Results 46,101-46,120 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Regulatory Authorities: Regulatory Authorities (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Under the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, my Department prepares and administers legislation in areas such as commerce, employment rights, occupational safety health and welfare, competition and consumer rights, chemicals and intellectual property. Naturally, in that regard, we exercise many regulatory functions. The information requested by the Deputy, insofar as it relates to Offices...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has participated in recent years in discussions in international organisations, such as the International Labour Organisation, to clarify employment relationships in a rapidly changing and mobile world. These discussions have focused on difficulties in identifying employers in certain circumstances and in addressing so-called triangular relationships, involving an employee, an agency...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: ——getting the right model in the end. In considering issues in respect of employment agencies, one should bear in mind that a number of them offer a wide range of services.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I believe Deputy Morgan has accepted that some provide what is primarily a matching service, whereby they provide an introductory service between employees and employers, with the cost to be paid by the employer, not the employee. Others provide a service by deploying their own employees, sometimes from overseas, to an end-user company whereby the agency remains the employer with legal...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: ——exploitation is unacceptable to the Government. My point is——

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The figures to which I have just alluded are Central Statistics Office figures from 2005. Members may be aware that the Central Statistics Office has included a number of questions about agency workers in the current module of the quarterly national household survey and the results will be available in May.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: This will give all the social partners a better picture in respect of how many persons are employed by agencies, the sectors in which they are active, where they are from and whether the practice of agency working is growing. The phenomenon of agency working is not new and has been a key feature of sectors such as nursing for many years where the availability of agency personnel has provided...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government accepts fully that this is not always the case in respect of other sectors.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I reiterate that agency workers, regardless of nationality, together with workers posted by their employer from overseas to work temporarily in Ireland have the same rights under Irish employment rights legislation as Irish employees. Workers in the categories mentioned also are able to take complaints to the labour inspectorate and to have their cases heard by the State's dispute resolution...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: —— in the context of specific complaints to those established bodies.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I will not argue with Members.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I am not arguing with Members, I simply make the point that Members should go to the agencies that are charged with responsibility for enforcing and achieving compliance with Irish labour law. They want to acquire such specific information to pursue such matters.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: There appears to be a general impression that agency workers are mainly from overseas and are mainly poorly paid. One of the problems in addressing issues that arise in this area is the lack of hard data. I trust the work being undertaken by the CSO will help to inform and clarify some of the issues in this respect. It is too broad a generalisation to equate agency workers with migrant...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: When Ireland was a relatively low-cost environment in manufacturing, we were quite successful in attracting investment at that end of the mobile investment market. However, as the world changed, we were obliged to adapt and develop other points of competitive advantage in the newer international economy and to move up the value chain. A key selling point in the armoury of IDA Ireland has...

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: We are not comparing like with like.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government was prepared to develop and formulate legislation as agreed in the last social partnership agreement. However, the union side stated, as it is entitled to do, that that was not sufficient. Consequently the Government is prepared, in partnership with the social partners——

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: ——to draft new legislation on an agreed basis to get the balance right.We are prepared to play our part such that Irish companies will have parity of esteem with other EU countries and will not be at a competitive disadvantage to their counterparts on the European mainland.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should bring them in.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Long before the debate.

Agency Workers: Motion (19 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I welcome the opportunity to discuss issues raised in the motion and the Government amendment and the improvements the Government has made, and is preparing, to improve the protection framework for workers. We have made considerable improvements over the past decade, many of them geared towards addressing new challenges in the labour market in a changing world of work and working...