Results 821-840 of 1,947 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Sure. It is important to say only about half the workforce has access to an occupational pension, so that is obviously critically important.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: It is important to have that clarification. One of the issues reflected in the contributions this morning is the idea that retirement is a cliff edge, financially and psychologically. I want to understand a little more from the witnesses from all three organisations about the transition to retirement, particularly the question of the availability of flexible working arrangements. The data...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I wish to ask a question and the Leas-Chathaoirleach will have to excuse my ignorance. Does the committee have to be suspended when there is a vote in the Dáil?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I thank Mr. Downes and Mr. Hughes for their attendance. I want to ask about the dual-use goods. Is it right to characterise the risk assessment as a kind of ex-ante assessment? Is there no ongoing assessment of goods that are on the dual-use register or is there no documentary evidence, such as invoices or whatever, to be sure that the intended customer for these goods is actually the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Exactly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: But once the stamp of approval is given, there are no further checks after that. Is that the case?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Should the Department conduct inspections?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I hear what Mr. Downes is saying but in terms of the goods that have to apply for a special licence, is it not the case that they have civilian applications but could be used for military purpose?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: In terms of the publication of the names of the companies that have applied for the dual-use licence and the goods, am I clear that Mr. Downes is saying he cannot publish them for commercial sensitivity reasons or he may have updated the position in response to previous contributions and I might not have picked up on it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: To be clear, for the record, I do not see that there would be any commercial sensitivity in naming the company and the good itself. I do not see why the Department would be protecting any company. If somebody is looking for a licence, there should be transparency in that as a matter of principle.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Mr. Downes cited 2022 data and obviously we have monthly merchandised trade data. Why is Mr. Downes not relaying on any of that given that there has been a bit of volatility, particularly in terms of merchandised trade to and from Israel over the past 24 months?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Mr. Downes is relying on 2022 data when much more recent data is available.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Okay. We are now six months on from 7 October. We had been talking with grave concern prior to that date about trade with the illegal settlements and Israel. I heard what Mr. Downes said about there being no review by the Department of the impact of suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement on Ireland. Is the Department taking a hands-off approach here? Is it fair to characterise it as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: What I am trying to get at is that I am shocked the Department has not undertaken a review of the impact for Ireland of a suspension and indeed the implications for trade and jobs. I thank Mr. Downes for naming the IDA clients that are Israeli-owned. While I think we are all are aware that this will impact on jobs, we are also aware that the actions of the Israeli Government are killing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: The Department has not been asked to do it yet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Mr. Downes stated he believes the review is at an early stage. What is the Department's assessment as to when there will be progress on that review of the trade agreement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I welcome the commitments to Deputy Boyd Barrett with regard to the dual-use data. I looked through the annual report and do not think there is any mention of the dual-use licences at all. It may appear in a separate report. What I find peculiar is that since 2014 this issue has been raised through a series of Bills about trade with the illegal settlements. There has been a series of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Is the Department publishing those figures? I cannot seem to find them published anywhere. Perhaps they are there but I find there is a lack of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: Does the Department have a list of the names of companies as well? Surely there has been some sort of an assessment of who is trading from within the occupied territories with Ireland. There is a political sensitivity about all of this. I assume the Department would have looked into this previously as opposed to just saying the goods will be labelled as produce coming from the occupied...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Marie Sherlock: I appreciate that.