Results 541-560 of 1,637 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Summer Economic Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Jul 2022)

Marie Sherlock: What about the distributional impact and the economic effectiveness of spending money in that manner by giving a small amount to a lot of people rather than putting it to an alternative use? I am sure the council has looked at the labour market, the challenges relating to it and the great need for childcare. What views has the council taken on this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Summer Economic Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Jul 2022)

Marie Sherlock: It is not just a political choice or issue; it is an economic one because the failure to invest in certain areas has a long-term cost on the economy. There are various views on where the pension age needs to go. The Taoiseach commented on this in recent weeks. Undoubtedly, if we assume a fixed number of workers in the economy over the medium to long term, then the cost to the State of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Summer Economic Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Jul 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I am conscious that there has already been a discussion on corporation tax revenues and the need for greater capital investment. I do not intend to replay it. One thing I would like Mr. Barnes to clarify is the role of depreciation. I heard what he said about us having record levels of investment now. Regarding net investment levels, however, I was struck by the research IFAC carried out...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Summer Economic Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Jul 2022)

Marie Sherlock: That is enough for me. I thank Mr. Barnes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Summer Economic Statement: Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (13 Jul 2022)

Marie Sherlock: To pick up on something Mr. Barnes said, is it the general view of the council that labour force participation is as high as it is going to get and that there is no further scope for increases? This is an important point. There have been great improvements in the past two and a half decades. Female labour force participation rates were a huge part of that change. However, there is still...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Wage-setting Mechanisms (15 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. On 3 August the Minister of State promised to sign the employment regulation order, ERO, for the security sector into law by the end of the month. The Minister of State will know that this ERO is the culmination of three torturous years of trying to get a pay increase for security workers in this country. It was 2019 when they last...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Wage-setting Mechanisms (15 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the Minister of State for that reply. It is still not clear why the Government has not gone in to try to lift that injunction placed on 24 August. To be frank, it is telling that there has been nothing from the Government to lift that injunction in the weeks since then. This is about a modest pay increase of 40 cent-----

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Wage-setting Mechanisms (15 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I appreciate that and that the court's role is to adjudicate but it is the State's role to go out and challenge an injunction that has been placed on it and the State has done nothing. It has lain down and done nothing and that is unacceptable for those workers because what is in question here are three modest pay increases: 40 cent in phase 1; 45 cent in phase 2; an allowance for unsociable...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Today marks the day when the employment regulation order, ERO, for early years education and childcare workers comes into effect. This is a huge victory and progress for the thousands of workers who give so much of themselves day-in, day-out to looking after and educating young children in this country. I want to say a huge congratulations to the SIPTU Big Start campaign and to all who...

Seanad: Report of the Future of Media Commission: Statements (15 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the Minister very much for coming to the House. I very much welcome the publication of the report in July and thank the members of the commission. It is very clear from the 258 pages of the report that an enormous level of analysis and research went into the report and we owe a debt of gratitude to the commission members for their work. Notwithstanding the 50 recommendations, some...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament (20 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the MEPs for attending the Seanad today. Workers' rights is probably one of the areas where the EU has one of the proudest records and it has undoubtedly been a driving force in progressing workers' rights, particularly in this country. I want to start by acknowledging the very important work done on the directive on adequate minimum wages, particularly by the European Parliament....

Seanad: School Transport: Motion (21 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I want to raise the issue of the school transport scheme for children with special educational needs. It is a good scheme when it works. However, I know of families who were told on 15 August this year that they were eligible for the school transport scheme, yet five weeks on 12 children with special educational needs in new ASD classes in Dublin 15 do not have school transport.There have...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I express solidarity with the more than 1,000 workers who are out on strike yesterday, today and tomorrow across a number of section 39 organisations and community employment schemes in Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Donegal. Most of these workers provide vital health and disability services to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and yet they have had no pay increase since...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I will confine my comments on the budget to the statements on budget 2023 later today. Last Friday night, Culture Night was a success across the country. I offer my congratulations to all those involved, including the Arts Council, local authorities, Creative Ireland and all the other organisations. I was in D-Light Studios in Dublin 1. For once, it is a good news story. It was a studio...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Budget 2023 takes place at a remarkable time for this country. While we hear a lot about Putin's war and what else is happening in the world, it is very important to remember that our State is in an extraordinarily well-off situation. That we have an Exchequer surplus at all is simply remarkable. We are one of only two countries in the European Union that has a surplus, Denmark being the...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: It will not have a life-changing impact on them. Extension of eligibility for the fuel allowance is great but it will not kick in until January. I would argue there is a lack of urgency with regard to some of the measures introduced today. In thinking about the impact of the budget and the extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, we must look at the two permanent cost-of-living crises...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: It will be a self-assessed tax. Who is going to 'fess up and say their home is vacant for 30 days of the year? The rate of just 0.3% is a joke. The Department of Finance is setting itself up for failure. It is saying the vacant homes tax is not expected to yield significant revenue. If the Government is serious about a vacant homes tax, the rate needs to be significantly higher and it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the representatives of the Low Pay Commission and the Mandate trade union for being here. As a former union official who for years soldiered with Mandate on these issues concerning the minimum wage, I am delighted that the Mandate trade union is represented here today. My first question is for the Low Pay Commission. Some people perceive the minimum wage as a transient or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I am glad to hear that Mr. Courtney express his support for collective bargaining. As he will be aware, we do not have a right to be recognised for collective bargaining purposes in this country and I look forward to him giving me his support on that issue in the future. Mr. Courtney made an important point about the minimum wage being a stepping stone. That is how some people perceive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: The commission's recommendation has two parts - a 30 cent and a 50 cent increase and I cannot see anywhere in the recommendation that we must wait until 2023 for the 80 cent in total increase to come into force. Did discussion take place with the Government on when the two components would be introduced?