Results 1,021-1,040 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (28 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Information campaigns to publicise increases in the national minimum wage were conducted in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. These campaigns included advertising on television, radio and in the national and regional newspapers. The campaigns also involved the distribution of thousands of information leaflets and booklets to citizen information centres and post offices around the country. The...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (28 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: As part of the Government's commitments under Sustaining Progress, in June 2005 the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued a White Paper on the review of the Employment Agency Act 1971. The deadline for submissions was 15 July 2005. The Department is currently finalising the heads of a Bill based on submissions received. This process will be completed by the end of June 2006,...

Written Answers — Work Practices: Work Practices (28 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The labour inspectorate contacted the principal parties in regard to this issue on Tuesday, 13 March and subsequently met with senior representatives of the ESB and its agents, and these contacts have been ongoing since. In the meantime, labour inspectors have commenced inquiries with the contractor concerned in this case and have visited both the head office and the site in Moneypoint. Those...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (28 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The main purpose of the community employment, CE, programme operated by FÁS is to provide work experience and training for the long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged persons including those with a disability by giving them an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. CE helps unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: On 22 February 2006, the Minister originally received notice under the Protection of Employment Act 1977, as amended, of collective redundancies at the company. The position was up-dated by the company on 1 March 2006. On 15 March, an official from the Department contacted the local FÁS office at Finglas and appraised them of the situation with a view to providing training opportunities for...

Written Answers — Employment Conditions: Employment Conditions (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The labour inspectorate of the Department is responsible for monitoring certain employment conditions for all categories of workers in Ireland. The inspectorate has commenced enquiries with the main contractor concerned and is actively pursuing the case. Inspectors will be focused on trying to secure appropriate redress for the people concerned once the facts are satisfactorily established.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The first grouping is amendments Nos. 1, 3 to 10, inclusive, 13, 17 to 19, inclusive, 23 and 25. The majority are technical in nature and arise from the enactment of the Interpretation Act 2005 which came into effect on 1 January 2006. The other amendments are grammatical in nature. I am indebted to Deputy Howlin for drawing the effects of the Act on the Bill to my attention. These could not...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The second grouping, amendments Nos. 2 and 26, deals with the definition of appointment of employees' representatives. The issue of allowing employees' representatives to be appointed arose on Committee and Report Stages in both Houses. It was also raised in bilateral discussions with the social partners. Having given the matter much consideration, I formed the view that it is important to...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: When dealing with this Bill in the Dáil, it came to my attention that the legislation as presented at that stage would not allow for existing employee representatives to approve a pre-existing agreement. That was because of the nature of the drafting which initially stated "These representatives must be elected or appointed for the purposes of negotiations under this Act." Pre-existing...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Government amendments Nos. 20 and 24 are relevant in this context. Similar amendments were tabled by Deputy Hogan on Committee Stage in the Dáil. The confidentiality requirement for the employee or third party who receives information in confidence from an individual, which is defined in section 14(1), is general and not qualified. On the basis of advice received from the Office of the...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: Senator O'Toole is quite right in saying that a major redundancy situation begat a directive which led to the transposition in terms of this Bill. He is also correct in saying that the passage of the Bill through the Houses was informed or certainly otherwise affected by the redundancy situation at Irish Ferries. It has come to my attention that a redundancy rebate application was made to the...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: On various occasions when the matter was raised in both Houses during the earlier stages of the dispute, and when the matter was very much in the public eye, I tried to make it clear that the Government's decision would have to be within the parameters of the law. My understanding is that the implications of the redundancy rebate application are currently being considered. No final decision...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: The Department's customer service target is to turn around payments within six weeks. In this instance, the company is awaiting the rebate. From what Members stated they are extraordinarily sympathetic to the company's plight. Perhaps if there was a delay people would not be as concerned as they would otherwise be. At the same time, it is the intention of the Government to adjudicate within...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I strongly suspect that Senator O'Toole has more information than I do on some of what plays out in Government Buildings on partnership. The Government is bound by the legal provisions in place at present. When it receives definitive legal advice the Government must decide on how to proceed with this case. I do not doubt that the issues which arose in this case and in similar labour relations...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: ——this issue falls to be determined on the basis of the legislation in place at the time the application was made. That may lead the parties to social partnership to form the view that the legislation or process must be changed. However, I previously gave the impression that a question of doubt was likely to be referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for its quasi-judicial judgment on...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I brought forward this amendment because the word "usually" in the Bill could have lead to uncertainty about the application of the internal dispute resolution procedures in the event of a first dispute arising, as there would be no history of using the internal procedures. The amendment was drafted on the advice of the Parliamentary Counsel and adds clarity on this matter. It was brought to...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: I thank the Members of both Houses for their co-operation during the passage of the Bill and remind them that I am transposing it a year and three or four days later than the date on which this should have been done. One of the reasons for the delay was that we engaged in long negotiations. I particularly want to thank the officials in the Department for the hard work they did in the...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (30 Mar 2006)

Tony Killeen: It is unclear from the details supplied if the amount being claimed is an improper deduction or an underpayment. Improper deductions from wages or non-payment of wages should be referred by the employee to a rights commissioner under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. A rights commissioner will give both employer and employee an opportunity to present any evidence relevant to the complaint and...

Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999: Leave to Withdraw. (4 Apr 2006)

Tony Killeen: I move: That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the order of the Dáil of 18 June 2002, to the extent that it orders that the Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999 be considered in committee of the whole Dáil, be discharged and that the Bill be withdrawn. As Members will recall, the Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999 was the subject of a Private Members debate in this House on...

Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999: Leave to Withdraw. (4 Apr 2006)

Tony Killeen: I listened with considerable interest to the points made by Opposition Deputies on this motion. Both sides of the House have a commitment to address the situation but have major differences on the style in which that might be done. I can only account directly for the time in which I have been involved in the Department. I had discussions with the senior Minister on this issue during which we...