Results 501-520 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Paul Gavan: Him or us?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Health and Safety Authority: Chairperson-Designate (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank Mr. Coughlan for his presentation and wish him well in his position. I have a particular interest in this matter, as it was prominent in my role as a trade union official. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts of the 1990s were some of the best legislation ever passed, but the problem then seemed to be that people could have the best legislation possible just so long as there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations, both of which made for very interesting reading. I am intrigued by the submission by the Law Society of Ireland. As Ms Hyde mentioned at the beginning, its members represent employers and trade unions across the board. I cannot help noticing that its submission, unlike that of Dr. Ryan, does not make reference to how to strengthen legislation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: If he does not mind my saying, Dr. Ryan's submission had a fair degree of balance in highlighting elements that needed to be strengthened but also the constitutional concerns and other concerns, where to be frank, the Law Society's submission did not. I do see any point in its submission that identifies an issue of concern from the point of view of protecting workers. I am disappointed that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I am interested that both Dr. Ryan and Mr. Neville raised the point in relation to the financial proof elements of it. Where there is a call for a pay rise and the company says while it would love to give one, it cannot afford it, there is a well-established practice in the Workplace Relations Commission whereby it appoints an independent person to look at the books privately and without...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I have a brief question. Mr. Neville and Dr. Ryan have expressed concerns about the proportionality of the Bill in terms of the balance that must be struck. Would they accept that there is an imbalance at present and that the imbalance is to the detriment of the worker?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: The witness makes the point in his submission that, at present, an employer employing somebody under an if-and-when contract never needs to dismiss anybody. They can simply stop giving them hours. That appears to be a huge imbalance. Does Mr. Neville agree?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I am aware of that legislation and it slightly improves the situation. However, it does nothing with respect to an employer who has a huge pool of labour and each week picks who will get hours. Why would the witness not ban zero-hour contracts? What possible damage could be done by just outlawing them?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: This arose at a meeting with IBEC recently. There are no circumstances in which it would suit an employee to not know how many hours they will get in the following week. Employees want to know. Even if it is only five hours, they want to know that it is five hours so they can plan for child care or to do other work. I can think of no circumstance, and if the witness can think of one he...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the witnesses. I think this is our sixth meeting on banded hours.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: We have. It is very welcome to hear the voice of organised workers for the first time. We have had a number of presentations from employers' groups, including some that I did not know existed. Perhaps that is a reflection on me and my naivety. It is important for the committee to get an idea of how widespread is this problem. I am conscious that some of my colleagues are not present. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: It is worth repeating that 35.2% of the workforce earn €400 or less per week. For the benefit of my colleague, Senator Reilly, I wish to repeat that we had been led to believe that this was a relatively small-scale problem. That was never my experience as a trade union official. Based on what we have heard from our colleagues, this affects a range of sectors. It is the model for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: That is why it is important to hear this story today. The figures come from the CSO and cannot be disputed. The figures demonstrate that there is a major problem with low pay and precarious work in this country, which affects over one in three of the workforce. That is all the more reason the committee will, it is to be hoped, contribute to a resolution of these issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: This committee has always worked constructively and tried to build consensus, as we did in respect of the Brexit report. Concerns have been expressed across all sides about workers' rights. I ask the committee to look at point 10 on the ICTU statement, which is a simple summary of what congress is asking for. I think we can all agree on these points. We can all agree that workers should...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Máire Devine. Yesterday, Ms Patricia King of ICTU provided some startling information to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which I propose to share with Senators. The most recent statistics from the Central Statistics Office show that 35.2% of the workforce earn less than €400 per week....

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: As many as 75% of employees earn under €400 per week.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Bill and acknowledge the good work of Senator Billy Lawless in bringing it forward. We have heard about our great Christian tradition. I respectfully suggest that before it we had a great pagan tradition-----

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: -----which was probably a lot more fun.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: On a serious note, we should welcome the Bill because it is a small step towards the separation of Church and State, but it is not from where we should start. We should start by acknowledging that 90% of schools are still under the control of the Catholic Church, which they should not. We should also start by acknowledging that large sections of the public health service are under the...