Results 4,261-4,280 of 8,245 for speaker:Bríd Smith

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: We have obviously pushed his button the wrong way.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: I just pushed the Minister of State's button.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: Once again the members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, are protesting outside the gates because the Department of Health refuses to recognise their union. I plead with the Minister not to tell me that it is an inter-union dispute. For seven years union deductions were taken directly from these workers' wages and went to NASRA. This stopped because the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: They are not the unions the workers chose to join. The question is about choice. Will the Minister, please, answer the question?

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: The Minister has not addressed the question of choice.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: 53. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the suggested 30 cent increase in the national minimum wage will be implemented following a deal on Brexit, her plans to examine proposals for a living wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43636/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: Given that Brexit has held back a 30 cent increase in the national minimum wage, does the Minister intend to implement it if a Brexit deal is done? Does she have plans to examine a proposal for a living wage as distinct from a minimum wage?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Allowance Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: 51. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a review of the levels of energy poverty in the general population will be commenced; the number of applicants for the fuel allowance that were unsuccessful and refused in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019; the reason for the refusals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43637/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Allowance Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: My question has two parts. First, I ask the Minister if it is intended to conduct a review on the levels of energy poverty in the general population, and whether that will be commenced. Second, I ask her the number of unsuccessful applicants who were refused fuel allowance in 2017, 2018, and to date in 2019, the reasons for the refusals, and if she will make a statement on the matter.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Allowance Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: I ask the Minister to come back to me regarding the reasons for the refusals. A number of issues jump out in her reply. Measuring fuel poverty is difficult and how it is done is not satisfactory. I met pensioners yesterday who were former semi-State workers with RTÉ and the ESB. They cannot afford to keep their houses warm due to the pension levy applied to their pensions and because...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Allowance Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: I completely disagree with the Minister that the increase in fuel allowance will compensate people for the increases in carbon taxes. That is another story, about which we argue in the climate committee all the time. However, it is clear that the way in which the fuel allowance is allocated works against some people who are stuck for cash. Elderly or unwell couples come to me, as I am sure...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: 46. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobseekers who have entered the JobPath programme since its commencement; the number who faced sanctions from her Department in each year on foot of this interaction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43634/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: My question is on the number of jobseekers who have entered the JobPath programme since its commencement, the number who faced sanctions from the Department in each year on foot of this interaction and if the Minister will make a statement on the matter.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: In February, a motion was passed in this Chamber calling for the Minister not to renew the contract for JobPath. In response to a parliamentary question last month, the Department told me there was an option to renew it for two years. Is this also for new referrals? There has been a 36% increase in the figures for people receiving penalties between 2017 and 2018. It is highly ironic that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: The Minister is saying there will be no new referrals to JobPath but that the contract will be extended for a year. Will the extreme circumstances of Brexit be used as an excuse to bring penalties on those who are suffering job losses, such as those announced in Shannon and Cork in the past day or so? One figure suggests that only 9% of participants have secured long-term employment but...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (23 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: 66. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobseekers under 25 years of age who are deemed to live independently; the way in which this is determined; and the number of such jobseekers that are expected to qualify for the full rate of jobseekers in the coming year following the recent budget 2020 announcement. [43633/19]

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (22 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: I will be brief. I am sure that, like the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, the Taoiseach is aware that tomorrow the LNG project in Shannon, namely, the fracked gas project, is to be ratified on the list of projects of common interest, PCI, in the European Union. Sweden has pulled its LNG project from the list of PCIs. I appeal to the Taoiseach to...

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (22 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: It is fracked gas.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (22 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: It has to be fracked gas in Shannon.

Acknowledgement and Apology to Women and Families affected by CervicalCheck Debacle: Statements (22 Oct 2019)

Bríd Smith: I am sharing time with Deputy Coppinger. Like others, I warmly welcome the 221 Plus group and their families to the Gallery today and we should all be extremely proud of the calibre of women in this country and the courage they have had in fighting this terrible battle and tragedy. One cannot help but notice there was a familiar ring to the apology although it was heartfelt from the...