Results 7,941-7,960 of 9,147 for speaker:Pat Breen

Priority Questions: Low Pay Commission Report (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: It is clear from the Deputy's question that he does not think it would be appropriate for anyone to undermine or pre-empt the work of the Low Pay Commission. That is exactly what is laid out in the rules in the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015, as passed in the Dáil last year. The independence of the commission must be respected and observed by all, including the...

Priority Questions: Low Pay Commission Report (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: The commission is made up of nine members and the chairman is just one person of that group making that decision-----

Priority Questions: Low Pay Commission Report (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: -----and I have to respect Dr. Donal de Buitléir, an eminent academic, who has done great work down through the years. The aim of the minimum wage is to have an incentive to work, which is extremely important. A rate has to be set that is fair and sustainable to help as many people as possible without having a significant effect on the economy or a negative effect on employment. That...

Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I have forwarded the details supplied by the Deputy to the Workplace Relations Commission for examination and action if appropriate. Irish employment rights law makes a distinction between a contract of service, which applies to an employer-employee relationship, and a contract for service, which applies in the case of a self-employed person. Most employment rights legislation does not...

Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I did not name any company but, as I said, I have referred the company to the WRC, as I explained to the Deputy. There are new forms of employment all over Europe. It is a problem for Europe, one with which Eurofound is dealing. The Revenue Commissioners examine the taxation problems for such workers and the scope section of the Department of Social Protection has the function of...

Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: This is a problem not just in Ireland but all over Europe, and that is why Eurofound is examining the issue. There is employee sharing, job sharing, interim management, casual work, ICT-based mobile work, voucher-based work, portfolio work, crowd employment and collective employment. I am satisfied that the WRC is doing its job. Problems that previously took two years to solve now being...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: This Government is committed to a ensuring that the fruits of economic recovery will be used to reduce inequality and poverty, to a just and fair society and a more inclusive prosperity. The amount a worker is paid will go a long way towards achieving this. In that regard the Low Pay Commission has been tasked with, on an annual basis, examining and making recommendations on the national...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Services Staff (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was established on 1 October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, and has responsibility for information provision, workplace advice, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, inspection and enforcement in relation to employment rights, equality and equal status matters and industrial relations. The WRC assumed the roles and functions...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I have forwarded the details supplied by the Deputy to the Workplace Relations Commission for examination and action if appropriate. Irish employment rights law makes a distinction between a contract of service, which applies to an employer-employee relationship, and a contract for service, which applies in the case of a self-employed person. In effect, employment rights legislation does...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Disputes (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I understand that the dispute at Waterford Airport relates to the reduction in working hours for staff members due to the closure of Belgian-based carrier VLM, which operated passenger services from Waterford Airport to Luton. I very much appreciate the challenges facing Waterford Airport at the moment due to the recent loss of the service operated by VLM and I understand that efforts are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-hour Contracts (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I am committed to bringing forward an appropriate policy response to the University of Limerick (UL) study on Zero Hour Contracts and Low Hour Contracts report for consideration by Government later this year. The study found that zero hour contracts as defined within current Irish employment rights legislation are not extensively used in Ireland. It found low working hours can arise in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: Cases of so called bogus self-employment have serious implications from an employment rights perspective. In this respect it is important that individuals are correctly designated as regards employment status, so that those who ought to be designated as employees are not deprived of employment rights. This is particularly the case for vulnerable workers who may not feel in a position to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: Employers are awarded contracts from the State through what is known as public procurement. There are strict rules governing public procurement, responsibility for which rests with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr. Pascal Donohoe T.D. I understand from Minister Donohoe that under the current public procurement regime there are standard forms of contract for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Data (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I am aware of a Report by Unite the Union which describes Ireland as a low wage economy. The report relies on the Eurostat definition of low pay as ‘earning less than two-thirds of the median wage’. By this measure Ireland has a relatively large proportion of wage earners who would be classified as low paid, ahead of the UK and Portugal. This is confirmed by recent...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: The closure of Clerys department store and the manner in which Clerys workers lost their jobs was totally unacceptable and should not happen again. A number of actions were initiated as part of the Government’s response to the closure of Clerys. This included the Duffy/Cahill expert examination of legal protections for workers. The Duffy/Cahill report provides a comprehensive...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: The Living Wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe, decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living is very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and State-provided supports such as Child...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Services (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, and has responsibility for information provision, workplace advice, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, inspection and enforcement in relation to employment rights, equality and equal status matters and industrial relations. The overall objective of the Workplace...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Equality Issues (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: Women’s participation in the labour force has been on a long-term upward trend in Ireland. For example, the participation rate for women in the prime working-age group – aged 25-54 – rose from 67% in 2003 to 73% in 2015. The upward trend was halted for a period by the sharp recession Ireland experienced between 2008 and 2012, but has resumed in years 2012-2015. Ireland...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Sector Pensions (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I thank Senator Craughwell for his good wishes. I have become familiar with this House in recent days because I have been here a good deal. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, who is unable to be with us and who sends his apologies. I thank Senator Craughwell for raising this issue. Abatement in the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Sector Pensions (20 Jul 2016)

Pat Breen: I again thank Senator Craughwell for raising his concerns on this. I will bring his concerns regarding how pension abatements should affect everybody across the board and the examples he has highlighted to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe. However, we believe the extension of the abatement to the public service, as provided for in the 2012 Act, was an...