Results 12,461-12,480 of 12,596 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: If what the Senator is proposing was accepted, the new section 6 would read: (b) in subsection (2), by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (d): "(d) the provision of accommodation by a person in a part of the person's home or in circumstances where the provision of the accommodation affects the person's private or family life or that of any other person residing in the home,...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: Section 45 provides that the Minister for Education and Science does not discriminate where he or she restricts the making of higher education grants to EU nationals or provides for the payment of grants at different rates as between nationals and others. There is no reason that the State, in a situation of finite resources, should subsidise by way of grants attendance at third level courses...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I will do so.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I understand that there are hardship cases. My understanding is that there is general unhappiness among third level students about the level of grants. The Government recognises that to some extent and wishes to concentrate resources on increasing the rate of the grants for those who are already entitled to them, namely Irish and EU nationals. However, I understand Senator Henry's point of...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: As I understand it, this section seeks to allow for direct provision, which is the system we operate, of accommodation and assistance to persons who have applied for asylum status and are awaiting decisions. The section does not permit discrimination in the provision of goods and services to anyone in the State on the basis of race or nationality. However, section 47 clarifies that any...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to accept the principle of this amendment. I will table an amendment exactly like or very similar to Senator Tuffy's on Report Stage. I thank the Senator for drawing this lacuna to our attention.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The European Communities (Burden of Proof in Gender Discrimination Cases) Regulations 2001 give effect to Council Directive 97/80/EC on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex. The regulation applies to gender discrimination cases taken under the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Maternity Protection Act 1994. The Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003 will revoke...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I am sympathetically disposed to this amendment. The case has been very compellingly put by Senator Tuffy who was ably supported by Senator Terry and Senator Quinn. Unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment today for reasons I will explain. I would love to avail of Senator Quinn's invitation to make a little history. I read in The Sunday Times the article to which Senator Tuffy referred...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Senators for their constructive approach, and will convey the views of Senator Tuffy to the Government. I realise the urgency of this matter, and that during the recent period of very rapid economic growth, bottlenecks developed in certain sectors of the labour market, as Senators are aware. These could have been alleviated in certain areas known to me, but for the compulsory...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I cannot disagree with the logic of anything Senator Terry says. I agree with all her sentiments. However, I have been advised that because the proposed amendment is aspirational in character, it would not be appropriate to include it in primary legislation. The Act of 1998 is by definition an Equality Act. The provisions of the earlier gender equality legislation were enhanced and extended...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The Senator has raised a fair point and I thank her for bringing it to our attention. She has highlighted an omission and between now and the taking of the Bill in the Dáil I propose to either accept her amendment as it is or consult with the Parliamentary Counsel to see if we can put it somewhat more elegantly. I accept the principle of the amendment.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I have some sympathy with Senator Terry's fears about the use of terminology like "unreasonable burden" in the context of disability but, unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment for legal reasons. Before the European directive was transposed into law, the Supreme Court decided that extra costs cannot be imposed on employers in respect of people with disabilities other than nominal costs....

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I dislike refusing all the Senator's amendments but the difficulty with this amendment is essentially the same as the difficulty with the previous one. Section 16 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 is a complex and specific provision which recognises that additional provision is necessary to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Section 16, as amended in this Bill, will require...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: This section replaces section 25 of the 1998 Act. Section 25(1) refers to discrimination against A in respect of employment in a particular post if the discrimination results from preferring B on the ground, that by reference to one or more of subsections (2) to (4) the sex of B amounts to an occupational qualification for the post in question. Subsection (2) states: For the purposes of this...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I do not think it will be an alibi for employers to open up an avenue of discrimination on gender grounds. If the employer refuses a person a job, which he advertises and is available, because of their gender and the person takes him to the equality tribunal the onus will be on the employer, provided a prima facie case is made — because of another section in the Bill — to prove that the...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: On Senator Tuffy's question on the minimum pay legislation, an amendment to that effect will be discussed next. We will discuss the issue then. I do not know why the amendments are not being taken together. I have listened carefully to what has been said and I agree with Senator O'Toole, who is speaking from a lot of experience, although I am not saying that other Senators are not doing so....

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: They will be.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: Only where they are measurably doing less.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: There would be fewer if I accepted the Senator's amendment.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The Government and I have reviewed carefully the matter and I have no notion of accepting the Senator's amendment. The proposal is off the wall. We do not live in a perfect world. The Senator is saying this is the equality we want. We will never have perfect equality, but I would prefer to have a type of equality which encourages employers to bring in more people with disabilities rather than...