Results 1,521-1,540 of 1,947 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (10 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I welcome the Minister to the House. We too very much welcome and support the Bill.As stated by Senator Casey, this is, hopefully, the final piece of Covid legislation to come before us, but it reflects what can be done when there is political will to save jobs and keep businesses afloat. While there were some difficulties in the early days in terms of Government not supporting non-rated...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I understand the average daily rate for Covid-19 has dropped to under 1,000 over the past 14 days. Concerns remain about future variants and the direction of the trend but we are almost three months into the Government decision to lift almost all restrictions across society and the economy. Yet, across most of the 19 maternity units,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I had a sense of déjà vuwhen listening to the Minister of State's response. We have been here before listening to a communication from the Department of Health setting out what the restrictions or policy should be, when we know the reality on the ground is quite different. Based on the stories women have told me or communicated to others and the Better Maternity Care campaign, we...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 19, the Right to Flexible Work Bill 2022, be taken before No. 1. Those of us who talk to people in our communities know of the enormous demand for flexible work arrangements among those who work and those who want to work but cannot work because of various structural barriers in their lives such as the cost of childcare and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: On a point of order, I reassure Senator Buttimer that I actually did refer to employers in my contribution this morning. He may not have heard those names but that is really important. We know that employers and employees have been demanding flexible work arrangements.

Seanad: Right to Flexible Work Bill 2022: First Stage (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide employees with a right to flexible work, to require an employer to deal with a request for flexible work within a fixed period, to provide that an employer may refuse a request only on grounds of reasonable practicability, to require employers to maintain a policy on flexible work which can be inspected by...

Seanad: Right to Flexible Work Bill 2022: First Stage (5 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 May 2022)

Marie Sherlock: We learned last night that the Government has paused approval of the legal arrangements for the new national maternity hospital for two weeks. I welcome that pause. We need to hear the details of the scrutiny that is going to be allowed for in the Dáil and Seanad. We also need to understand that the concerns that will be articulated during that period will be taken into account. In...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I welcome the Polish ambassador to the House and wish to mark International Poetry Day. Today is also international Workers' Memorial Day. It was a privilege to attend the event organised this morning by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, IBEC, the Construction Industry Federation and other employers, in conjunction with the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, to mark the lives lost in...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I apologise for being late. I will be brief. Amendment No. 105 is similar to amendment No. 104, but it contains additional definitions of what constitutes a party-political programme or broadcast. We understand that this is not currently provided for in the legislation and does not appear anywhere else. It is important that this definition be included and that it is defined as meaning...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank Ms Mangan and Mr. Hegarty for attending the committee today. Ms Mangan gave a passionate contribution on the potential of remote work. I hear what she is saying in terms of legislation alone not being sufficient. It is, of course, vital to have a strong legislative framework. We are here today because we had pre-legislative scrutiny of the right to request flexible work. Last...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Ms Mangan spoke about the 13 grounds for refusing a right to request remote work as being far too broad. I am conscious that the Tánaiste has said he will come forward with amendments, but that was two months ago and we have yet to see any detail on that. We are conscious that not every worker can work remotely. In the Labour Party Bill, we referred to the grounds for refusal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Sure. I am glad Ms Mangan called for there to be recourse to the Workplace Relations Commission for any worker based on the substance of a rejection of a request for a remote working, as opposed to the procedure, which is what is in this Bill.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: On a question to Ms Mangan, a huge part of the conversation today is that remote work was a much smaller feature pre-pandemic and is going to be a much larger feature of the world of work in future years. A key enabler of that is the availability of artificial intelligence, AI. I see that 23% of Irish enterprises rely on artificial intelligence or use artificial intelligence, which I think...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Precisely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I was going to ask about the extent. Traditional management skills are still very much needed. Does Mr. Hegarty have anything to add on this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: There was a conversation earlier with regard to the use of hubs. We need to see an increase in the number of hubs throughout the country. Of course there is concern among some that remote work is an attempt to fragment workplaces or that hubs would displace the office. I want to be crystal clear. Does Ms Mangan see hubs as a complement to the office as opposed to a substitute for the office?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: The experience of the past two years has demonstrated that remote working can function very successfully in certain enterprises. In the Bill before us there is no recognition of this past experience. In our Bill on the right to flexible work we speak about using the experience of flexible work as a ground to enable workers. Would this be useful to ensure that greater numbers of workers can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Work Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: On the important conversation in respect of the right to disconnect, there is no doubt that workers are compensating. It is great to hear what Mr. Hegarty and Ms Mangan are saying in respect of all this. Of course, we know that, effectively, for many people the experience has not so much been working from home but, rather, living in the office. The main concern is that some workers need to...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I am very much taken by the arguments put forward by the Senators proposing this amendment. I have one difficulty, however, which relates to lifting the ban on advertising relating to an industrial dispute. The unforeseen consequence of that is effectively to allow a situation whereby if there is a particularly bitter industrial dispute, an employer can take out advertising to influence the...