Results 7,361-7,380 of 12,630 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Copyright Protection (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I greatly welcome the Minister of State's reply. First, I must apologise as the question stated the judgment was given on 11 November 2010 rather than on 11 October 2010. Basically, this matter arose during the regime of the previous Government and when Mr. Justice Charleton handed down in that decision last October, representations were made to the then Minister, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe, but...

Copyright Protection (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I appreciate the Minister of State's response.

Employment Rights (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: As the Minister has said, the JLC system was put in place to cover situations where collective bargaining was not possible for one reason or another, for example, in areas where there was no union representation. How does the Minister envisage a system will work if JLCs are replaced with this principle of collective bargaining? Who will be doing the bargaining on behalf of the workers? How...

Employment Rights (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I understand the point the Minister is making. It would appear to me that the judgments to which he refers and in accordance with which he intends to change Irish law mean that collective bargaining will henceforth be defined as representation by an official trade union.

Employment Rights (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister could be forgiven for not reading that in the programme for Government.

Departmental Responsibilities (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: Question 8: To ask the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the division of responsibilities between his Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in relation to trade and if the appropriate arrangements have been carried out to bring this into effect. [14622/11]

Departmental Responsibilities (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I tabled the question to ascertain exactly how the scheme will work in practice. I am not being contentious, but from the Minister's reply my understanding is that the only involvement of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be organising foreign trips, trade missions and conferences. Have any civil servants been transferred from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation...

Departmental Responsibilities (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: There are commitments in the programme for Government to set up an export trade council and a home to export programme. There is also a commitment to strengthen relations with emerging countries and perhaps the prospect of setting up some sort of scholarship scheme. Who will be responsible for those initiatives and when can we expect to see them?

Business Regulation (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Minister for the extra information. My question asked whether he consulted with the Department of the Taoiseach on his proposals before he presented them to the social partners. I would like an answer to that. There is no reference in the Minister's proposals to a number of the more minor recommendations of the Duffy-Walsh committee, namely recommendation No. 5 in regard to the...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: Whoever they approached, this was what the quid pro quo was supposed to be. Is the Taoiseach now taking the position that as a result of the fact that we have taken the offer to bring in the levy, no changes to tax relief will be made and the present tax relief regime will stay in place? It was presented by the Taoiseach as a choice and he made the choice. Does this mean the tax relief...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I wish to comment on something the Minister said. He explained that the jobs initiative had to be revenue neutral and that to get the money to fund the jobs initiative he has targeted the pensions industry. The reality is that he did not target the pensions industry, he targeted pensioners and those who have saved. The point Deputies Ross and Michael McGrath have made is precisely that the...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister also made the point that much of this money is invested abroad. All I can say is that with approximately 80% of defined benefit schemes under water at present it is just as well it is invested abroad. Anyway, the Government can change the rules. The trustees are bound by a specific set of rules relating to where they can invest. It is not a question of people being...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: It is a promise rather than a commitment.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: I am totally bemused. I sat on the opposite benches for several years since the banking crisis came upon us and listened to Deputy Joan Burton on this side of the House mentioning certain names ten or 50 times a day, including Seanie FitzPatrick and everybody else and now we are being chided by the Labour Party for having the temerity to mention Seanie FitzPatrick and Michael Fingleton in...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: It is an extraordinary volte-face, to say the least. I do not fully comprehend the Minister's logic in his defence of exempting ARFs from the scope of the levy. This is the first time we are imposing a levy on pension funds. The imputed or actual tax on ARFs exists; it is a fact of life. That is only right because we are dealing with some of the wealthiest people in the country who, as...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: This will be lost on the public because as the Minister will appreciate, in politics perception is about 99% of what matters and the truth is sometimes a troublesome trespasser. I am sure the public will see this in a very bad light. On a technical point, from my recollection of the section dealing with ARFs, is it the case that the imputed income only kicks in when somebody has reached the...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: 2012.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: Will the Minister clarify the point about the imputed draw-down not kicking in if someone is under 60 years of age?

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: If the Minister had decided, within the terms of the appropriate European legislation, to reduce the VAT on fuel to 12%, how much would that have added to the cost of the VAT reduction on an annual basis? In view of the pervasive problem of fuel poverty in this country, if it is possible to reduce the 13.5% rate on fuel then serious consideration should be given to it. It is easy to hide...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jun 2011)

Willie O'Dea: To clarify, is the Minister stating that were the VAT rate on fuel to be reduced to 12%, it would then be necessary to reduce all other items within the 13.5% range, even though it obviously has been possible previously to reduce some items to a rate of 9%?