Results 1,941-1,960 of 6,431 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-Hour Contracts: Discussion (19 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I thank the Senator for his comments. He comes to the issue with great experience in the marketplace. He is right; it is a very difficult balancing act. Nobody around this table should have any truck with legislating anybody out of a job. Neither should we accept the idea of jobs at any cost. There should be a threshold of decency. Senator Quinn would accept this and the vast majority...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-Hour Contracts: Discussion (19 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I thank the Deputy. I agree. There is a dignity involved in work. It bestows dignity on a person and a family, and it is important we have strong employment protections, which we have always striven to have. The report is important and will feed the process we are engaged in with a view to getting to a better place in which we can balance the needs of business with the requirements of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-Hour Contracts: Discussion (19 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The Deputy might ask his fellow Mayo man when he intends to hold the election.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-Hour Contracts: Discussion (19 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I was asked in November to bring recommendations to the Government in a timely fashion. I would like to see proposals brought to the Cabinet in the next few weeks. We are working on them. Submissions were sought and we are in the process of going through them, but many of the detailed submissions are diametrically opposed. Finding the balance will be critical. This is important work, and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Company Closures (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: Elements of existing legislation are currently under scrutiny. As the Deputy will be aware in the context of the review, I commissioned the report which I presented to Cabinet in July. Reference was also made to section 599 in company law and we think this is still relevant and may yet be used to test the law in this case. Last week the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Company Closures (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: One of the first actions that was taken in the context of the Clerys liquidation was the undertaking of a review by me of the circumstances around it. We were all appalled at the treatment of the Clerys workers and concession holders. We were very focused on the need for the Department of Social Protection, as the main creditor who had to pay out of its insolvency fund for statutory...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Company Closures (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I agree that the focus needs to change. The Skillnets programme is operated by a lot of our business representative organisations and I have seen some of the programmes sponsored by, for example, ISME, which work very well for SMEs right across the country in upskilling people who are in employment to make sure we have the appropriate skills for the job and career challenges of the future....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: Concerns about exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers in this sector are global in nature. In order to address the complex array of issues facing the State in monitoring compliance with workplace legislation in the fishing industry, the Government established a task force on allegations regarding treatment of workers on Irish fishing trawlers, which was chaired by my colleague the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The scheme will be operated by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Where my interest lies is in terms of the operation of the National Minimum Wage Act. Under the scheme non-EEA workers, having gone through a system and a process in terms of a contract where a fishing vessel licence owner will have to go through a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: In terms of whether fishing industry representatives have sought additional permits that is not information that I hold. The scheme is operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: We are in a much better situation now. I reject any claims that the Government was less than swift to respond to reports as outlined in The Guardian. We acted very quickly to put the new system in place. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, and I acted very quickly to put the new system in place to deal with this very difficult situation. It is useful...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: -----channels we have legislated to improve in recent times. The full suite of employment legislation is available to protect people who will be operating this particular scheme.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The statement of Government priorities in July 2014 committed to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero-hour contracts among Irish employers and their impact on employees and make policy recommendations to Government on foot of the study. Following a competitive tendering process, a team from the University of Limerick was appointed in February 2015 to carry out a study into the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I know that Deputy Murphy has a particular worldview. Regardless of what the CSO might say about the increase in full-time work, the increase in employment generally and the falling numbers of those in underemployment, all of which are welcome, he would always beg to differ with the view of the CSO and the Government. There is of course a challenge for the economy, the Government and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: We are considering the proposals. It is important to ensure that employers have a degree of flexibility in the labour market, but not to the point where anyone is allowed to be exploited or abused by unscrupulous employers. We undertook this study because we were conscious of that. We wanted to get a handle on the nature and extent of low-hour contracts and the survey has made a useful...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The Low Pay Commission was established last year through the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015. Its remit is to make recommendations to me regarding the national minimum hourly rate of pay, ensuring that all decisions are evidence based, fair and sustainable and do not create significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness. The Low Pay Commission also...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The reason I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine these areas in the first place was that we wanted to make sure there was full, active participation in the workforce and that people were treated appropriately. The commission's figures revealed that about two thirds of those on the national minimum wage were women. We want to look under the bonnet to see why that is the case. For...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The difference between the Deputy and the Labour Party is that he talks about all of these issues and we take action to address them. That is the fundamental difference. We provide the solutions.

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: The Deputy is quite good at identifying some of the problems, but he does not take a solutions-based approach to the economic and social challenges. That is unfortunate, but we do and we have had some success in doing so. I do not agree with his depiction of the economy as a low-wage economy in general. The evidence does not suggest it is. Living standards are improving; the level of...

Other Questions: Employment Rights (20 Jan 2016)

Gerald Nash: I thank Deputy Tóibín for raising this issue. Ireland has a well-resourced and proactive labour inspectorate in the form of the Workplace Relations Commission. Inspections are undertaken on the basis of risk analysis which identifies certain sectors as a result of complaints received and on a routine basis. Where the inspection service receives complaints of bogus self-employment...