Results 4,221-4,240 of 4,720 for speaker:Neale Richmond

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Waste Management (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I really appreciate that. I apologise to Senator Conway that I forgot to address the point he made on community systems and local authorities in my initial response. It is a fantastic idea. I will take it to the Minister of State with responsibility for local government, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell. I am more than happy to engage with community groups or local authorities around the country...

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank Senator Ward for placing these amendments and thank Senator Horkan for speaking to them. As laid out by Senator Ward, amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 5 propose a revised wording of section 6B of the Act which seeks to overturn the future designation of coroners as civil servants. The Minister is satisfied that there is no inconsistency between the classification of coroners as civil...

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Some of that is covered in the next section in the context of amendment No. 3 and I am happy to address it when we get to that point. If there is anything else outstanding, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has undertaken to convey that to the House. She cannot be here today for very serious personal reasons.

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Amendment No. 3 proposed by Senator Ward seeks to allow the Minister to review fixed-term appointments to the Dublin district on an indefinite basis and without prescribed criteria for such renewals. The Minister's legal advice to date has counselled against the indefinite, successive renewal of coroner positions. Nevertheless, I emphasise that the requirement to retain high-calibre...

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: As I said in my response, the Minister's legal advisers have advised against the indefinite, successive renewal of coroner positions. It is deemed better to introduce fixed terms.

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Senator for this amendment, which proposes to set out ineligibility criteria in the new section 14A. The proposed amendment refers to the ability of the Minister to remove a coroner from office, notwithstanding that the revised section 15 of the principal Act deals comprehensively with removal from positions. The proposed amendment furthermore appears to confer a discretion on...

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank Senators for their contributions. I will relay the comments and observations made by Senators Ward and Horkan to the relevant Ministers and officials.

Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I rise to express sympathy, on my behalf and on that of the Fine Gael organisation in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and my predecessor Olivia Mitchell, to the Bruton family on the sad passing of John. I express that sympathy to Finola, the children, our dear colleague and friend Richard and Mary, who is someone I knew before I knew the other Brutons. She was my wife's employer for a long time...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Film Industry (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank the Deputy for this question on an issue that he has raised consistently here and during our time on the finance committee together. As he knows, Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment, equality and industrial relations legislation, which offers the same protections to all employees legally employed under a contract of employment. All employers, regardless of sector, are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Film Industry (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I appreciate the point the Deputy is making. He refers rightly to the case in December before the WRC where it released decisions in respect of a sample group of complaints made by 38 members of the industry. Those decisions are, of course, being appealed to the Labour Court. Separately, the Labour Court issued a decision last month in respect of another complaint related to the industry....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Film Industry (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I will make two points. Regarding the protections provided under the section 481 tax relief application, the application is clear that the relationship between the producer company and the qualifying company – the DAC – has to be informed by the 1994 Act, which entitles an employee to certain information about his or her employer, including full names and details, to ensure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Last December, I published the outcome of the review of the occupations lists for employment permits, which signalled the Government’s intention to increase the minimum salary thresholds for employment permits, including those associated with healthcare assistants and home care workers. The purpose of this change is to ensure fair treatment for employment permit holders and to allow...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Just to be clear, this does not apply solely to the nursing homes sector. It also includes healthcare assistants and home support workers, so while it is obviously a provision for people who are in nursing homes, be they private nursing homes or independent nursing homes, it is also for those who provide care in the home and those who provide disability services, many of the recipients of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: To get to the nub of the question, a decision was made to make a temporary deferral. I have laid out in depth the reason for that here, in our previous discussion on a Bill, and indeed to anyone who has raised a direct question, and I believe Deputy Barry raised it on Questions on Promised Legislation. These deferrals are temporary. The minimum thresholds for work permits are set in all...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: I thank Deputy Stanton for again raising this issue and for consistently doing so constructively and productively over a period. One of the attractions of the critical skills employment permit is that holders of these permits can apply to the Department of Justice for immediate family reunification and, once their partners or spouses are resident in the State, they are eligible to apply to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: A couple of hundred intra-company transfers happened last year but, to be frank, that is far fewer than we would have liked because people simply did not apply. In many of the multinational companies who have chosen to locate their European head offices in Ireland or to establish very big footprints here, the management systems require people to spend a year or two in another country to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (8 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: That is under active consideration, but I have to underline that the full buy-in of the Department of Justice is required. We are at the Department's mercy as to whether that can be achieved before the Bill passes through the stages in the Seanad.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) are independent in their functions. If a JLC adopts proposals for an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for a sector, it will submit them to the Labour Court for consideration. The Labour Court will then make a decision on the adoption of the proposals. If the Court decides to adopt the proposals, a copy is presented to me and, if I consider it appropriate to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Schemes (7 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) Flooding Relief Scheme is an emergency humanitarian contribution for businesses, (up to 20 employees), community, voluntary and sporting bodies, who are unable to secure flooding insurance though no fault of their own, to assist them in returning their premises to their pre-flood condition. In relation to non-flooding damage to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (7 Feb 2024)

Neale Richmond: Enterprise Ireland currently has 7 staff working in their Melbourne, Seattle, and Montreal offices, broken down as follows: MELBOURNE Job Title WTE Senior Market Adviser 1 Market Adviser 1 International Graduate 1 Total 3 ...