Results 1,461-1,480 of 6,431 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Disputes (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Deputy Costello for raising this important matter and articulating very clearly the experiences of some of the employees, which he outlined earlier. A presentation was made to Oireachtas colleagues today by members of the Mandate trade union, many of whom are working in Dunnes Stores. I also want to acknowledge the Deputy's recognition of the work I have carried out with Government...

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Disputes (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: In these type of circumstances, of course the question will be asked as to how the Government can help to address a situation like this where an employer refuses to engage with its workforce. It is to address these very kinds of circumstances that I am drafting new collective bargaining legislation which we will enact as a Government in mid 2015. Deputy Costello will be only too well aware...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank the Chairman for his kind invitation, which has afforded me the opportunity to present the general scheme of the low pay commission (national minimum wage) Bill 2015 for the purposes of pre-legislative scrutiny. The general scheme of the Bill was approved by Government in January, and, together with a regulatory impact assessment, has been published on my Department's website and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I am satisfied that the Central Statistics Office, CSO, can do that without my or Deputy Calleary's assistance. Will the Deputy repeat his third question, as I did not catch it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Deputy will notice from the heads, the public commentary and the interventions I have made in recent times about the low pay commission that it will look at related matters. There is a range of different areas the low pay commission could potentially examine. I have asked the commission to focus exclusively over the next short period of time on the next rate of the national minimum...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: In the short term.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I find it extraordinary that while this is one of the most important initiatives any government has taken to address low pay, Deputy Tóibín and his party cannot find it in themselves to welcome it. That is shameful. Deputy Tóibín has chosen to make some political charges. The reality is that the Labour Party in government, and this Government in general, is committed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I cannot reiterate this strongly enough. Given the short timeframe, the work we have asked the low pay commission to do is exclusively on the minimum wage for the moment. However, it is clear to me, and we can all agree, that low pay, for example, is a large issue. There is no doubt that there is a gender element to it, and the low pay commission will be looking at issues to do with that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: -----of zero hour contracts. I do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the review of zero hour contracts. This is the first such review of this nature carried out by any Government in this State. We need to reflect on that because it illustrates the Government's commitment to making work pay and dealing with some of the more egregious issues we have all come across in recent years. We do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: That is exactly the situation. The statutory minimum wage was introduced only a few years ago. It is the floor beneath which nobody should be allowed to fall in a decent society. Most of us here would never recommend that an employer pay the minimum wage. The living wage is a very interesting concept which I have been exploring in detail recently. I had announced publicly several weeks...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (25 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: Ireland's strong commitment to protecting the rights of domestic workers was highlighted last July when we ratified the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers. Ireland is among the small group of seventeen ILO member countries that have ratified this Convention to date. To mark the occasion of Ireland's ratification of the Convention and to help...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Industrial Disputes (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand that the current dispute concerns a range of issues, including the introduction of banded hours contracts, individual and collective representational rights and a review of the use of temporary contracts. The union is seeking to engage with the company on these issues and the matter was referred by the union to the Labour Court under section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Industrial Disputes (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I am pleased the Deputy raised the issue of zero-hour contracts. As he acknowledged, I have been doing work in that area because I am concerned that the recovery we are experiencing should not be characterised by a race to the bottom. We have engaged the University of Limerick to carry out a major study into the prevalence and extent of zero-hour contracts and low-hour contracts in this...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Industrial Disputes (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: Nobody likes taking industrial action of any description, in particular workers who depend on their jobs for their income. It is never in the interests of a business to experience strike action either. I reiterate the call I made in this House just two days ago for all sides to engage and to use the professional expertise of the very well respected professional labour relations institutions...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: They are getting more than a shrug; they are getting contracts. Public procurement provides an opportunity in the domestic market for Irish enterprises, with annual expenditure by the Government sector of €8 billion on goods and services. Policy responsibility for public procurement rests with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. However, my Department and its agencies...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: We are considering all the time how we can improve opportunities for SMEs and micro-enterprises in order that they can engage with the Office of Public Procurement to win public contracts. The evidence from the 2013 figures which represent the first analysis of its kind undertaken shows that the performance of SMEs in winning public contracts is very strong. By comparison with the position...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I find in my day-to-day work as a constituency Deputy that it is often the case there is a misunderstanding by SMEs and micro-enterprises about the way in which they might approach public tendering processes. This is why it is so important that our State agencies work with business representative organisations to break down any of those barriers and misconceptions. It is misleading of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Establishment (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: The establishment of a Low Pay Commission is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last. The General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill was approved by Government in January. The General Scheme, together with a Regulatory Impact Assessment, has been published on my Department's website and forwarded to the Joint...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand that the current dispute concerns a range of issues, including the introduction of banded hours contracts, individual and collective representational rights and a review of the use of temporary contracts. The union is seeking to engage with the company on these issues and the matter was referred by the union to the Labour Court under section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (26 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand that the current dispute concerns a range of issues, including the introduction of banded hours contracts, individual and collective representational rights and a review of the use of temporary contracts. The union is seeking to engage with the company on these issues and the matter was referred by the union to the Labour Court under section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations...