Results 2,361-2,380 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electricity Generation (5 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 148. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on replicating the microgeneration process in Northern Ireland in which projects do not require additional planning permission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22404/22]

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: This issue came up from the very start. We are trying to strike a balance and everybody recognises that workers need a right to sick pay and that traditionally this was provided only by the State and the employer did not play any role and that was not fair or balanced. The difficulty with the proposal, and I can understand how others can say that sick pay should be extended, is that the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: We had much debate on this matter during the pre-legislative scrutiny phase. There was toing and froing on issues like whether medical certificates should be required. Some felt that such certificates are necessary, even if good custom and practice would see that many employers do not always insist on them being produced. The one thing there was consensus on was that it is hard to justify...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I am sympathetic to Deputy O’Reilly’s amendment. Talking to unions and to employers, we could miss out on the experience we had in the pandemic, for instance, where there are wider issues that could be relevant. I do not really agree with Deputy Paul Murphy’s amendment. If we are in an economic crisis, that is a relevant factor to be taken into account. However, a...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: There is a genuine balance issue here. Other members are either not accepting or have forgotten the reality that obtains when an economy loses competitiveness on the scale that we experienced for a period. I am referring to the impact of the collapse of businesses into which employers have put a lifetime of work and to workers being left high and dry following the collapse of a business...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: One could see some cases where it was an oversight, error or the like and the worker was compensated by the amount that should have been paid, but if this is a deliberate attempt to avoid responsibility, there ought to be a penalty that is not just making up for what was lost. I would have thought that some level of discouragement or penalty was reasonable and that the worker who was denied...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Schemes (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 95. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of smart electricity meters installed; the geographic distribution of the smart meters installed; and the amount of funding that has been spent on the installation of smart meters. [22225/22]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Electric Vehicles (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 111. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider grant aiding the conversion of fossil-fuelled cars to electric as a way of acceleration of the conversion of the fleet to electric. [21714/22]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 161. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if persons who are paying into public service pension schemes have to continue making contributions after they have reached the maximum 40 years' service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22070/22]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Construction Industry (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 175. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if steps are being taken to adopt modular building material methods with off-site manufacture of modules in order to speed up the construction time of needed housing. [21698/22]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Animal Culls (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 178. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the scheme undertaken on a pilot basis to carry out a cull of seagulls has been assessed; and if there are plans to consider extending that approach elsewhere. [21771/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 256. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a permanent site for a school (details supplied) has been identified; and construction of a permanent building is scheduled. [21700/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 257. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has completed the assessment of the starting date for the new secondary school (details supplied) taking into account the very large number of new homes completed or under construction in the area. [21703/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 294. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he is considering allowing contributions to be made for pensions from rental income given the move to auto-enrolment. [21702/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Drug Rehabilitation Projects (4 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: 320. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the acute problems in reinstating important services for rehabilitating drug dependent young person's due to the lack of community employment youth workers such as in a case (details supplied); and if she will consider changing current community employment regulations to allow key support...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: Is there a copy of the groupings?

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: My amendments Nos. 15 and 17 have been included in this grouping although they are on slightly different topics. Amendment No. 15 seeks to insert that where targets are being set that we would have, as a minimum targets set “in Construction, Food, Clothing and Textiles, Equipment, and other relevant sectors”. Leaving it that targets would be set on a sectoral basis without...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: Is it grouped with other amendments?

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(a) the supply chain and processes of production and distribution of products and services are redesigned in order to minimise the environmental damage,”. This is a fairly important point. The way the Minister is defining "circular economy" is quite limited. It is about...