Results 9,541-9,560 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: As the Deputy knows, I expressed my dissatisfaction with matters and on investigation was taking place. An audit commenced in November 2004 arising from issues raised with my predecessor. In June 2004, information was passed to the Garda and a final audit report was supplied in May 2006. In February 2007, the FÁS internal audit report raised further concerns. These were referred to the...

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: With regard to the overall issue, I welcome that the Comptroller and Auditor General will now carry out his investigation. Arising from the outcome of that, the matters will be dealt with again.

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Prior to Deputy Varadkar's election last year, this matter was being dealt with. It did not take his evangelical appearance for this matter to be addressed by the appropriate authorities, namely, my two predecessors, the internal audit committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Just in case the Deputy feels he is the archangel——

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: When the Deputy arrived in this House last year these matters were under way. I appreciate very well that he does not believe in due process. That said, I must say it is totally inappropriate, with matters before the Committee of Public Accounts which will form part of an investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General, that an accusation is made in this House that FÁS is hiding...

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: As the Deputy knows very well, the Freedom of Information Act offers a process whereby information is obtained by members of the public. There is a procedure which must be followed so that we do not——

FÁS Investigation. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: It has not been breached. I have to ensure these matters are investigated, that the outcome is obtained as soon as possible and that it is dealt with particularly on the basis of governance and procurement. However, given the current economic difficulties, it is more important that we give direction and support to the people who work in FÁS — we all interact with them on a daily basis...

Small and Medium Enterprise. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: That is a different question.

Small and Medium Enterprise. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I am only writing down what the Deputy is saying.

Industrial Relations. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Aer Lingus has, in line with standard procedure under the Protection of Employment Act 1977, written to my Department with notification of its intentions with regard to collective redundancies in the company. My Department is examining the correspondence and it will be dealt with in the normal way if and when a redundancy situationarises. Should the company proceed to file claims for...

Industrial Relations. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: There is no uncertainty on the basis that the application is not with me at this moment. There are set procedures under the Redundancy Payment Act and, to ensure we have final determination arising from the issues raised by Deputy Varadkar, where there are concerns on adjudication the Employment Appeals Tribunal is used for decision making. There has been no decision and I cannot give a...

Industrial Relations. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: We can only give a preliminary view but it is based on an individual application. Each person can have an issue raised but in ensuring that there is absolute clarity we would be taking the matter to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Industrial Relations. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Given the Deputy's views, the Minister of State is concerned that the period is outside our customer charter and, on that basis, we are redeploying staff within the complement to facilitate the major workload of our staff.

Industrial Relations. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: It is ingenuity or innovation. There are statutory requirements that must be addressed. That is to secure the entitlements of an employee. The matter of workers' rights and statutory supports was raised a few minutes ago. Equated to this is a balance given the difficulties we are working within. The role of social partners in the context of economic recovery and difficulty is of major...

Redundancy Payments. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 74 together. In general, a redundancy arises where an employee's job ceases to exist, and the employee is not replaced for such reasons as rationalisation, reorganisation, insufficient work available, the financial state of the firm and company closures. Redundancy is determined in line with strict criteria set down in the Redundancy Payments Acts...

Redundancy Payments. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The Department was approached.

Redundancy Payments. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: An approach was made to the Department seeking a preliminary view but it was on the basis of the initial proposal that was brought forward. As the Deputy knows, we moved beyond this initial proposal. Legal advice has been sought on the basis of giving a preliminary review but as the Deputy knows it is not legally binding and therefore we are not in a position to give a full determination....

Redundancy Payments. (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The preliminary view given to ICTU and IBEC at the time was that while it was not a legal interpretation and not legally binding, it appeared the proposals made by Aer Lingus in respect of redundancies as set out in the alternative proposal may qualify under the redundancy payment scheme. As I stated, I must be careful that it is only on the basis of a preliminary view and does not have a...

Economic Competitiveness (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Yes.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: My Department has introduced a risk management policy to ensure that appropriate actions are taken by management throughout the organisation to identify and manage effectively the risks to which the organisation may be exposed. The risk management policy seeks to identify and assess the strategic, operational, financial and reputation risks facing the Department and to outline measures to...

Written Answers — Small and Medium Enterprise: Small and Medium Enterprise (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Priority Question No. 67 earlier in today's Session. The Tánaiste met with the Small Firms Association (SFA) and the Irish Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Association (ISME) on 19th November 2008 to discuss their concerns on a range of issues impacting on small business, including access to credit from financial institutions, arising from the credit...