Results 1,321-1,340 of 50,064 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Unemployment Levels. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: ——the industrial agencies are represented. There is no point re-inventing the wheel just for the optics and creating another task force. We do not propose to do so.

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The public consultation process which I initiated following the consumer strategy group's recommendation that the groceries order should be revoked generated in excess of 550 submissions. These were received from a wide range of parties, including trade groups, producers, retailers as well as a significant number from the public. All the submissions have been considered and a comprehensive...

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: A decision will be made in October. It was important to allow a two-month public consultation programme prior to 31 July, as we did. We received a significant number of submissions which totalled 521. As I stated in replies to other questions, the order was introduced a long time ago, the situation has changed quite dramatically since then and the retail market has transformed. The...

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Is the Deputy playing the RGDATA game? It is interesting that——

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I accept that. Of the submissions, 44% came from the symbol groups. It may be interesting for the House to hear that approximately 398 of the submissions favoured retention of the order, 153 favoured revocation while the remaining ten sought amendments or raised other issues. Not surprisingly, the submissions favouring retention came from the industry while the majority of those favouring...

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should wait to hear the answer. One of the key pluses of the Competition Act 2002 was to take politics out of the operations of the Competition Authority in terms of its activities, particularly in terms of the chairman. He has a specific statutory remit and within that are provisions to deal with abuse of dominance.

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: There might be a number of factors as to why a case was not taken. In terms of pricing for a range of foodstuffs, for example, we are higher in that regard than most other member states. We know anecdotally that the price differential between one store and another can be substantial, yet significant sectors of the market do not appear to be concerned about that.

Grocery Industry. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: That is the point I am making. There is no evidence of a predatory pricing agenda but I do get evidence, and it is even obvious from the submissions, that there are significant differentials now, depending on the type of store, in terms of what one will pay. The problem with the groceries order is that it prohibits selling at anything below net invoice price.

Employment Conditions. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: On a point of order, my understanding is that this is part of the insurance reform programme. Regulatory matters of general insurance issues are the responsibility of the Department of Finance, car insurance is the responsibility of the Department of Transport and my Department has retained responsibility for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. We do not have responsibility for general...

Employment Conditions. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: It is the responsibility of the Deputy to put down the right question to the right Department.

Employment Conditions. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should table it to the correct Department.

Employment Conditions. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I have not seen that question.

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Allegations of non-compliance with labour legislation in respect of a major construction firm were raised in this House on 8 February last by Deputy Joe Higgins. Those allegations were that certain non-national construction workers were required to work excessive hours and that such workers were in receipt of pay of between €2 and €3 per hour in contravention of the statutory minimums...

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: In regard to the details pertaining to each worker, our officials, in particular our labour inspectors, worked hard to secure as many personal details as possible about each worker. They contacted SIPTU and Deputy Joe Higgins for names and so on. We also worked out formulae regarding workers' entitlements for previous and current work and overtime. The overtime issue was ultimately dealt with...

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: We cannot attempt to prejudice a tender on notions we have based on experience or occurrences. I do not control the tendering process. Companies present the REA rates and so on as part of the tender submission. The key issue is that, on winning a contract, the company should do what the tender document says. Trust and observance of the law are also important issues in this regard. With regard...

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I will not outline specifics. We are working on proposals. We want to recruit the additional ten inspectors and the recruitment and training process is almost complete. The intention is to concentrate on the issue of migrant labour.

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: We could not be described as weak regarding how we tackled the Gama issue. I do not say I subscribe to the Deputy's terminology regarding the companies as I do not want to be found in breach of a court order.

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: When the Gama issue was presented to us, we acted resolutely. Up to €25 million was returned to the bank accounts of workers, which is a substantial amount by any benchmark. The recognised rate increased significantly and the blockage regarding the recognised agreed rate of pay in the construction sector caused by one union objecting to the modus operandi was substantially addressed. We...

Industrial Disputes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Joe Higgins and others deserve credit for that.

Departmental Bodies. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The past decade saw the most rapid and sustained economic growth in the history of the State. In a short period, this has provided levels of prosperity in every region that would have been considered by earlier policymakers as impossible. As a small open economy we have few defences against the powerful changes taking place in international trade and business. Nationally we have an enthusiasm...