Results 4,841-4,860 of 6,307 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I am satisfied that the Central Statistics Office, CSO, can do that without my or Deputy Calleary's assistance. Will the Deputy repeat his third question, as I did not catch it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: The Deputy will notice from the heads, the public commentary and the interventions I have made in recent times about the low pay commission that it will look at related matters. There is a range of different areas the low pay commission could potentially examine. I have asked the commission to focus exclusively over the next short period of time on the next rate of the national minimum...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: In the short term.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I find it extraordinary that while this is one of the most important initiatives any government has taken to address low pay, Deputy Tóibín and his party cannot find it in themselves to welcome it. That is shameful. Deputy Tóibín has chosen to make some political charges. The reality is that the Labour Party in government, and this Government in general, is committed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I cannot reiterate this strongly enough. Given the short timeframe, the work we have asked the low pay commission to do is exclusively on the minimum wage for the moment. However, it is clear to me, and we can all agree, that low pay, for example, is a large issue. There is no doubt that there is a gender element to it, and the low pay commission will be looking at issues to do with that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: -----of zero hour contracts. I do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the review of zero hour contracts. This is the first such review of this nature carried out by any Government in this State. We need to reflect on that because it illustrates the Government's commitment to making work pay and dealing with some of the more egregious issues we have all come across in recent years. We do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill 2015: Discussion (24 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: That is exactly the situation. The statutory minimum wage was introduced only a few years ago. It is the floor beneath which nobody should be allowed to fall in a decent society. Most of us here would never recommend that an employer pay the minimum wage. The living wage is a very interesting concept which I have been exploring in detail recently. I had announced publicly several weeks...

An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Votáil Uachtaráin) 2014: An Dara Céim [Private Members] - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Voting) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: This is a short and significant Bill. It is significant for citizens resident inside and outside the State. There are few more important matters than the right to vote. It goes to the core of our democratic system and society. Debating this Bill tonight is timely as it follows on from the Government's recent announcements on diaspora policy. The debate allows us all - Government and...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Support Services (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I hope that the young woman to whom Senator Burke referred is doing well and that her health improves. I hope also that the situation improves for her from a range of different perspectives. On behalf of the Government and my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, who has responsibility in this area, I wish to highlight that one of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Support Services (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senator Burke for his contribution on this important issue. I understand how frustrated he is, as the family's Oireachtas representative, that nothing seems to be in the pipeline. Local authorities and all public agencies need to be specifically conscious of the needs of people with disabilities when providing services. The Senator seemed to imply that an amount of money had been...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Support Services (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I see.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Dublin Docklands Development Authority (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senator Power for raising this matter, which I am answering on behalf of my colleague, the Minister. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority, DDDA, was established pursuant to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act 1997 with a statutory mandate to secure the social and economic regeneration of the docklands on a sustainable basis and improvements in its physical...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Dublin Docklands Development Authority (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I will relay the Senator's concerns to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. She is correct that the local community has to be involved in the development of the docklands area. I understand such engagement was provided for in the 1987 Act and I know from conversations with my colleagues that the experience has been positive in terms of providing public services...

Seanad: Succession (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (11 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senators for their contributions. This is a matter which concerns and troubles us all. It is the Government’s intention to address this egregious situation, as well as the concerns eloquently raised here this afternoon. We are all human beings and it requires a human response. On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who unfortunately...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Establishment (10 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: The establishment of a Low Pay Commission is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last. The Commission was officially launched on 26 February last to operate on an interim administrative basis, and the Commission held its first meeting on the same day. Legislation to provide for the establishment of the LPC on a statutory basis will be...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transfer of Undertakings (10 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I understand that the company in question is entering into negotiations with trade unions regarding restructuring arrangements, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specifics of this particular case. Ireland’s system of industrial relations is voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial relations issues lies ultimately with employers and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Labour Court Recommendations (10 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: I assume the Deputy’s question relates to the current proposal for an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security sector. In January 2014, Orders were signed to effect recommendations of the Labour Court Review of the Joint Labour Committee System (JLC), including that relating to the continuation of a JLC in the Security Sector. Subsequently the Labour Court appointed members...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (3 Mar 2015)

Gerald Nash: In accordance with the Statement of Government priorities, I have commissioned a study into the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. I recently announced the appointment of the University of Limerick (UL) to carry out the study. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are: - To fill...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Jobs Data (19 Feb 2015)

Gerald Nash: I thank Senator Cullinane. The most recent annual employment survey showed that, at the end of 2014 in Waterford, there were a total of 10,157 people in full and part-time employment in client companies of Enterprise Ireland and the IDA.Enterprise Ireland clients employ 5,060 people while IDA Ireland clients employ 5,097. Corresponding figures for 2008 were 5,655 for Enterprise Ireland...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Jobs Data (19 Feb 2015)

Gerald Nash: In the last two years the number at work in the region has risen by approximately 19,000 and the unemployment rate has fallen from 19.4% to 13.7%. That is a substantial achievement. All of the agencies and, indeed, all of the public representatives in the area, including the Senator and my colleague Deputy Conway, work very hard in this regard. Obviously, Waterford and the south-east...