Results 921-940 of 1,870 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the witnesses for attending and congratulate Ms Byron on her new role. I welcome a number of her comments about how inspections are not just about identifying breaches. Setting out the work programme is also to be welcomed. I wish to ask about the constraints within which the HSA operates. Ms Byron spoke about recruitment challenges and trying to access technical expertise. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Is it a matter of pay?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Has the HSA considered revising inspectors’ pay scales?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: If there is a recognition that there are not enough resources available, then other mechanisms have to be found to improve the surveillance.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: That is the whole point, having other forms of surveillance and eyes on the ground.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I am concerned about the fact that is data-driven, which is my background. If that is the case, it means being constantly behind because one has to wait for the data to be generated, as opposed to a real-time surveillance and monitoring situations on the ground.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Regarding the guidance document on exposure to sensitive content that was published in September. This is very welcome and it is great that the HSA is expanding its remit in this regard. The report notes that the government of Victoria in Australia plans to introduce regulations. Does Ms Byron see this document as the start of a process to regulate work that deals with sensitive content or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Would the legislation be called for by HSA board members or by the Government?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Having read the document, I welcome it. However, I am struck by the fact that it is aimed at those who occasionally have to interact with sensitive and harmful content as opposed to those who have to do so on a daily basis. There is a an urgent need for the HSA to develop additional content for those who deal with this on a daily basis as opposed to when it happens incidentally, in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Hopefully, those issues will be resolved soon. I welcome Ms Byron’s comments about a greater focus on smaller companies and organisations. That is important. Something that strikes me about the HSA is that it cannot be everywhere at all times. No matter how many inspectors it has in the field, it will not be able to capture every organisation. I agree with Ms Byron on the issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I have one question picking up on remote work. We have seen a stabilisation of trends now in terms of the numbers, or are beginning to see one. I am open to correction but I think 2007 is when we had the last set of health and safety regulations with regard to working at home and remote work. We have the guidance document from the Health and Safety Authority that was just published in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I thank Mr. Courtney, Professor Walsh, Ms Pyke and Mr. Gilmore for attending today. I want to add my voice to the condolences to Professor Dónal O'Neill. He obviously made a very significant contribution to labour market economics in this country. My first question - and I am conscious this has already been raised - is about the subminimum rates. I have a huge difficulty with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Okay. To my mind, it is a poor reflection on the commission that it is taking this length of time. I appreciate what Professor Walsh is saying. I want to ask about the recommendation regarding the reduced rate of PRSI. What precisely is the commission recommending? Is it the removal of the reduced rate of PRSI or something different? I am not clear on it from the wording. My question...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Has the commission looked at the impact? I might ask Professor Walsh about this. I am particularly interested in the transitions out of minimum wage. We know that 46% of all workers on minimum wage are on the wage for a year or more. There are a lot of workers on the minimum wage who work only up to 19 hours per week. What kind of research has the commission undertaken to understand the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: What I am specifically interested in is that we know that some employers target the reduced rate of PRSI. They organise their rosters around that. If that research has not been undertaken, then I would very seriously suggest it should be undertaken to understand the impact of that abolition. To me, it would have a transformative effect, especially on certain sectors like retail and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I know, but when there is stakeholder consultation, it is to commission the research and get the perspective of both business and trade unions on that impact. I would certainly support that. There has obviously been some discussion around the package for supporting business. What research is the commission undertaking with regard to supporting business? We are looking at increases. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: Sure, and I very much support the call with regard to profitability level data. That is hugely lacking in this country. I would also urge the commission to take into account that there is a lot of work to be done in the element of procurement, and how many small businesses paying the minimum wage are actually supplying services to the State. We need to get into a place where, rather than...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Marie Sherlock: I thank Mr. Courtney.