Results 801-820 of 873 for speaker:Averil Power

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: That is because I am over here.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: There is nobody left over there to argue this issue.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: The Minister of State has made my point in reading out that article from the directive because the latter part makes it very clear that the exemption applies only “where, by reason of the nature of these activities or of the context in which they are carried out, a person's religion or belief constitute a genuine, legitimate and justified occupational requirement”. That is the...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: Amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 13 is mine and amendment No. 6 to amendment No. 13 is Senator Zappone’s and they deal with the same issue. Amendment No. 2 states that in addition to referring to the institution’s ethos we would also insert a new sub-section:(c) the relevant position of employment primarily involves the propagation of religion, such that the religion or belief...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: As it stands, primary school teachers are hired to teach the full curriculum.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: That is the situation. For as long as this remains the process by which we hire our teachers and organise our schools it will be impossible for individual schools to find a way of hiring in a teacher to teach one subject. I know from my discussions with primary teachers-----

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I know from my discussions with individual teachers and their representative groups that teachers are happy to teach the curriculum. Some of them would, in an ideal world, like the system to be changed. I have met teachers who told me that while they are atheists they are happy to teach religion and prepare children for their Holy Communion.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: On the last occasion we discussed this issue it was argued that it is okay to refuse a person employment on the basis that he or she does not share the religion of the school. I do not accept that. This remains acceptable in terms of the wording being put forward today by the Government. The programme for Government, to which the Minister of State's party and Fine Gael signed up when they...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I do not wish to overly prolong the debate as it is clear the Minister of State is not going to move on this issue. The Constitution contains competing personal rights to protect the individual such as the right to earn a livelihood, the right to equality and others, which have to be balanced against the right to religious freedom. One right does not necessarily trump all others and all of...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: Amendments Nos. 4 and 11 to amendment No. 13 would essentially require an institution which was seeking to rely on the exemption provided in section 37(1) to publish its ethos in writing. It is only reasonable and fair that those who could potentially be penalised for undermining that ethos be aware of what exactly it is. My objective is to provide clarity on these issues as many of them...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I am disappointed by the Minister of State's reply. It is just common sense that if one is required to comply with something, one should be entitled to know what it is.As I have stated all along, the test for this legislation is whether it gives people the comfort to be free to be themselves and to know where the line is in the workplace, that is, if they are asked to respect something, they...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I am sorry. Senator Zappone and I have similar amendments, Nos. 5 and 10, respectively, on respect for an employee's privacy. I have tabled amendments on marriage and freedom of expression because I am concerned that the wording of the Bill is not sufficiently clear. While I appreciate that a certain conduct is required of employees or prospective employees where public institutions,...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: We are discussing them.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: We are discussing amendments Nos. 5 and 8 to 10, inclusive, to amendment No. 13 together for the purpose of accelerating the debate.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: Amendment No. 9 relates to freedom of expression and is designed to address a concern that I mentioned on Committee Stage last week and that teachers have raised with me, namely, attending a pride parade. Clearly, this is a form of conduct, as the Bill does not restrict questions of conduct to the workplace. Could the mere fact of attending a pride parade or being photographed in local...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I welcome the fact that the Minister is accepting amendment No. 5 which is largely in the spirit of where I was coming from on amendment No. 10 in respect of privacy. However, I am still a little concerned in respect of freedom of expression and what the Minister of State has said about conduct outside the workplace that might be contrary to an employer's ethos. Does that cover someone...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I thank Senator Norris. People want to be able to answer the type of casual question that is posed in the staffroom or the classroom that the rest of us take for granted.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: The point of the legislation is that when teachers go in on a Monday morning and have the normal banter about how their weekend was, what they did, who they were with, lesbian and gay teachers feel they cannot answer those questions because they cannot be honest about who they are. They feel, when talking about their partners, they have to use non-gendered pronouns, for example a female does...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: What if a person asks a teacher what her husband's name is and she says it is her wife?

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (9 Jul 2015)

Averil Power: I move amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 13: In subsection (1A)(b), proposed to be inserted by paragraph (b), to delete "the institution's ethos" and substitute the following:"the institution's ethos, and (c) the relevant position of employment primarily involves the propagation of religion, such that the religion or belief of the employee or prospective employee is integral to that position.".