Results 3,601-3,620 of 12,377 for speaker:Louise O'Reilly

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Charges (10 May 2022)

Louise O'Reilly: 783. To ask the Minister for Health the awareness campaigns that are in place to advise patients with medical cards of the circumstances in relation to phlebotomy services charges; the way that patients are informed that they can make a complaint and seek a refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23165/22]

Rising Rental Costs: Motion [Private Members] (4 May 2022)

Louise O'Reilly: We are discussing this motion that has been put forward by my colleague, an Teachta Ó Broin, whom I wish to thank, not only for this motion but for all the work he does on behalf of people who are really living at the business end of the Minister's policies and what he, his party and his pals in government have done to the housing market. The housing market is almost broken beyond...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (4 May 2022)

Louise O'Reilly: I move amendment No. 1: In page 106, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 21 of Act of 2014 28.Section 21 of the Act of 2014 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection: “(2) When considering the provision of moneys to be provided to the Commission, the Minister may give consideration to the additional powers the Commission...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (4 May 2022)

Louise O'Reilly: I thank the Minister of State for the reply. What he pointed out about the Directorate-General for Competition is important. The legislation provides that "the Minister may give consideration". It does not compel the Minister and nor does it compel the Minister to only look at the previous year and use that as the basis; it is just something to be considered. I have a particular concern...

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

Louise O'Reilly: The Law Library, when it was reviewing the Bill, offered a view on the Bill itself. One of the points it raised was the absence of a definition of "illness or injury". Having gone through it - I will not use the word "reform" because it was really a slashing of the public service sick pay and sick leave scheme - I am aware it is really tough to define that, notwithstanding that it...

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

Louise O'Reilly: I welcome that. I am willing to be persuaded that it is not an issue. I raise it because it is not defined. I am happy to have a discussion with the Minister of State on it.

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

Louise O'Reilly: I am conscious that, in 2014, when the sick leave entitlements for serving civil and public servants were cut in half, mention was made by people, some of whom are still in government, that the measure was intended to improve productivity. I share the concerns regarding the link between that and sick leave entitlement. Would the Minister of State be open to strengthening what is currently...

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

Louise O'Reilly: How will the Government track this? The Minister of State was responding to a question on businesses, but it is important that the scheme's operation be tracked on behalf of workers as well. As Deputy Bruton pointed out, a trip to the Labour Court can be a draconian process and take a long time. That is also true for workers. If they are not given their entitlement, they will have to go...

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

Louise O'Reilly: As has been outlined, the requirement for continuous service will, in effect, leave hundreds of thousands of workers outside the scheme. I raised the issue with the Tánaiste. I took, possibly from his body language rather than anything he said, that he was amenable to this and heard the concern about, specifically, workers in education. It is a tactic of employers to lay off workers...

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

Louise O'Reilly: That is very welcome. I ask that when the Minister and Minister of State consider the amendment that they ensure the people who are intended to be captured in it do not have an additional requirement. Reference has been made to the need for a worker to be repeatedly employed. Let us say we stick with the 13 weeks, then a worker will end up with a 26-week requirement in a certain instance....

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

Louise O'Reilly: I move amendment No. 6: In page 5, line 31, to delete “continuous”. On the basis of the commitment given by the Minister of State, I withdraw my amendment but reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Louise O'Reilly: I will speak to my amendment No. 11. Deputy Murphy identified some of the issues with this section. The section is very heavily weighted in favour of the employer rather than the worker, which is problematic. Let us start with the premise that sick pay is an important tool in protecting public health and that no worker should consider going to work if he or she is sick. The intention is...

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

Louise O'Reilly: I want to reject that as well. It is constantly being said that the employer is paying. We could equally say that they have not been paying for decades and that they have been getting away with it for decades. It does not need to be referenced in that way. For this to work, we must not come at it from the perspective of this being some kind of gift that is being bestowed on workers....

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

Louise O'Reilly: I move amendment No. 11: In page 6, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: "(b) the state of society generally, the public interest and employee wellbeing;".

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

Louise O'Reilly: The Minister of State needs to look at the burden in this. While an element of paid sick leave is welcome and a statutory sick pay scheme is long overdue, and we have discussed this, it cannot exclude people because they are on low incomes. They will have to put their hands in their pockets to go to the doctor. I tabled an amendment that would have eliminated this until such time as we...

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

Louise O'Reilly: I am asking the Minister of State to take on board the concerns that were raised, particularly in respect of low-income workers, and do the maths regarding someone who is, for example, on the minimum wage or €13 per hour and how likely it is that they would have €55 or €60 to go to a doctor and then take that out of the 70%. I ask that he please do that exercise and...

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

Louise O'Reilly: We had a discussion on the accessibility or otherwise of the proposals. The absence of access to free GP care was cited by Dr. Laura Bambrick of ICTU during the pre-legislative scrutiny phase. She made the point that very few people who are working have access to GP cards or medical cards. This means that here is a significant cohort of workers involved. I again ask that the Minister of...

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

Louise O'Reilly: I would also be very strongly opposed to this. I respect the need to remain within the boundaries of other legislation and so on, but this makes it a risk worth taking not to grant it. All of the discussion we have had today is centred around recognition of the need for this, but it has to work. Deputy Bruton described the draconian process that an employer has to go through to go at the...

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

Louise O'Reilly: That is fair enough. The original proposal was 20 weeks, but now it is two. That is a 90% reduction, albeit a reduction in something employees did not have. In this case, though, I do not believe that we can say that you never miss what you never had. This will be missed. There has to be some element of a deterrent. As matters stand, it is a risk worth taking.

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

Louise O'Reilly: Twenty.