Results 621-640 of 15,268 for speaker:Kathleen Lynch

National Minimum Wage. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Question 2: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the investigation which is planned into the disclosure that Polish workers employed by a contractor at the ESB power station in Moneypoint were being paid well below the national minimum wage; the sanctions or penalties available against companies in such situations; the measures which have been taken by his Department to...

National Minimum Wage. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He supplied figures on the rate of inspection on 7 February. In 2002, there were 8,323 inspections and 25 prosecutions; in 2003, there were 7,168 inspections and 20 prosecutions; and, in 2004, there were 5,160 inspections and 14 prosecutions. The reason given for the lower number in 2004 was the EU Presidency. Last year, 5,699 inspections were...

National Minimum Wage. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: How are the foreign workers informed about their rights?

National Minimum Wage. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: The Department's website provides information in various languages but it was so incorrect that it was withdrawn last week and it is still not available. The website gave the incorrect information in every language, except English. Even the Irish version was incorrect. How does the Minister of State expect people to obtain the correct information if the Department is giving out incorrect...

Flexible Work Practices. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank the Minister of State for his reply but while a mission statement on work-life balance is fine, the question refers to what the Department intends to do to achieve it. We have just had a discussion on unscrupulous employers. The country is not full of unscrupulous employers. They are very few in number, thankfully, but they exist. People are working for such employers on a permanent...

Flexible Work Practices. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: ——feel they work longer for less money than people in Northern Ireland. Apart from the one day of advertising undertaken annually on work-life balance, what does the Minister of State intend to do to ensure that such a balance is achieved? He has referred to legislation, most of which has a very small impact on people's lives over a very short period of time in the life of a child. What...

Flexible Work Practices. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: The impact is over a very concentrated period of time.

Flexible Work Practices. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Yes.

Flexible Work Practices. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Yesterday, when the Select Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights was dealing with the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill, the Minister said that the updating of that legislation would depend on the outcome of the centralised bargaining process currently under way. Given that the aforementioned legislation came about as a result of the last centralised pay agreement four...

Consumer Protection. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Advising people to be cautious on how they use their money when legalisation preventing such pyramid schemes is not in place is like telling people to be careful when they are crossing the road but not providing any pedestrian crossings. The Minister must realise the existing legislation for pyramid schemes is inadequate and lacks the power of prosecution. That the Minister will have...

Labour Inspectorate. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: The numbers have halved, not doubled.

Labour Inspectorate. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Okay.

Labour Inspectorate. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: The Minister of State has provided the same information we received in the last written answer concerning the amount of prosecutions that were initiated. How many of them were successful and how many have been completed? Does the Minister of State have those figures?

Labour Inspectorate. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: I think those statistics are important because initiating a prosecution and bringing it to a conclusion are two entirely different things. The Minister of State is aware of the Labour Party's position on the Health and Safety Authority and he has heard it often enough from Deputy Howlin. Most of us were under the impression that, in this instance, the inspectors unearthed wrongdoing by...

Departmental Investigations. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Do any of the 31 inspectors speak a foreign language or is it a requirement that they do so? Some of the most common foreign languages involved in this sector are Czech, Polish and Latvian. I do not argue that they should speak these languages. I am interested in whether they do because a major communication problem exists. The Department's website is not in operation. Do the inspectors have...

Job Protection. (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: This report describes how we treat people who come here. The investigation does not necessarily stop when dealing with employment and employment rights. If we agree that we need 40,000 people a year over the next few years and that the economy will be as good as it has been for the past six years, the Minister of State should be able to tell those who come to service our economy that they can...

Written Answers — Sports Sponsorship: Sports Sponsorship (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Question 51: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the practice of some sports organisations, including the Irish national soccer team, involving their changing their shirts on a frequent basis in association with sponsors, primarily for marketing reasons; if his attention has further been drawn to the cost consequences for consumers; if...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (23 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: Question 65: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made to date in his consultations regarding the possible establishment of a joint labour committee to protect the interests of domestic workers in the context of the current social partnership talks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11265/06]

Road Traffic (Mobile Telephony) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: I congratulate the Fine Gael Party and Deputy Olivia Mitchell for introducing legislation to address the most glaring omission in road safety in Ireland. I recently drove from Cork to Belfast and back and noticed that our roads are very dangerous. As the Minister does not live in Dublin, I am sure he drives home twice per week. I do not understand how we saw only one speed trap during the...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Motion (Resumed). (28 Mar 2006)

Kathleen Lynch: I wish to share time with Deputies O'Sullivan and O'Shea.