Results 23,281-23,300 of 26,610 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister to the House and genuinely wish him well in his new role. It has been considered a poisoned chalice for a long number of years but I hope it will not be for him and he brings real reform to the health service. I commend the Government and Fine Gael Senators for proposing a good motion. Normally, when the Government tables a motion in the Seanad we, in Sinn Féin,...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I withdraw my amendment but will resubmit it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 5: In page 8, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following:“(iii) an amount equal to that paid to regularised employees engaged in the same work in the same employment,”.I would like to hear the Minister's response.

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: The problem is that the legislation only allows for the compensation awarded to be calculated based on the national minimum wage or on other minimum rates pursuant to the statute, which in this case means a registered employment agreement. The Minister has argued before that no worker in the State has a statutory guarantee to payment above these rates, and he is right. However, the rate...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 6: In page 10, between lines 26 and 27, to insert the following:“(14) A foreign national who has engaged in civil proceedings as referred to in section 2B may apply to the court for interim relief.”.I withdraw the amendment but will resubmit it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 7: In page 16, line 12, to delete “or civil partner” and substitute the following:“, civil partner, or the former spouse or civil partner where a separation has occurred during the period of employment in the State”.The legislation extends a work permit to spouses, in very limited circumstances, to encourage highly specialised workers to come...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:"(a) that his or her contravention was as a result or a feature of exploitative work practices by the employer, or".I will resubmit the amendment in advance of Report Stage.

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 4. In page 8, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:"(3) Where an employer referred to in section 2(1)(a) or, in the case of employment referred to in section 2(1)(b), a person referred to in section 2(1A)(a) or a contractor referred to in section 2(1A)(b) has not paid a foreign national to whom this section applies and where the foreign national institutes civil...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I am speaking to amendment No. 3, which is similar to the amendment tabled by Senator van Turnhout. I support both amendments. My arguments are in the same vein as those made by Senator van Turnhout. I pay tribute to Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, which has done extensive work in the preparation of the Bill, in lobbying all of us and in highlighting issues that have affected migrant workers...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: Like Senator O'Brien, I want to hear what the Minister has to say. All this is about dealing with below-cost selling. It is the substance of our amendment and, I assume, amendment No. 23. Maybe the Minister does not feel it is necessary, and Senator Quinn has given his view on it. Any measures we can take that would prohibit below-cost selling should be welcomed because it is...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 18: In page 86, line 30, after “undertakings” to insert “to be made within 30 days”.I assume the Minister has been lobbied many times with regard to prompt payments for suppliers. The issue for them is they must wait for a long time to get paid by retailers, be they larger multiples or smaller or medium-sized retailers. It is reasonable to...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 19: In page 88, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following:“(iii) to secure or retain shelf-space, to improve positioning, or to increase an allocation of shelf-space of the grocery goods or of the grocery goods undertaking, in the premises of the relevant grocery goods undertaking, (iv) in respect of requiring a supplier to obtain any goods or services from a...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I do not seek to interfere with any company's accountancy arrangements. The Minister's response, that this could be a threat to foreign investment and big multiples, was similar to his response on this in the Dáil and Senator Darragh O'Brien touched on this area. I do not buy this as it favours secrecy over openness and transparency, which is what the Minister argued this Bill stood...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: Senator Quinn did well out of it.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 14: In page 86, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following:“(2) A retailer defined as a relevant grocery goods undertaking must disclose the annual profits of its Irish outlets.”.This has been a contentious issue for some time. Large retailers such as Tesco do not make public the annual profits they generate in Irish outlets. This Bill gives us an...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: The amendment put forward in the Dáil included garden plants, but I am not sure why that has been omitted.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: Good. Subsection (e) refers to all other goods sold in grocery goods undertakings. We must accept the reality that large retailers stock and sell a vast array of products which are not covered in the Bill. There is no protection for electrical or hardware suppliers or suppliers of flowers, newspapers, magazines, stationery, greeting cards, clothing, ties, giftware and so on. This is the...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 10: In page 84, line 5, after “goods,” to insert “newspaper and magazine distribution companies”.This amendment proposes to include newspaper and magazine distribution companies.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 11: In page 84, lines 27 and 28, to delete “€50 million” and substitute “€10 million”.This is a simple amendment which seeks to reduce the turnover figure to ensure the relevant grocery goods undertaking, GGU, applies to intermediate suppliers. There was some discussion in the Dáil on this. I do not wish to hold up...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 12: In page 85, lines 10 and 11, to delete “or indirectly through franchise arrangements,”.This amendment deals with a situation where a person is a party to a franchise agreement with another person. It has been argued that franchises should not be included in any definition in this Bill. I read the Dáil exchanges on this issue, which seem to imply...