Results 2,321-2,340 of 3,777 for speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Essentially what Mr. Hession is saying is that the statistics are useful but a caveat should be applied.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Mr. Hession is giving me flashbacks to my secondary school debating days when I used this precise analogy. It is that old. I agree with Deputy Donnelly on the word "customer". Something about it does not sit right with me. I do not have a better alternative suggestion but there is something about it that grates. Deputy Ó Laoghaire pointed to the critical paragraph which mentions...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Has the Department done any preliminary work? It is plain that there will be an antipoverty effect. Has the Department done any analysis to quantify this in any way? Is it holding to get past the straw man process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The other issue that jumped out at me is that it seems we are looking behind the curtain a little bit regarding what the working age payment will look like and what the Department's thinking is. We are looking to fold it into a more generalised working age payment, if I understand the Green Paper correctly. The working age payment will look something akin to the working family payment. Am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I was going to raise the issue of self-employment. Even in terms of this proposed payment I do not see how self-employment and entrepreneurship among people with disabilities will be catered for. Similar to the working age payment we do need a real-time aspect. We need Revenue to speak to the Department of Social Protection. In the case of self-employment it would be year's end before...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I thank Mr. Hession. This is the third straw an proposal that has been brought to our committee. I find it a useful way to frame my own thinking as it gives me something to respond to. I thank the Department for that level of engagement. I will now invite members to contribute. I remind any member participating remotely to use the "raise hand" function in Microsoft Teams and to cancel...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Deputy Donnelly, are you happy with that? Have you any further questions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The education statistics about people not completing third level education jumped out at me because I immediately wondered whether we have more people entering in the first place. I was wondering whether we were comparing like with like, particularly on this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I would like to see flexibility and responsiveness fleshed out in a little bit more detail. Mr. Hession and I mentioned AsIAm. The issue of autistic burnout means that people who are engaged in employment, and are due to work a certain number of hours this week, might not be up to facing that many hours next week. We do not want a situation to arise where people do not get the payments they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Quite a large proportion of people currently on disability payments have the capacity to work and that is something we are trying to facilitate. That was the final piece I wanted to touch on. I found the Green Paper to be excellent in many respects but I felt there was not a great deal of detail in it about labour supports. I know Mr. Hession gave an answer to Senator Wall on some of these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: It will require significant engagement with employers as well because the Department is going to have to make clear to them that they must apply an element of flexibility. If we want more people with a disability in the workplace, there is a piece of work to be done with employers to make sure they are facilitating that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: Visibility regarding what those employment supports would look like would go a long way towards assuaging people's fears about going to the Intreo office and being told "get out and work", which is one reading of that paragraph. We want to make sure this is not the case and that we have a tailored solution.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: As no other members are offering, I thank the witnesses for their engagement. It has been very useful for us to air some of the concerns that we have around the straw-man proposal. It is a good way for us to frame our thinking and to be able to respond in a constructive and meaningful way to what the Department is planning. I have found the engagement today to be very informative from my...

Local Government (Community Gardens) Bill 2023: First Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled - An Bille Rialtais Áitiúil (Gairdíní Pobail), 2023, nó as Béarla, the Local Government (Community Gardens) Bill -an Act to amend and extend the Local Government Act 2001 and, for that purpose, to provide for applications for a community garden; to require local authorities to publish a community garden...

Local Government (Community Gardens) Bill 2023: First Stage (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: 40. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the new domestic violence leave policy will come into effect; what rate of payment will be available; how a person may avail of the leave from the effective date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48474/23]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: When will the new domestic violence leave policy come into effect? What will the rate of payment be? How might a person avail of the leave from the effective date?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I thank the Minister. I acknowledge the amount of work within the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act the Minister referenced. It includes five days of unpaid leave for parents for medical care purposes. It also includes five days' leave for the victims of domestic violence we are discussing this evening. It further includes the right to request flexible working for parents...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Domestic Violence (7 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I thank the Minister. The other side of the coin is that we need to work with employers. We need to fully support employers so that if anybody is looking to avail of any of these types of leave, but in particular the domestic violence leave to which my question goes, there is no question of hesitancy on the behalf of employers. It must become normalised so that if somebody finds themselves...

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (8 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The issue in the Middle East rightly dominated the European Council meeting, just as it is rightly dominating this debate today. Although there is much else happening in the world, it is only right and proper that our attention is focused on the unfolding humanitarian disaster playing out in Gaza. I am looking at the conclusions adopted by the European Council, which are like minutes...