Results 2,521-2,540 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: Senator McDowell is perfectly correct. There are several enactments, some going back not only to the last century but to the previous one, which ought to have been repealed as a result of the 1989 Act. Some work has been under way in the Department, but it has not been possible to complete it. That will now be done in the context of the new legislation rather than the 1989 Act. Considerable...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: I assure Senator McDowell that the example of Army deafness that he gave is covered under the legislation as it stands. The very narrow focus of this exclusion is activities that occur in the course of operational duties and that could not reasonably be covered. It was not specifically raised in the other House, despite a very long debate on the matter, but I assure the Senator that the...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: Senators Coghlan and Cummins are correct in this regard. As the legislation stands, it would appear that the obligation was on the employer to give information to employees of another employer, which could clearly be difficult in practice and would remove the obligation from the second employer, diminishing the health and safety requirements on him or her. I am therefore able to accept this...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: There are obligations on both. The obligation on the main contractor is to give the information to the subcontractor, but the employee in question in this instance would be an employee of the subcontractor. In that circumstance, the obligation to give him or her the information lies with the latter, who is the direct employer. As the Bill stood, the middle person, the subcontractor, would...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: The primary obligation regarding health and safety requirements is on the main contractor. Assuming that the staff were taken on by the main contractor rather than a sub-contractor, that contractor has a clear obligation to pass on the health and safety requirements to the agency that employs the staff. If we accept this amendment, the onus would be on the employer to ensure, either directly...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: That is correct. The farmer is then the employer.

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: This amendment involves the deletion of section 17 and its replacement with a new section which is very similar. It arises from the directive on mobile sites which contains requirements that are better met with the new wording. It is also a result of HSA advice following consultation with its clients and the professional bodies. It will also have an impact on the new construction regulations...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: The Bill places considerable emphasis on prevention. The risk assessment statement and the safety statement are very important tools. I am taken by the point made by Senator Cummins on the annual review. There is some evidence to suggest that people hang their hats on that provision and feel it is the only requirement of them. There are workplaces where far more frequent reviews are required....

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: Amendment No. 7 is a technical amendment which is consequential on amendment No. 8. The latter arises from a debate in the Dáil and serves to clarify that employers must bring the safety statement to the attention of new employees upon commencement of employment. The existing provision only required an employer to bring the safety statement to the attention of employees once annually. These...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: As Senator Cummins says, this amendment will remove the obligation on employers to consult with both their employees and the safety representatives in every circumstance. I welcome the inclusion of the phrase "as appropriate" because there are circumstances in which it is entirely appropriate that an employer should consult with both. However, it has been pointed out to me that there are...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: This is a technical amendment which requires the replacement of a euro sign with a pound sign. The monetary sum is a direct quote from the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 and should be corrected to indicate a pound sign rather than a euro sign.

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: This amendment was drafted following legal advice. Section 58 provides that the Minister must allow at least 21 days for consultation before he or she signs any new regulations into law. However, there may well be a period before the regulations are ready in any event. This amendment will ensure existing regulations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 remain in force until...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: This is a technical amendment. There are circumstances in which the powers and functions of the Health and Safety Authority may be transferred to another person or body, for example, the Railway Procurement Agency in regard to railway accidents. This provision will enable such a transfer to take place. Amendment No. 14 is also a technical amendment to clarify that an inspector appointed under...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: It is a matter for the authority to decide. If this amendment is agreed, the Health and Safety Authority will, in specific cases where confusion might exist as to the responsible statutory body, be permitted to take decisions to enable the involvement of other persons and agencies.

Written Answers — National Minimum Wage: National Minimum Wage (11 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together. FÁS provides a grant to sponsors of the supported employment programme to fund the provision of co-ordinators and job coaches in order to provide support to people with disabilities in employment. The supported employment programme is designed to assist in the integration of persons with a disability into a job in the open labour market,...

Written Answers — National Minimum Wage: National Minimum Wage (11 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 202 and 203 together. FÁS contracts with NTDI and other agencies to provide training to people with disabilities who are deemed capable of accessing the open labour market. All trainees are paid a standard training allowance, average €179 per week, by the NTDI. Some trainees may also retain their social welfare entitlements, depending on their...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Second Stage. (11 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: I thank Senators from all sides who participated in the debate for their constructive and helpful comments and assure the House I approach this debate with an open mind and am open to accepting amendments tabled on Committee or Report Stages. Senator Coghlan asked a number of important questions, including one regarding resources for the Health and Safety Authority. The authority's budget...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Second Stage. (11 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004 seeks to modernise health and safety laws. It is significant legislation which affirms the Government's commitment to upholding the protection of workers. The Bill updates and amends the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, which was steered through the Oireachtas by the Taoiseach when he was Minister for Labour. The...

Written Answers — Employee Protection: Employee Protection (10 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 provides that an employee is entitled to a 15-minute break after working more than four and a half hours and to a further 15-minute break after working more than six hours. If a 15-minute break is not taken after more than four hours and 30 minutes work, a 30-minute break may be taken after more than six hours work. An employee would be entitled to a...

Written Answers — Health and Safety Regulations: Health and Safety Regulations (10 May 2005)

Tony Killeen: It is not possible to determine from the information supplied whether the area referred to in the first line of the question constitutes a place of work. If a site is subject to the European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2000, S.I. No. 476 of 2000, and, on account of its inventory, constitutes an "upper-tier" establishment then the...