age for employees in Irish legislation. A contract of employment will generally...

Leaders' Questions (16 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: The ones Sinn Féin bought into.

Leaders' Questions (16 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: The kids in west Belfast would recognise it. The worst deprivation levels in the UK and Northern Ireland are in West Belfast.

Leaders' Questions (16 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: We will be ruined.

Fair Pay, Secure Jobs and Trade Union Recognition: Motion [Private Members] (15 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: Further, the minimum wage in Ireland is relatively high by international standards. The most recent figures published by EUROSTAT show that Ireland's rate is the fifth highest among the 22 EU member states that have a minimum wage. When the cost of living is taken into account, Ireland's rate is the sixth highest. It must be remembered that in the global competition for foreign direct...

Fair Pay, Secure Jobs and Trade Union Recognition: Motion [Private Members] (15 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: That is not simply my or my Department's position; it is confirmed by a 2003 European Commission report on the implementation of the directive. I do not want anyone in this House to take lectures from Sinn Féin on employment protection in general or low pay in particular. Sinn Féin poses as the worker's friend in this part of the country, but in Northern Ireland it is a party...

Fair Pay, Secure Jobs and Trade Union Recognition: Motion [Private Members] (15 Apr 2015)

Gerald Nash: While it is true that wages here fell 2.1% per year between 2009 and 2013, wages fell by a massive 13.4% in the same period in Northern Ireland according to the Resolution Foundation. The same independent body says that since the downturn, workers in Northern Ireland have experienced the sharpest fall in living standards of anywhere in the UK. Northern Ireland's households now have the...