Results 7,801-7,820 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: The Minister referred to people choosing who they want to represent them. Nobody has any problem with it and there is nothing in the amendments to suggest anything to do with people not having the complete right to choose who they want to represent them. All that is involved is the code of practice made by the commission. The commission makes the code of practice. This amendment would...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: We are not.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: We are dealing with the behaviour of people, not any requirement that they should be part of a professional group, and the Minister is disingenuous to suggest it. He is suggesting that the amendments are tabled to ensure that only barristers, solicitors and members of the legal profession are in this situation.That is not the case at all. We are simply looking to govern the behaviour of...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I move amendment No. 25: In page 21, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: (11) A representative for gain shall include but shall not be limited to counsel, solicitor, trade union or employer representative body with a negotiating licence, a body corporate or unincorporated body or individual including but not limited to any insurance company but shall not include any...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I move amendment No. 26: In page 24, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “(c) who has a minimum of seven years practical experience in representing employees and/or employers in employment cases before the Workplace Commission and/or the Labour Relations Commission and/or the Employment Appeals Tribunal and/or the Equality Tribunal and/or the Labour Court.”.The...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I move amendment No. 27: In page 24, to delete lines 24 to 27 and substitute the following:" "practising barrister” means a person having been called to the Bar of Ireland;".These amendments define "practising barrister" and "practising solicitor". It is simply a question of definition and clarity.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I am afraid the Minister's reply is patent nonsense. While he read it out, he did not read it with any great conviction. This is a question of definition. The definitions do not rule anybody out who is there already. They simply state what are practising barristers or solicitors. Could the Minister give an example of a practising barrister or solicitor who would be ruled out by this...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: To make it perfectly clear. The Minister is moving his position. He has admitted it is as the definition and there is a place for definitions.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: Occam's razor prohibits the hypothetical discussion of the non-existent, as I am sure the Minister knows only too well. He only threw it in because he thought it would floor me but I know as much as about philosophy as he does.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: Not at this stage but we will consider it again on Report Stage because I do not see why a definition should be ruled out.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: One can have all the rights in the world but if one does not know about them one will be unlikely to be in a position to want to enforce them or try to enforce them. It is a question of information. I remember a previous Government quite some years ago closing down a series of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which was deliberately done to stop people getting information as to their rights and...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I wish to make a point. If there are a couple of hundred thousand employers, could a leaflet not be provided centrally that gave information on contact details?

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: In this way, people would know where to go if they had complaints. This is not an extravagant demand. Will there be a programme whereby employees will be made aware? Will there be some kind of propaganda exercise or a general information distribution on this matter? How are employees supposed to know about the commission when it comes into operation?

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I would like to hear the Minister's response.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: He did not reply to my question.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: Well, that was very clear.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: Senator Quinn's amendment is well thought out, particularly in a situation where documentation that would have a crucial impact on the day-to-day running of a business is removed. That seems to me to be a crippling of business for no good reason. Unless an original document is required for legal purposes - for example, by the court - then a copy of it should be taken and the original should...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: I understand the Minister's comments about rights. It is rather like the Miranda rights in American criminal law. The Minister has indicated that if information is elicited as a result of questioning without a caution from an individual, it is not admissible against the person who makes the statement.However, it can be used against a third party. I am perplexed by this. If a thing is...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: They are given their rights.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Feb 2015)

David Norris: Surely they should be warned and given their rights.