Results 4,741-4,760 of 6,307 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Retention (28 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand that the closure of the supermarket in question related to a private commercial dispute between the supermarket and the owner of the shopping centre in which it is located. I understand further that the employees of the supermarket had been informed that they should report for work in the normal way as rostered and that they would continue to be paid. I welcome the fact that the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pension Provisions (28 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I fully appreciate the concerns of retired and deferred members of pension schemes whose schemes are being restructured, particularly where such restructuring may impact on existing or potential pension benefits. In this regard, the question of pensioner groups having access to the State’s industrial relations machinery in pursuing pension scheme grievances is an issue to which...

Aer Lingus Share Disposal: Motion (Resumed) (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: Hear, hear.

Aer Lingus Share Disposal: Motion (Resumed) (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The most important point to remember is that Aer Lingus is a private company. It was privatised in 2006 in a scheme that Fianna Fáil, in government, had been working on since before the end of the last century. Both the parties now in government opposed that process at every stage. Back then, a minority stake was held onto by the State, with the sole purpose of blocking the sale or...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I am pleased to introduce the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015. Before I give the details of the Bill it is also worth taking stock of the progress we are making more generally in terms of our economic recovery. More than 100,000 extra jobs have been created since the start of 2012 when the Government's Action Plan for Jobs was launched. The latest figures released last...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: It does.

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: It does deal with that.

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senators for their constructive contributions and welcome the general expression of support voiced for many objectives of the proposed legislation. Setting up the statutory Low Pay Commission is, as Senator White said, designed to take much of the politics out of the setting of the minimum wage. I was very pleased with the high calibre of people appointed to the commission on an...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Second Stage (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: -----representing the SME sector and are SME owners. People in trade unions and civil society have spent their entire working lives and, in some cases in voluntary capacities, representing the interests of working people. In many cases, they represented the interests of working people at the margins and those working in sectors of the economy associated with low pay. I can assure the House...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Health and Safety Regulations (27 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Health and Safety Authority’s national programme of inspections is intended to advise on and support the use of, effective health and safety management, to reduce the risks of workplace injuries, ill health and fatalities in workplaces. The frequency of inspection visits is governed by a range of factors: the standards of health and safety in the workplace; management’s...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: It is worth noting that the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, and I have worked very hard to re-establish a registered employment agreement, REA, system that will be constitutionally and legislatively robust. We will be introducing the legislation very shortly. We have a joint labour committee system in place and work is ongoing on two particular sectors covered by JLCs, where I expect we...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The living wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe and decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living are very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and supports such as child benefit,...

Other Questions: National Minimum Wage (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: There is provision in the review of the JLC sector and the fact that we have put the JLC system on a stronger legislative and constitutional footing for the establishment, for example, of a JLC in the retail sector. Under the legislation it is a matter for employers, employees and trade unions to engage. I am very interested in the concept of a living wage and have engaged with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: In accordance with the statement of Government priorities from the Tánaiste and Taoiseach last July, last February I commissioned the University of Limerick, UL, to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero-hour and low-hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I hope Deputy Collins will welcome the collective bargaining legislation the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and I have been working on for some time now and which will be published shortly and made available to all Deputies. I look forward to her input on that because that is about levelling the playing field and trying to create a fairer future in the workplace. We can discuss issues around...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Deputy Collins for her interest in this area. It is, however, important to acknowledge the point that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, made earlier, namely, that we have seen huge growth in full-time employment in this country over the last 12-18 months in particular, which is borne out by CSO data. The vast majority of jobs created are full-time jobs created by hard-working businesses...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Waste Management Regulations (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: Under the legislation re-establishing joint labour committees, JLCs, it is not a matter for the Minister to dictate whether there should be a JLC or another wage setting mechanism. It is a matter for the Labour Court to examine the need for a particular type of wage setting mechanism in a sector. I am always anxious to ensure that there are proper standards in every industry. Last year,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Waste Management Regulations (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: There are approximately 100 registered household kerbside waste collection companies operating in Ireland and there are approximately 3,000 waste collection permits currently extant. The industry employs almost 6,000 people directly while the indirect labour figure is less clear. Given the number of companies competing for business in the household kerbside waste collection sector, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Waste Management Regulations (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: The HSA, an agency under the aegis of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, decided to undertake a focused campaign of inspection and engagement with the players in the waste management sector last year. The aim was to ensure that there were improved standards of performance in the industry and a renewed focus on workplace health and safety due to the issues of which the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Relations (13 May 2015)

Gerald Nash: Cabinet approval was obtained on Wednesday last, May 6th, to publish the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2015. Publication is expected this week with enactment to follow as expeditiously as possible thereafter. The main purpose of the Bill is twofold: Firstly to provide (1) for the reintroduction of a mechanism for the registration of employment agreements between an employer or...