Results 4,061-4,080 of 6,307 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: I will not support the amendment either for the reasons outlined by Senator Higgins. This issue has been kicked around for several years. It is central to the Bill and to the effectiveness of any legislation we might bring in. The sanction is important and has been scrutinised to within an inch of its life over the past three or four years. I am comfortable with it and anybody who has any...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: I acknowledge what Senator Ardagh and others are saying but I side with the Minister on this. We would only get a big blank page on how the section was operating because it will take a little while for the legislation to bed down and for everybody to understand what their responsibilities and obligations are. The appropriate latitude should be given to the relevant Oireachtas committee to...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: I respect where Senator Ardagh is coming from on this point but the WRC will generally reflect on this type of thing in its annual reports. The WRC will manage the legislation and hear any complaints, if and when they arise. I have every faith in the WRC being able to collate the information and give us its professional expert view on the operation of this section of the Act.

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: If it is appropriate and timely, I support what Senator Byrne and others have said regarding the protection of those who work in the English language schools sector. The sector is very exposed and has had its problems in recent years. Much of what is reflected in this legislation will actually protect some of those who are working in that sector. There are, however, other ways in which...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: It is all related with regard to employment conditions, the way in which companies are managed and the way in which company law interacts with employment law. We have seen this in the context of Clery's, in the context of a recent failure of a company in Dundalk that left almost 200 people out on the road without any rights or entitlements. While they have rights and entitlements they are...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: In this case, it is not a matter of resourcing the ODCE. There are at least two key provisions of company law that have been in place for some time in different iterations and have been used and tested. For example, a company's assets can be pursued to reclaim moneys owed to the State through statutory redundancy and so on, but that has not happened. The law is there but it needs to be...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: I know what Senator Ruane is trying to achieve and I support that in principle. I remember reading the advice of the WRC around the time the discussion was taking place on Committee Stage in the Dáil and I was quite taken aback by the strength of that. In my experience in these Houses I do not think I have ever seen the WRC provide that kind of advice in advance of an amendment being...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2018)

Gerald Nash: I just received notice earlier today from the Cathaoirleach's office that the amendment is out of order. It relates to if-and-when contracts and a difference of opinion between myself and the Minister on that whole issue. It was ruled out of order on the basis that it could impose a potential charge on the Exchequer. I do not believe that it would. It is bizarre, but this practice is...

Seanad: Brexit: Motion (22 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I want to record my welcome and that of my party for last night's Dáil vote, which was virtually unanimous. It was opposed by the usual suspects who are permanently blinded to the benefits of EU membership for workers, business and investment. All of us must preface our remarks, as Senator Richmond did, by saying every time we speak about...

Seanad: Brexit: Motion (22 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: That is the case for Ireland and I firmly believe it is the case for the UK as well. We never wanted Brexit in the first place. As Senator Richmond mentioned, when it was expected some years ago that a referendum on Brexit would take place, the previous Government, in which I served, had many meetings to establish contingencies for various outcomes. Ironically, this country is probably...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018: Second Stage (21 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I will come in the next phase. That is fine.

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018: Second Stage (21 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I will come in on the next phase.

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018: Second Stage (21 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I am glad my colleague, Senator Conway, is back in the Chamber. I have great time and respect for him and have known him for a long time. It is not very often that I disagree with him fundamentally. Senator Conway said earlier that discretion is not a bad thing, but a system that is based entirely on discretion is a bad thing. That is the reality of the situation we have now. It makes...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Garda Deployment (20 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: Numbers-wise, the Drogheda area is being policed as if it were a small provincial town and not the sixth largest urban area in the country. At present, approximately 107 gardaí are situated in Drogheda Garda station with only one or two vehicles available at any given time. Units that should have 11 to 12 gardaí are down to five or six gardaí. This makes it very difficult to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Garda Deployment (20 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I would appreciate if I could get the view of the Minister on whether special powers need to be in improved or implemented in a different way. However, I thank the Minister of State for the response. Many more gardaí need to be deployed to the Drogheda area to make sure that people feel safe. This is a time members of the public should support the work of the Garda. In this context,...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I join with the sentiments expressed by my colleague, Senator Higgins, on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. I participated in a ceremony in Drogheda organised by the Augustinian congregation there, a group of priests that does remarkable work with the community. It is a very progressive group which holds a very important remembrance service annually. It is organised by...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: As I was saying, these reliefs are very important opportunities for ordinary working people such as bar workers, nurses, employed electricians, rail workers and others to claim back some small reliefs, for example for the purchase, cleaning or laundering of uniforms. I accept the reliefs have developed on a rather piecemeal basis over the years but now we understand Revenue is carrying out a...

Seanad: Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (20 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I cannot assure the Minister that I will be brief and I hope that she and the Cathaoirleach will indulge me. I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. I welcome the Minister and her officials who have worked very hard over many years to get to this point. In fairness, I also wish to give the Minister her due credit for sticking with this project. I...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Facilities (8 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: The capital programme for health projects, approved by the previous Government, included provision for a badly needed extension to the emergency department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, my local hospital. The hospital has been synonymous with serious overcrowding. This project, worth more than €20 million, was a welcome addition to the health infrastructure in the area...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Facilities (8 Nov 2018)

Gerald Nash: I hope that health service staff in Drogheda and elsewhere in the north east, particularly staff across all disciplines at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, will be reassured by what the Minister of State said. The additional X-ray room is critically important if the full diagnostic capacity of the hospital is to work. We have additional new beds. As I said in my opening remarks, if a new...