Results 681-700 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: An event occurred yesterday which deserves attention, that is, the swapping of forces personnel among the PSNI and the Garda Síochána. There were two areas in which it happened. Superintendents are now working both in Belfast and Dublin in plain clothes. We should recognise this as a very worthy step, particularly in light of a point made in the House some time ago but which we have not...

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: The World Health Organisation can rarely be accused of scaremongering. Yesterday it criticised the lack of international co-operation in preparing for the avian flu and the serious risk that it may become pandemic. This does not merely affect birds, it affects humans. The World Health Organisation has compared it to what happened in 1918 when a flu swept the world and killed millions of...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I, too, welcome the Minister of State and the work he has done on the Bill. I apologise for some of the words I used on Second Stage, during which I criticised the Minister of State for announcing he would be tabling amendments. I have looked through the amendments and, as the Minister of State said, they are practically all of a technical nature. Yesterday morning I was in the business...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: Senator O'Toole has asked if I could explain a system for appointment. I recently talked to an entrepreneur who has businesses around the world and approximately 3,000 employees, a couple of hundred of whom are employed in Ireland. The entrepreneur has a choice where to go. He contrasted the manner in which Ireland enforced certain European legislation with the manner employed in Britain. It...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: Are a number of amendments being taken together here?

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: We normally receive a list of the amendments that are being taken together. Perhaps that is what we are getting now. Government amendment No. 2: In page 3, subsection (1), between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: "'Commission' means the Labour Relations Commission,".

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I notice that amendment No. 52 is being taken with amendment No. 2. Does that mean that when the House comes to amendment No. 52, Members may not speak on it again?

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I am caught on the hop with this. I had not realised what was happening. Amendment No. 52 is in the name of Senator O'Toole. I do not quite understand why that should be taken with amendment No. 2, which stipulates that the word "Commission" refers to the Labour Relations Commission. To take amendment No. 52 with this amendment——

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: No, I am happy with that.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I support Senator McDowell's proposal to take amendments Nos. 3 and 7 together now and amendments Nos. 48 and 49 together later.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I remind Senators that the legislation is entitled the Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005. The Bill covers solely the provision of information and is unrelated to negotiation. The danger is that the amendments will lead to a significant increase in bureaucracy. Given the possibility that only one or two employees will be in interested in receiving information on...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: There is a difference of opinion here between my colleagues and myself. Only 25% of private businesses are unionised. If we are not careful, the trend will almost be to state that one must have a union. It is not necessarily traditional. There is a voluntary system which has worked well in Ireland. The number of trade union members as a percentage of the total workforce has reduced...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: The only change Senator O'Toole is suggesting, in amendment No. 3, is the removal of the words "one or more employees". That, one or more employees, is exactly as it should be and is what is intended. That is how it should remain.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: Senators Coghlan, White and I have proposed a number of amendments. I feel strongly about this amendment because it seeks to define more precisely who exactly is an employee under this legislation. Many companies rely from time to time on temporary staff supplied to them by employment agencies. Over the years, particularly coming up to Christmas or at similar times, my company would get...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I am not sure I fully understand the difference between contract of service or contract for service. Let me give an example. In the business with which I am associated we often need temporary employees, such as security people over the Christmas period. I am not sure if these people have a contract of service or for service. Am I to understand that a person who got a job through a contract...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I will not press the amendment now, but will examine what the Minister has said so as to understand it better. If necessary, I will raise it again on Report Stage.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I would like to withdraw my comments of some moments ago. It is obvious that it was not appropriate for me to withdraw an amendment that is in the name of other Senators as well as in my name. I ask the House to ignore what I said about the amendment, about which Senator White feels very strongly.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I will withdraw the amendment because the Minister of State has given a better explanation of the difference between a "contract for service" and a "contract of service". Perhaps he can reflect on the matter before Report Stage to confirm that his interpretation of the matter is exactly correct. Senator White and I can also consider our approach to the matter before Report Stage.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 9: In page 4, subsection (1), between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "'trade union' means a trade union which is the holder of a negotiation licence under Part I of the Trade Union Act 1941; 'undertaking' means a public or private undertaking carrying out an economic activity, whether or not operating for gain.". The purpose of this amendment is to add...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Feargal Quinn: I would like an answer to my queries in respect of this amendment. I was impressed by the Minister of State on Second Stage because it was clear that he had done a substantial amount of work on the Bill. I criticised him when he said he intended to table some amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage, but it is clear today that almost all of his amendments are technical in nature. The...