Results 281-300 of 415 for speaker:Ollie Crowe

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I appreciate the need for public health measures but as other Senators outlined, late-night sectors are to close again, having been closed for 595 days and reopening for 27 days. This is extraordinarily difficult for staff, as Senator Sherlock outlined, and business owners, as Senator Horkan outlined. It is not just about the closure but ongoing difficulties for the staff in this sector....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I offer my sincere sympathies to Annita, Emer and the Currie family on the death of a statesman. I want to raise the construction sector. It is an area, thankfully, that is rebounding strongly following lockdown with business having increased in each of the past seven months. The sector seems poised for further growth and with the new sectoral employment order likely to be implemented - I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: This afternoon, I want to speak about Eyre Square in Galway city, which has suffered from a spate of antisocial behaviour in recent times. Having grown up 200 yd from Eyre Square, I can say with certainty that this is unprecedented. At a recent joint policing committee, the chief superintendent of Galway city suggested that consideration should be given to closure of the area at night time....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Challenges to Ireland's Competitiveness: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I welcome Ms Kane and Mr. Gilvarry and I thank Mr. Gilvarry for his detailed presentation. The side of it I would be interested in is in the context of the 2021 report. The SMEs highlighted three costs in particular which are very challenging for the sector, namely, the insurance costs, legal costs and the cost of credit. Stating the obvious, the insurance firms pass on the costs of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Challenges to Ireland's Competitiveness: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: Could Mr. Gilvarry provide more information on the claims database to which he referred?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Challenges to Ireland's Competitiveness: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: On the legal bills and the cost being reduced, does the council believe that those reduced premiums will come back to SMEs as a reduced cost? What I am asking is, now that the legal costs have been reduced, will that be passed on to the SMEs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Challenges to Ireland's Competitiveness: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: With regard to Brexit, the report has highlighted how challenging it will be for Irish exporters to replace UK customers with customers on the Continent given the barriers that exist with language, culture and so forth. Are there any actions the council would recommend that the Government take in the coming months to support exporters?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Challenges to Ireland's Competitiveness: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Ollie Crowe: With your agreement, Chairman, I wish to share my time with Deputy O'Connor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Resourcing and Capacity of the Workplace Relations Commission: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank Mr. Kelly and Mr. O'Brien for their contributions and the time they have spent with the committee. Mr. O'Brien referred to research carried out by the department of law at Maynooth University, MU, in his statement and subsequent remarks. I only received the report yesterday, so I have not had the opportunity to go through it in detail. A brief analysis of the research showed that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Resourcing and Capacity of the Workplace Relations Commission: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I will leave it at that for now.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I wish to raise the issue of enhanced funding for the education sector in budget 2022. I welcome in particular the greater staffing in terms of special needs assistants, with funding provided for more than 1,100 special needs assistants. There will be 980 new special education teachers, 620 of whom will provide additional support for children attending mainstream classes, including in new...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank the Minister of State for attending. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, for his support in recent weeks and months. There is a lot of positive news in the budget and I welcome the increased rates for core social protection schemes in particular. Similarly, the recruitment of additional special needs education teachers and assistants will surely be welcomed by all,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank the Chairman. I will not require the full seven minutes at this juncture. I thank Ms McNamara for the detailed presentation and I thank the other officials for joining the meeting. As regards the gaps being closed by the legislation in the context of digital content and digital services, how significant an issue have these been in recent years? Has the lack of legislation in this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank Ms McNamara for the response. Following on from that, I am aware the Department carried out consultation on the Bill. The consultation closed to submissions at the end of June. Has the review of submissions been fully completed? If so, what sort of feedback arose from that consultation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: Overall, Ms McNamara would say the feedback from the consultation was very positive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Consumer Rights Bill 2021: Discussion (13 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I will leave it at that for the moment.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I want to raise the issue of driver test delays. I appreciate it has been raised before in the House but it remains a significant issue with more than 100,000 people currently waiting for a test, according to the latest figures from the Road Safety Authority, RSA. I want acknowledge the Government has taken action by hiring additional testers and opening ten temporary testing centres but it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Four-Day Working Week: Discussion (6 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank Mr. O'Connor and Ms McElwee for their opening statements. I commend Ms Cox, who is from my constituency of Galway West and was a Senator for ten years, on her courage as director of one of the first companies in Ireland to implement the four-day week. It will not shock anyone who knows Ms Cox or her family members involved in the ICE Group that they are breaking new ground. I have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Four-Day Working Week: Discussion (6 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I agree with Ms Cox's comments regarding working within the resources of the company or the State, with each employee being given an option. That is the message. It could be set up on a Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday basis, with productivity remaining the same or even increasing. That is a significant message for all companies. I have a number of concerns around this. There...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Four-Day Working Week: Discussion (6 Oct 2021)

Ollie Crowe: I thank Ms Cox for explaining the need to work within the company in order that employees will buy in, there will be a better work-life balance and there will be great rewards from that. It has to come that way. I raised this issue earlier but I will do so again in order that I am clear. If there are certain sectors or areas where this is not possible to implement, are there concerns...