Results 7,081-7,100 of 12,731 for speaker:Paul Murphy

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the instructions she has given to schools on the way they must respond to Covid-19 cases including on isolation of close contacts of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. [45680/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions she will take to increase education spending to bring Ireland up to at least the OECD average of 4.9% of GDP given that according to the OECD, Ireland has the lowest spending on education out of 36 countries at just 3.3% of GDP. [45682/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 162. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the consideration given and the action she has taken to provide high-efficiency particulate absorbing filters for each classroom, learning room and staffroom. [45678/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the consideration given and action she has taken to protect and improve air quality in classrooms and school staffrooms. [45681/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Tests (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 175. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Covid-19 tests administered and the number and proportion of confirmed Covid-19 cases for primary school pupils by week since the return of primary schools in August 2021. [45679/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (23 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: 263. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the provision of public sector pensions to school secretaries and caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45715/21]

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: For over a year, Debenhams workers waged a heroic struggle against the loss of their jobs and their treatment by their employer. In many respects, their struggle epitomised the treatment of some workers by some employers in the course of the pandemic. Yesterday, the Government announced that employees who had lost their job during Covid would now be able to seek redundancy and it announced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: I thank the Chairman and the Minister. He was at pains to emphasise that companies can currently take states to court for discriminatory measures and so on. I agree that is an accurate summation of the current law. Why then is it that corporations need to have access to parallel justice mechanisms? Why can they not just pursue issues through the national courts?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: It is a parallel justice system just for corporations. The Minister was explicit and said repeatedly that the only basis on which a Canadian company could sue the State in the ICS is if it was discriminated against. I would like him to clarify that. Is that his position?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: The Minister stated on a couple of occasions the only way companies could sue is if they were discriminated against. He now accepts that is not the case. They would not have to be discriminated against on the basis of not being European to access the ICS and potentially win against the State.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: In the Minister's opening statement, which we do not have before us, he repeatedly stated that it would only be on the basis of discrimination but that is not the case. According to Article 8.12 of CETA: A Party shall not nationalise or expropriate a covered investment either directly, or indirectly [and indirectly basically involves any sort of regulations that interfere with the right to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: The Minister was at pains to emphasise that the chances of Ireland being successfully sued by a Canadian company are low. He is presumably aware that approximately 1,000 Canadian corporations are currently taking cases in ISDS processes against states around the world. They are very much engaged in what Joseph Stiglitz described as "litigation terrorism".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: Yes, some of them are. For example, one Canadian mining company is suing Romania for almost $6 billion for interfering with its mining rights. Another corporation is suing Croatia for removing its illegal permits for a golf course. The Minister said that effectively, we will have protection-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: Yes, but in ISDS processes, not in regular courts. That is not where they are taking place. Presumably, the Minister will agree that the US is a state where there is rule of law and so on, which is one of the things he said would protect us. Is he aware that the Canada-based company TC Energy is suing the US Government in an ISDS process for $15 billion after the Biden Administration...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: Correct. What it is do with is an ISDS mechanism, which is what is provided for in CETA, and which is the main reason people are opposing it. To be very concrete-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: This is an expansion. Let me give a concrete case. IRES REIT is owned by a Canadian company. If we sign up to CETA, we may be in a position in a few years where we will say we need rent controls to bring rents down to an affordable level. If the Minister is still in government at that time - hopefully not - will he not say not only that rent controls are unconstitutional but that if we do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: Exactly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: I will finish on this question. The point is that that company could sue us, not in the Irish courts but in this special investment court system, which, as the Minister has accepted-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: -----is a parallel justice system simply set up for corporations. That would be a consequence of us signing up fully to CETA.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Paul Murphy: Correct. So it is another avenue-----