Results 6,401-6,420 of 12,590 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Proposed Legislation (10 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: Please explain, Taoiseach.

Written Answers — Banking Sector Staff: Banking Sector Staff (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: Question 32: To ask the Minister for Finance the discussions he has had with the banking sector in relation to planned redundancies; the way the employment prospects for the affected staff can be improved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32705/12]

Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: Question 101: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has been contacted regarding an arrangement brokered by the Impact Trade Union, whereby four persons who were working for Limerick Regeneration on fixed term contracts would be employed by the Health Service Executive when their contracts expired; his role in this arrangement; if not, if this...

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I welcome the fact that Ireland is attempting to re-enter the bond market, albeit in a small way, and I wish the NTMA the very best of success.

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: However, back in the real world that we encounter everyday, the problem of unemployment gets steadily worse. In October of last year, the Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, said "There has been a significant reduction in unemployment. The jobs initiative is working."

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: The latest statistics from the CSO indicate that, at 14.9%, unemployment has reached its highest rate in 18 years. More than one in two of those people has been unemployed for more than a year and one in three has been unemployed for two years or more. We welcome the fact that more people are now on training schemes but that masks the real rate of unemployment. Some 75,000 people per year...

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I hear what the Minister is saying but when he and his colleagues were on this side of the House, they gave short shrift to that type of defence of the unemployment situation at the time.

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: On 30 June 2010, the Tánaiste said the biggest crisis facing the country at the time was the level of unemployment, which was then that a lower rate than now. He went on to berate the Government and said it should not spend another week in office because of the level of unemployment. What has changed?

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: The Labour Party is soul searching again.

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: When the previous Government left office in February 2011, 350,000 more people were at work than when it took office. I doubt this Government will ever be able to make that boast. Is the Minister for Education and Skills aware of the statements this morning from across the social spectrum, including the statement from ISME that the Government's job policy is a shambles? ICTU called on the...

Leaders' Questions (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I asked the Minister if he agreed the problem is being effectively tackled.

Order of Business (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister is aware of the plight of a number of trainee pilots who have been stranded in the United States after their families paid a king's ransom in fees for their course. Has the Government had any engagement in the situation, in particular the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? Will the Government arrange for the consular section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade...

Order of Business (5 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: -----to them and to arrange for them to be brought home? The Minister wishes to comment.

Written Answers — National Lottery: National Lottery (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: Question 11: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the progress that has been made to date in the awarding process for the National Lottery licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32484/12]

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I will speak briefly in support of the amendment. We must bear in mind that the people we are speaking about are on pretty derisory wages, in many cases on approximately 10% more than the minimum wage across the board. I do not know why the Government wants to establish a statutory code with guidelines that I presume will not be enforceable. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the...

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I am aware we are discussing this legislation in the context of the Minister's proposals on the workplace relations legislation generally. I take comfort from the fact that he regards the provision in amendment No. 25 in my name that, before a complaint is presented to a rights commissioner, the employer should be notified of the contravention in writing and given a period of 14 days to...

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I support the amendment. We are dealing with a situation that affects those who are at the very bottom of the pay scale. The section deals with circumstances where employers can seek exemptions in the context of not paying the low levels of pay that will inevitably be awarded in any event under the EROs. It would not be unreasonable, therefore, to request information on payments made to...

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: The legislation provides that the joint labour committee can recommend minimum rates of remuneration. For certain categories of people, including trainees, it can recommend minimum rates of remuneration that are a percentage of the recommended rates. In my amendment, I seek to ensure this training period cannot last indefinitely. Most employers are responsible but there are those who will...

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I move amendment No. 17: In page 19, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: "(6) Such reduced hourly rate, as that which would apply to a worker to whom subsection (5)(d) applies, shall only be permitted where, such worker is given access to a course of study or training, within an appropriate period to achieve skills commensurate with a higher remuneration rate.".

Industrial Relations (Amendment)(No.3): Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (4 Jul 2012)

Willie O'Dea: I move amendment No. 19: In page 20, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: "(f) the impact on working poverty and adequate income.". Section 12 sets out the various measures the joint labour committee must take into account when submitting proposals for an order to the Labour Court. It must take into account the desirability of maintaining competitiveness in the sector in...