Results 30,461-30,480 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Summer Economic Statement: Statements (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: I think the shoe is on both sides.

Summer Economic Statement: Statements (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: Members should listen to one another. It is a debate. I think it is extraordinary that we have come to the stage in this House that terms such as big companies in the food sector, big companies in the ICT sector or big companies in the energy sector should become terms of abuse. This is how we sometimes regard these companies, which have created between them the economic success we have...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: 69. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Ireland’s lead in carbon efficiency over other European Union Member States has changed significantly in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38222/22]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: 74. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the speed with which the framework to support carbon farming will be put in place in Ireland; and the countries that are the best international exemplars in this respect. [38221/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: 134. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the proportion of persons on the contributory pension and on the invalidity pension who qualify for the fuel allowance scheme; if many are excluded who are experiencing fuel poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34938/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: 166. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the criteria for assessment of savings needs to be updated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34937/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: 590. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the terms of the means test for a qualified adult allowance will be adversely affected if the savings of a continuous positive airway pressure claimant are put into joint names due to the claimant’s diminishing capacity to take decision; and if she will consider protecting the qualified adult allowance payment in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: I have a few questions. If this entity is not indemnified by the State, if it is not for profit and if it has limited access to third-party funds, how does it actually have the capacity to take on some of these cases? I imagine these are pretty daunting cases, for example, a case could involve a huge company doctoring its fuel rating or whatever. That is one question. What are the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: My question was how the entity would fund this. There may be a ruling of no court fees but it still has to employ lawyers and will have its own costs. If the entity is not indemnified, is not-for-profit and is just getting nominal sums from consumers, how will it fund these potentially substantial cases?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: That goes back to the issue of whether these are State entities or not. If it is a State entity, it has the State standing behind it but if it is a private one, it does not. The choice of whether this is a State body or private body seems pretty fundamental to the law. Is it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: I will hand over to Deputy Stanton.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: To follow up on what Deputy Shanahan said, this Bill will allow regulators to take class actions. I understand that is not allowed under present legislation covering regulators. It has been one of their discontents that they have to take individual actions every time an infringement crops up. Will this automatically transpose into legislation governing regulators? Some of them, including...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: Should we not anticipate that? It seems to me a positive thing. For example, if the financial services ombudsman had the ability to take class actions, it would have made life a good deal simpler for consumers over the past few years. Can we accelerate the consideration of that? One of the benefits of this legislation might be seeing such actions. Similarly, the regulator has been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: Are there any lessons as to how the Netherlands applied it in terms of the things we are discussing, such as opt-ins and opt-outs and other regulators taking advantage of this class action to strengthen their armouries?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: I am wondering if there is any evidence of the elements of its success in terms of the things that we can alter, such as opt-ins or anticipating our regulators becoming party to this. I refer here to the regulators of financial services, telephone services and energy services. These are regulators that do not have this power.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: Could Ms McGrath also respond on why we are choosing to opt in if the Dutch have had opt-out and it has been successful? Opting out obviously means that there are more people in from the start and that people have to make an active decision to leave. As a result, the entity is in a stronger position than in an opt-in situation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2022: Discussion (29 Jun 2022)

Richard Bruton: I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Companies (Protection of Employees' Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: I thank our guests for attending and for their presentations. All present appreciate and feel the injustice of what happened in the Debenhams case and in previous cases. It seems to me that part of what happened in those cases was that resources that ought to have been available to the company to meet its responsibilities were put beyond reach. That is not what we are addressing here, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Companies (Protection of Employees' Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021: Discussion (6 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: On the issue of precedent, do we have precedent for legislation of this sort, either in Ireland or elsewhere, that the committee could have a look at? I appreciate that this is a well-intentioned measure but, ultimately, our job is to perform scrutiny to see whether there are unintended consequences and how we deal with such if they arise. I would like to hear a little more about the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Anaerobic Digestion: Discussion (5 Jul 2022)

Richard Bruton: I thank the witnesses for their presentations, which were very worthwhile. What I am picking up from what they are saying is that we need a strategy but that strategy seems to have a different hierarchy. I would like to probe how that needs to be structured. Not utilising waste that would otherwise go to landfill is a terrible missed opportunity. The low collection rate and the...