Results 1,721-1,740 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: The Senator is walking away from it.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the amendment. I compliment Senator White on picking up on the point. With regard to the term "undertaking" being used in the directive, it is not unusual for terms to be taken from directives and transposed into legislation. I do not have any difficulty with this. However, it is important, as Senator Quinn stated, that the Bill should relate to public and private undertakings. The...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: No, I am very serious. It is the kind of thing that will also be useful to the Senator in the Lower House.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 11: In page 5, subsection (2), between lines 29 and 30 to insert the following new paragraph: "(e) the provisions and procedures contained in the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 and the Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004.". This may simply be an inadvertent omission from the list of legislation but the Minister of State will agree that...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I appreciate the clarification provided by the Minister of State. Am I correct in saying that nothing in the Bill can in any way prevent, interfere with or interrupt the operation of the 2001 and 2004 Acts? In other words, the proposed legislation cannot be used to delay, interrupt, or prevent an engagement in any way under those Acts? That is all I am trying to establish. If the Minister of...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 12: In page 6, subsection (1), line 2, to delete "a relevant workforce threshold" and substitute 2 "'the relevant workforce threshold' set out in section 4(2)". Again, I am seeking clarity. The section I am attempting to amend uses the phrase "in determining whether employees are employed in an undertaking that meets a relevant workforce threshold". I want to be assured...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Therefore, the House will at least be aware that it makes reference to section 4(2).

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 13: In page 6, subsection (1), lines 7 to 8, to delete paragraph (b). The paragraph does not add anything to the Bill and is a danger we could do without. Will the Minister of State explain how necessary it is or accept this amendment?

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 14: In page 6, subsection (2), line 9, after "from" to insert "a trade union or excepted body or". I spoke on the matter of the recognition of a trade union earlier. We have attempted to insert a definition of a trade union in amendment No. 9. My amendment recognises the partnership process and its deepening into workplace levels. Trade unions or excepted bodies should be...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: That is not the intention of the amendment. What would be the Minister of State's view on a Report Stage amendment that clarified this could only occur in the case of a union already with members in the undertaking? We could discuss this on Report Stage. I accept that the amendment could lead to the interpretation cited by the Minister of State, which was not my intention.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: The amendment in my name and that of Senator McDowell stipulates that employees' representatives means such trade unions as are representative of the employees where there is such a trade union or persons who are directly elected by the employees in the undertaking. I am taking into consideration the point made by Senator Quinn that not all workers or workplaces will be organised into trade...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Oh?

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: The argument in favour of amendment No. 22 is that it is good practice to move roles among different people so that it would not become similar to a role of club secretary held for 40 years. In such circumstances it becomes difficult to remove somebody because it becomes confrontational. It is better if someone must seek re-election. Requiring that somebody be re-established in the position...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (12 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Before the Minister of State replies, I wish to clarify an issue for Senator White. She made an important point to the effect that people are not used to seeking election and that in many workplaces, big or small, people would not want to put themselves forward for such a role. In my previous job I had responsibility for 3,500 primary schools throughout the country. Some schools were very big...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I want the Acting Leader to raise the possibility again of having a discussion on the food industry with a particular emphasis on the manner in which it is being treated at a European level. I may take the opportunity to raise this issue, possibly this afternoon. In recent times, I have examined the impact of regulation on the meat industry. I believe we have now reached the point where...

Seanad: European Union: Statements. (13 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: We should express our thanks to the Taoiseach for giving of his time here again this afternoon. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, to the debate. I appreciate his being here. I am sure he will take back what we have to say. This kind of debate, with five minute contributions, is lively and good. I have listened to it in my office for the past hour and it flowed quite well. It is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: It would be very useful to get a clear outline of the position regarding the proposal made by Senator Brian Hayes. Every politician has been asked questions about this issue. It is not my intention to try to apportion blame to anybody in a one-hour or two-hour debate but we, as public representatives with a general responsibility to the public, need information about it. This information...

Seanad: Salmon Fisheries Report: Statements. (19 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I wish to share my time with Senator Ross.

Seanad: Salmon Fisheries Report: Statements. (19 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I suspect I might be a lonely voice in this debate. Rugadh agus tógadh mé i measc iascairí i nDaingean Uí Chúis, which is Dingle in English. I do not like the idea of a buyout, which was the approach taken to the Native Americans and Aborigines — buy them out; put them out of work; put them into reservations; and forget about them. This is not the correct approach. While many different...

Seanad: Salmon Fisheries Report: Statements. (19 Oct 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Most of them are Trinity College graduates.