Results 2,881-2,900 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: 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: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, subsection (1), to delete lines 15 to 17. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen. I realise he has put a great deal of work into the legislation. As I said on Committee Stage, this is crucial legislation, elements of which must be examined, tweaked and perhaps changed. In a sense, the effect of the amendment is to throw out the baby with the bath...

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

Joe O'Toole: My objection does not hinge on the employee and employer having some agreed basis for agreeing the appointment, it hinges on the fact that the agreement may not include an electoral process. Will the Minister of State or Senator Quinn state if there is a way of agreeing the appointment that would not include some form of electoral process? One elects somebody by way of putting names forward...

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

Joe O'Toole: I know the points Senator Quinn is making and I have heard them many times from entrepreneurs and others. It would be very helpful if the Minister of State could put on record certain facts so Senator Quinn can convey to the people he meets in future that Ireland has the best or next best strike record in western Europe. It holds this record because many people put much blood, sweat and tears...

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

Joe O'Toole: I take the Minister of State's points. I will also examine how that model works in other places and return to the matter on Report Stage.

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

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, I was also unaware that these amendments would be taken together. We did not have notice of this until now and I am not blaming anyone for that. Can the House deal with amendment No. 2 now? When we reach amendment No. 52, we can take amendments Nos. 53 to 62, inclusive, with it. This would give Members an opportunity to consider what is involved. Is that acceptable to the...

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

Joe O'Toole: That is correct.

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

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, subsection (1), line 20, to delete paragraph (a). I will deal with amendment No. 3 first. I am trying to make life easy for Senator Quinn and the people he might meet in respect of this matter. In order to ensure that he does not have to contact every person in the shop and talk to them alone or in pairs, I suggest that much time may be saved simply by...

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

Joe O'Toole: While I have no problem with amendments Nos. 3 and 7 being taken together, I agree with Senator McDowell that amendments Nos. 48 and 49 are different. As such, I suggest we deal with the first two amendments only.

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

Joe O'Toole: Amendment No. 7 proposes to define the word "information" as "the transmission by the employer to employee representatives of data in order to enable them to acquaint themselves with the subject matter under discussion;'". As the Minister of State will note, the amendment proposes a slight change to the current wording in that it deletes the words "one or more employees". The amendment would...

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

Joe O'Toole: I am taken aback slightly by the reasons set out for rejecting the amendments. Amendment No. 48 tabled by Senators White, Quinn and Coghlan seeks to insert a requirement that employees "be informed and consulted through their representatives (as defined under this Act)". I am happy to support this amendment because it achieves my objective. I am not trying to exclude anything from happening....

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

Joe O'Toole: There may be a misunderstanding on the part of Senator Quinn. This has nothing to do with trade unions. I am not talking about trade unions or unionised workplaces here. I am simply stating that under section 1(1) the Bill defines appointed representatives of employees, the same people who are referred to in amendment No. 48 of Senator White and Senator Quinn, which inserts "to be informed...