Results 881-900 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Seanad: Natural Heritage Areas. (21 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I thank Senator Feighan for raising this matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government oversees the designation of three main types of conservation areas throughout the country. First, there are natural heritage areas which are designated under the provisions...

Seanad: Natural Heritage Areas. (21 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I will ask the Minister to reply to the Senator with that information.

Seanad: Educational Services. (21 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I thank Senator O'Meara for raising this matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the Seanad, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, the strategy of her Department for capital investment in education projects and the position regarding the development of education provision in St. Sheelan's College, Templemore. Modernising facilities in our 3,200...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Order for Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 21, to delete ", unless the context otherwise requires". These are technical amendments which arise from the Interpretation Act. Arising from an amendment tabled by Deputy Howlin on Committee Stage I undertook to revert to these matters on Report Stage. Following advice from the parliamentary counsel, Government amendments Nos. 1, 6, 7, 9 and 44 are...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: This amendment and related matters were discussed at considerable length on Committee Stage and on Committee and Report Stages in the Seanad. I brought forward an amendment on Committee Stage which was agreed and which resulted in the definition of "appointed" that ensures that employee representatives are truly representative of employees. In other words they must be independent and be...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: We should take account of current practice in the workplace. There are already representatives in place for various purposes. If I accepted Deputy Morgan's amendment or similar amendments, I would preclude the existing representatives from taking responsibility in the context of information and consultation. This would be unhelpful. In a large number of workplaces it is the wish of the...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Amendments Nos. 3, 4 and 5 would have the effect of changing the definition of "consultation" and "information" as they are in the Bill and would provide only for consultation and information through representatives. In a great many enterprises there is already a system of direct information and consultation in place and this Bill provides for that to continue. One of my concerns was that...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The two amendments referred to by Deputy Hogan are also included in this group of amendments. They seek to increase the percentage at which a trigger mechanism would come into play. His points were also made strongly by IBEC and some employers, The view is that, especially in workplaces with large numbers of employees, the trigger mechanism is too low. I examined it carefully and believe the...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Amendment No. 32 refers to section 11. Were Deputy Morgan's amendment to be accepted, it would have the effect of removing the provision for direct consultation. I understand Deputy Howlin's concerns that this may be used to exclude certain people from the communication process. The way the legislation is prepared it is not possible for that to happen. On Committee Stage, I listed many...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, line 37, to delete ", unless the context otherwise requires,". The amendment, discussed with amendment No. 1, was proposed by Deputy Howlin on Committee Stage and arises from the Interpretation Act 2005.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move amendment No. 7: In page 5, line 1, to delete ", unless the context otherwise requires,".

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move amendment No. 8: In page 5, line 6, to delete "Subsection (2)"and substitute "Subsection (3)". On Committee Stage I undertook to revert to the question as to whether section 1(4) should be referenced to subsection (2) or (3) of the same section. I consulted with the parliamentary counsel and the advice received is that the reference to subsection (3) is the correct one. Accordingly, I...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move amendment No. 9: In page 5, to delete lines 8 to 17.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Deputy Howlin has outlined the position very fairly. As I have indicated previously, I have a good deal of sympathy with the situation that arises here. The Deputy also pointed out the difficulty in dealing with the matter in this context. On Committee Stage, I indicated that I did not consider this Bill to be a suitable vehicle. As it turns out, I was dealing with the Competition Bill on...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The other fundamental difficulty remains, notwithstanding the point Deputy Howlin made, that were this amendment to be accepted, any self-employed individual may be a member of a trade union and he or she would not be an undertaking for the purposes of the Competition Act. While it would encompass the people about whose situation Deputies Howlin, Morgan and Hogan are concerned, it would also...

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The list is almost endless. If one were to resist the temptation of naming barristers, it could include any self-employed contractors, such as publicans, doctors and pharmacists. Almost any group——

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: If this amendment were accepted, they would all have the potential to have recourse to it.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: They would all enjoy the benefits which the Deputy seeks in this instance to bestow on journalists and actors.

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Report Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Under the ruling of the Competition Authority——