Results 421-440 of 14,554 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: It refers to "employee" as a member of staff.

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: While I recognise the spirit of the amendment, the main body of the legislation predates 1993 when gender neutral language was submitted. On that ground that there is an understanding that the language is said to be gender neutral, I oppose the amendment.

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I accept the Deputies' arguments but the rationale is that we are moving away from a worker director system. I appreciate the point made by Deputies Penrose and Morgan that the worker director model has served well. In the new board we are moving towards a structure which does not have prescribed nominations, that is, a person will be nominated by the Minister, who is accountable to the...

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: Since the debate on Committee Stage we have reflected on the matter. While we are not in a position to accept the specific amendments, the Tánaiste and I have discussed the wishes of the committee. We decided the positions of the board members of FÁS would be advertised in newspapers in the coming days, as soon as the legislation is passed. Public submissions will be sought and we are...

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: There is very little I disagree with in the sentiments expressed. I assure Members that this is not intended to be window-dressing. I can give Deputy Penrose, in his position as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, a commitment to keep him updated on the process. We have already had considerable expressions of interest from people around the country, even...

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 27: In page 14, line 4, to delete "or". This is similar to amendment No. 1. It adds to the list of reasons a board member may be removed to include the contravention of the Ethics in Public Office Act.

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 28: In page 14, line 8, to delete "2009)." and substitute the following: "2009), or (e) the member has contravened the Act of 1995.".

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 31: In page 19, lines 8 and 9, to delete "and shall be construed together as one Act". This is a technical amendment on the basis that the collective construction provision regarding the three Acts referred to in this Bill is not required in this case.

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputies for their input on Committee Stage and today on Report Stage. I acknowledge the presence of the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts, Deputy Bernard Allen, in the Chamber. The Committee of Public Accounts and the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment played important roles in the work that brought us to this Bill. At a time when this House is under...

Labour Services (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputies for their good wishes. The Bill now goes to the Seanad.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: My Department administers the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) in relation to redundancy matters on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. There are two types of payment made from the SIF – rebates to those employers who have paid statutory redundancy to eligible employees, and statutory lump sums to employees whose employers are insolvent and/or in receivership/liquidation. I...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: Further to my response to the Deputy on this issue in Parliamentary Question 110 of 10 March 2009, I can advise the Deputy that the Redundancy Payments Section of my Department received an application for a statutory lump sum claim for the individual concerned and that payment issued in March 2009. I can also confirm that the employer has since refunded to the Department the employer's...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: The Teamwork scheme was a temporary employment programme for persons under 25 years old, employed on a full-time basis, which operated from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s. This scheme ran alongside the social employment scheme, which was aimed at persons over 25 years old. Both schemes were subsequently merged into the community employment scheme in the mid-1990s. Community employment...

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (11 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: The Employment Permits Section informs me that the above named was issued a work permit on the 14 November 2007 in respect of his position on the premise that a salary of €50,000 was on offer. Prior to the expiry of this permit an application for a green card was made with a salary of €60,000 on offer. The green card application was refused on the grounds that it appears from the P60...

Employment Support Services. (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: To date in 2009, 67,207 redundancy claims have been lodged with my Department, a very significant increase on the levels of claims lodged in earlier years. My Department and its agencies are actively trying to stem this unwelcome increase in job losses through initiatives such as the employment subsidy scheme. Earlier this week we announced that 7,478 jobs in 453 enterprises are to receive...

Employment Support Services. (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: On the first question, there is a commitment in the revised programme for Government to keep the number of places under review. On the second point, we are engaged in discussions with the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Cabinet sub-committee on economic renewal. This week FÁS commenced a promotional campaign for the work placement programmes across local newspapers and...

Employment Support Services. (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: We are considering all the issues the Deputy has raised but there are also issues relevant to this matter to be considered by the Department of Finance.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: NERA's activities can be divided into three major areas: Information services including to members of the public, employers and employees; Inspection services and, Legal services including enforcement and prosecution services. Overall, NERA's staffing complement is down from the level of 132 which obtained at the end of December 2008 to 122 at the current time. The number of inspectors...

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: The importance of upskilling the Irish workforce to meet present and future economic and social goals is well established. Upskilling improves competitiveness and hence business success and economic growth. It also significantly contributes to ensuring the future employability of the workforce. The remit of FÁS in this respect is to contribute to such upskilling through encouraging and...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (12 Nov 2009)

Dara Calleary: Under the terms of the Directive Temporary Agency Work, there is a three-year period in which Member States are required to transpose the Directive into national legislation i.e. by 5 December 2011. While the Directive provides for equal treatment for agency workers from the first day of employment, there is provision for a derogation within limits by way of collective agreement or by...