Results 10,901-10,920 of 11,979 for speaker:Billy Kelleher

Written Answers — Local Employment Services: Local Employment Services (9 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The Carrick on Suir Jobs Club was closed down because it was unable to achieve the nationally agreed targets set up for these programmes. JobClubs are comprised of formal group sessions and informal, but structural individual support. The formal sessions take three to four hours per day for a five day week, which include groups of up to 14 job seekers. It is expected that a Jobs Club would...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (9 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Both the Tánaiste and I are acutely aware of the difficulties which the inability to deliver an acceptable turnaround of redundancy rebate payments is giving rise to for both individual employees and the business community and together, we are taking steps to address the issues. The difficulties arise due to the unprecedented increase in the number of Redundancy Payment claims lodged with...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (9 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: In general, a redundancy situation exists where for instance, an employer is engaged in a process of rationalisation/reorganisation, requires fewer employees to do work of a particular kind, for reasons of downsizing or company closure etc. Redundancy is therefore related to the job, not the person concerned. Under the existing statutory redundancy legislation, an employee who is absent from...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The Construction Industry (Pension Assurance and Sick Pay) Registered Employment Agreement (REA) is an agreement reached between employers and trade unions representative of workers in the sector. The REA requires employers in the construction sector to become and remain a party to a contributory pension scheme approved by the Revenue Commissioners and sets out the conditions upon which...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: FÁS as an agency of my Department operates the Community Employment (CE) and Job Initiative (JI) schemes. Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons (including those with a disability) with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. The...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 28 together. I can confirm that the Redundancy Payments Section of my Department has received a number of applications from the company concerned. Owing to a very significant influx in the number of redundancy applications filed with the Department in the latter part of 2008 and, to date in 2009, there is a considerable backlog of applications waiting...

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: In 2006, the Irish Government decided that, following their accession to the EU, nationals of Romania and Bulgaria would still have to apply for work permits in order to work in Ireland. Following a review of the situation in 2008, Government decided to maintain this requirement. The considerable challenges now posed as a result of the downturn in the global economic environment and its...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The Redundancy Payments Section of my Department has checked to see if a redundancy payments claim has been lodged for the individual in question but currently there is no record of a claim having been submitted. However, given the huge increase in the volume of claims and the current backlog which is being tackled by staff, not all claims have been logged on to the system as yet. In the...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The Tánaiste and I are acutely aware of the difficulties which the inability to deliver an acceptable turnaround of redundancy rebate payments is giving rise to for both individual employees and the business community and together, we are taking steps to address the issues. The huge increase in the number of Redundancy Payment claims lodged with the Redundancy Payments Section of my...

Seanad: Anti-Social Behaviour Deterrents (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I wish to express my sympathies to the family of Garda McCallion and the Garda Síochána on the very tragic news of his passing. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform apologises as he is unable to be present. The Minister is informed by the Garda authorities that they are aware of the device referred to by Senator Keaveney. It is designed to deter people from congregating or...

Seanad: Anti-Social Behaviour Deterrents (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The reply might have been a synopsis of what the Senator would have liked to have heard. The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that the instruction has been given to all members of the force that any complaint received about the use of such devices is to be the subject of investigation, and an investigation file submitted to the law officers for directions on what charges,...

Seanad: Employment Rights (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: The company to which the Senator refers, EPACE, is a private company, which is limited by guarantee and established under the aegis of the National Joint Industrial Council for the Electrical Contracting Industry by employer and worker representatives. Its main objective is to advise electrical contractors of their responsibilities under the registered employment agreement, REA, for the...

Seanad: Employment Rights (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: An agreement was reached between employers and employees that were party to the registered employment agreement for the electrical sector to the effect that a private limited company would be set up with the consent of the industry. There are views among electrical contractors that it does not have that authority.

Seanad: Employment Rights (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: In effect, it is with the consent of the industry but NERA is the advocate in the context of pay or conditions not being met by employers. It would take the cases and it would have the prosecutorial role in any event. Equally, the Bill as drafted — it has only completed Second Stage in the other House — states that a service agreement could be entered into between the National...

Seanad: Hospital Services (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I thank Senator McFadden for tabling this matter on the Adjournment and for sharing her time so generously with Senator Glynn. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, who sends her apologies for not being present. The Midland Regional Hospital at Mullingar provides an extensive range of acute services to the population of Dublin and the midlands,...

Seanad: Hospital Services (7 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: To reiterate, in the interim, the HSE will seek to recruit a locum dermatologist to continue the service at Mullingar. I will convey the Senator's views on long-term provision to the Minister.

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (1 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Recruitment competitions have been held to bring the number of Inspectors from the original level of 31 Inspectors up to the level of 90 committed to under Towards 2016. Sixty inspectors were assigned to NERA from these competitions. All NERA inspectors were recruited by way of competitive procedures, including internal competition within the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment,...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (1 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 53 together. In 2008, the National Employment Rights Authority, (NERA) conducted nearly twice as many workplace inspections, as the 2007 level — almost 28,000 workplace inspections in 2008 as against just fewer than 14,500 in 2007. This increased level of inspection activity is of course reflective of the greater level of Inspectorate resources...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (1 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 57 together. FÁS as an agency of my Department operates the Community Employment (CE) and Job Initiative (JI) schemes. Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons (including those with a disability) with an opportunity to engage in useful work...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (1 Apr 2009)

Billy Kelleher: Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Temporary Agency Work was adopted, on 19 November 2008. Under the terms of this directive there is a three-year period in which Member States will be required to transpose the Directive into national legislation i.e. by 5 December 2011. The Deputy will recall that I have invited the Social Partners to discussions with my...