Results 1,241-1,260 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Written Answers — Hazardous Substances: Hazardous Substances (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: The focus of occupational safety and health legislation concerning asbestos in the workplace is on the prevention of exposure. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 386 of 2006), which is enforced by the Health and Safety Authority, places obligations on employers and employees to ensure that the risk of exposure to asbestos is eliminated or...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: There are no proposals to introduce an employer licensing system in the context of enhancements of the employment rights compliance framework. However, new legislation will be published before the end of this year reinforcing the existing system of regulation of employment agencies by requiring all such agencies established and/or operating in Ireland to hold a licence. In this regard, the...

Written Answers — National Minimum Wage: National Minimum Wage (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: The minimum rates of pay and employment conditions of workers employed in the hotel and restaurant business are governed by either Employment Regulation Orders made pursuant to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2004 or the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000. From the details supplied by the Deputy it would appear that the statutory minimum rates of pay for the person...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: My Department is currently drafting legislation to amend the Protection of Employment Act, 1977 to cover a number of matters, including the outcome of the Junk v Kuhnel case. Full implementation of the mandatory European Court of Justice Decision of 27th January, 2005 in this case will therefore be provided for in the Heads of Bill for the proposed Protection of Employment Bill 2006, which...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: The organisation to which the Deputy refers was established under the aegis of the National Joint Industrial Council for the Electrical Contracting Industry. While its main objective is to advise Electrical Contractors of their responsibilities under the Registered Employment Agreement (REA) for the Electrical Industry it also carries out inspections of Electrical Contractors in order to...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: There are no specific provisions in industrial relations or employment rights legislation, under which a complaint can be referred to a Rights Commissioner, which prohibit the complaint also being heard by the Equality Tribunal. However, there are a number of provisions in equality legislation that are relevant in this regard. While Ministerial responsibility for equality legislation lies...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: The European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 74 of 2006) were signed on 15 February 2006 and came into operation from that date. The Regulations transpose Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances as amended by Directive 2003/105/EC (Serveso II) of the European...

Seanad: Company Closures (27 Sep 2006)

Tony Killeen: I thank the Senators for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I was very disappointed to hear that a liquidator has been appointed and that there is to be a hearing in the High Court next month on the matter. I am conscious of the effect that the job losses will have on the workers and their families as well as on the surrounding community. This is distressing news for those who will...

Written Answers — Compensation Payments: Compensation Payments (3 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: In accordance with standard procedures in these cases the enforcement unit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment wrote to the employer requesting payment to the employee of the compensation awarded by the Labour Court. The employer in this case failed to respond to a number of requests made by the Department in the period May to September, 2005. In the circumstances, the...

Written Answers — Health and Safety Regulations: Health and Safety Regulations (3 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 383 to 387, inclusive, together. Responsibility for the administration and enforcement of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and associated regulations is one of the primary functions of the Health and Safety Authority. I have been advised by the authority that it would be inappropriate to comment on the particulars of enforcement actions under...

Written Answers — Equal Opportunities Employment: Equal Opportunities Employment (3 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: It is widely acknowledged, as in the recent National Disability Authority publication "A Strategy of Engagement" that the participation rates of disabled people in employment are significantly less than those of their non-disabled peers. The National Disability Authority publication indicated, for example, that between 1997 and 2004 there was an absolute decrease of 62% in the number of long...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Annual Report 2005: Statements (3 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: Clearly, I did not have the benefit of hearing all that Senators have said about the report. However, I commend those that have taken the trouble of reading the report and going through what they would see as the positives. I was in my office to hear some of the negative responses. Member of both Houses, perhaps because they are inundated with paperwork of one kind or another, sometimes...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (4 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: The correct definition of "collective redundancies" as per Section 6(1) of the Protection of Employment Act, 1977 as amended by Article 5 of the Protection of Employment Order 1996 is as follows— "Dismissals effected by an employer for one or more reasons not related to the individual concerned where in any period of 30 consecutive days the number of such dismissals is— (a) at least 5 in...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (5 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: I am informed by the Health and Safety Authority that it has commissioned a report into the circumstances surrounding the death of the person concerned. The purpose of the report is to ascertain the facts which is to assist in the determination of whether the Authority has a remit in relation to this death. The report will be based on information obtained from a number of sources, including...

Crime Prevention: Motion. (10 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: The Deputy would be surprised.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (10 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: The Department on 17th February 2006, 12th May 2006 and 4th September 2006 received three applications for a statutory redundancy payment from Irish Ferries under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003 amounting to approximately €4 million. These applications were submitted by means of the new redundancy on-line application system. The matter was referred to the Attorney-General for...

Written Answers — Industrial Relations: Industrial Relations (10 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: I am not aware of any issues relating to increases in production costs, including labour costs, affecting Glanbia in particular. Terms and conditions of employment are determined in the main by a process of voluntary collective bargaining between the employers and employees or their representatives. Within this system parties are free to negotiate or not to negotiate. To support the process...

Written Answers — Bullying in the Workplace: Bullying in the Workplace (10 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: There are no statistics available on the cost to the economy of workplace bullying. The Report of the Expert Advisory Group on Workplace Bullying was launched and published by me on the 17th August 2005 and it follows on from a 2001 Report by the Taskforce on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying. The recommendations of the 2001 Taskforce were implemented. One of the recommendations in the...

Proposed Legislation. (11 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: The issue of corporate manslaughter was considered while drafting the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill, which ultimately became the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. The Attorney General was of the opinion that there were much broader issues to be considered than those of safety, health and welfare at work. Legislating in the relatively confined area of occupational safety...

Proposed Legislation. (11 Oct 2006)

Tony Killeen: Deputy Morgan is correct regarding the fines this year. However, there have been much greater fines, including those issued last year. A fine in the order of €500,000 was issued in one case. It is important to remember that the provisions of section 80 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 implements the second recommendation in the report of the Law Reform Commission. It...