Results 6,301-6,320 of 8,768 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 14c:In page 4, line 13, to delete “arising from” and substitute “during”. I do not believe I have the support of the House for this amendment. I appreciate those Members who supported me but I know do not have a majority in the House for it. That said, I will withdraw it, although I would urge others in the Dáil to consider revisiting...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 15:In page 4, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:“(c) have regard to any recommendations as may emerge from any relevant Oireachtas Committee in relation to climate action.”.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister of State will know I hold the view that it would have been better to take this Bill in two months' time because we are making all these decisions and taking all these votes on the policy of how we manage our peatlands with the designation or de-designation of bogs just two weeks ahead of the Joint Committee on Climate Action giving consideration to a peatlands strategy. We will...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Those are Government strategies and initiatives and some of them are welcome. The funding for them is too low, given the scale and speed of the crisis. I know the levels of funding are not entirely within the gift of the Department but I would like to see more funding in those areas. Nonetheless, while those are positive initiatives arising from the original Joint Committee on Climate...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) (15 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am pressing the amendment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am concerned by what has been proposed in the Bill and endorsed in terms of the removal of the service charge. I am also concerned from the perspective of customers. The Bill seems to suggest money that is floating around might still reach the staff. There is very little money floating around. Most people when they go into a restaurant make a decision on whether they should give a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Why is a service charge applied to larger groups, rather than to every customer?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does Mr. Cummins think it is acceptable for businesses to charge large groups more? Does he think it is acceptable for servers not to receive tips?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does Mr. Cummins agree that serving a large group is harder for service personnel? Does he agree that serving large groups entails much more work and effort for waiting staff?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to make a separate point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Nonetheless, if I pay for a group of six people and leave a 15% service charge in cash, the employer seems happy to absorb that 15% into the system. There seems to be a slight contradiction between the two testimonies. Mr. Fenn spoke about being clear to the customer, whereas Mr. Cummins made a plea for the notice to be kept separate so the menu is not overburdened with information. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Food safety is not-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I was asking about a specific-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is an irrelevance. Time is limited.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I did not get an answer to my question. Since this is his understanding, does Mr. Cummins believe that where a service charge is mentioned, a simple phrase should be added to say it is not a tip or gratuity?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As such, I do not know if I need to pay 15% or 30% extra for any money to reach a staff member.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their testimonies. I also thank Dr. de Buitléir for his presentation. The Low Pay Commission has done some very good work. I had wished for adequacy of income to be included in its mandate. That was an unfortunate omission at the time of founding. I regret also that its recommendation in terms of the minimum wage has not been implemented. That is an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On service charges specifically, is Dr. de Buitléir concerned about the proposal that they should be removed from the gratuities classification? Was he surprised to see that in the Government Bill given that it seems to go against the advice the Low Pay Commission gave?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The proposal in the Government Bill to remove service charges from gratuities is an example of something Dr. de Buitléir would be concerned about when he mentioned reclassification.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Dr. de Buitléir mentioned the Workplace Relations Commission. It referred to a code of practice but I understand the opinion of the Low Pay Commission was that a code of practice was unlikely to work. Will Dr. de Buitléir elaborate on the reason the commission believes it would be unlikely to work? Dr. de Buitléir mentioned sectoral agreements. Does he believe a joint...