Results 1,301-1,320 of 1,871 for speaker:Marie Sherlock

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Quarters 1 and 2: Discussion (5 Oct 2022)

Marie Sherlock: That is a significant issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Quarters 1 and 2: Discussion (5 Oct 2022)

Marie Sherlock: The Minister referenced 20 different energy efficiency schemes. It is clear that comprehensive supports need to be put in place to help companies transition in their energy use. However, the fact there are 20 schemes is alarming. Is a review ongoing in the Department as to the range of schemes? Are these separate schemes? Is there a degree of overlap or deadweight loss? It looks like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Quarters 1 and 2: Discussion (5 Oct 2022)

Marie Sherlock: This is quarter 4 of the year and it feels like the Government is dragging its heels on this. It also seems wasteful that we have from the Minister’s Department a right to request remote work and from a separate Department a right to flexible work. Does the Tánaiste believe there is a distinction between remote work and flexible work, by which I mean flexibility with regard to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I thank the representatives of the Low Pay Commission and the Mandate trade union for being here. As a former union official who for years soldiered with Mandate on these issues concerning the minimum wage, I am delighted that the Mandate trade union is represented here today. My first question is for the Low Pay Commission. Some people perceive the minimum wage as a transient or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I am glad to hear that Mr. Courtney express his support for collective bargaining. As he will be aware, we do not have a right to be recognised for collective bargaining purposes in this country and I look forward to him giving me his support on that issue in the future. Mr. Courtney made an important point about the minimum wage being a stepping stone. That is how some people perceive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: The commission's recommendation has two parts - a 30 cent and a 50 cent increase and I cannot see anywhere in the recommendation that we must wait until 2023 for the 80 cent in total increase to come into force. Did discussion take place with the Government on when the two components would be introduced?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: None of that appeared in the recommendations, Mr. Courtney. It is a real concern that the commission does not reflect in its recommendation that there may have to be future changes to the minimum wage rate. I wish to ask about engagement with research. Earlier Mr. Courtney said that the ESRI had forecasted an inflation increase of 4% for next year. Has the Low Pay Commission factored in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I am sorry, Chairman. Just to say clearly, the ESRI forecasting was inflation, between 2022 and 2023, of 11.4%.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Go raibh maith agat.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I will pick up on the ability to pay discussion. Mr. Courtney from the Low Pay Commission spoke earlier about the range of factors the commission has to consider when making its recommendation. I note the report states that the Low Pay Commission has previously recommended that data on firm output to profitability be made available to help monitor the impact of the changes in the minimum...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: When was the request for data on firm output and profitability made? Has that been ongoing for a number of years or is it more recent? The Low Pay Commission has been operating for a considerable number of years - the best part of a decade - so it surprises me that we do not have these data yet. Is this a recent request or something more long-standing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Given the discussion we have had today about the impact on employers and workers of the recommendation for a real pay cut in January, knowing the profitability of the employers who pay the minimum wage and, in particular, their operating costs and cost base is vital for the calculation. In its submission, Mandate refers to profitability in the sectors where the workers it represents are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I assume it would be a source of frustration, or I should ask if it is, rather than making assumptions. If the Low Pay Commission does not factor in profitability of firms, then surely that is a shortcoming in how it operates, particularly at this point in time when we see some firms doing quite well and others less so. Does Mr. Light have any comment to make on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Living, Minimum Wage Increases and Report of Low Pay Commission: Discussion (28 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Sure, and as somebody who used to look at the research of profitability on sectors in a former life, some of that information is available but it is dated. It is incumbent upon the commission to ensure all that available information, however dated, is used and that there is up-to-date profitability information available to it. For employers to come along and allege that something is going...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I will confine my comments on the budget to the statements on budget 2023 later today. Last Friday night, Culture Night was a success across the country. I offer my congratulations to all those involved, including the Arts Council, local authorities, Creative Ireland and all the other organisations. I was in D-Light Studios in Dublin 1. For once, it is a good news story. It was a studio...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: Budget 2023 takes place at a remarkable time for this country. While we hear a lot about Putin's war and what else is happening in the world, it is very important to remember that our State is in an extraordinarily well-off situation. That we have an Exchequer surplus at all is simply remarkable. We are one of only two countries in the European Union that has a surplus, Denmark being the...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: It will not have a life-changing impact on them. Extension of eligibility for the fuel allowance is great but it will not kick in until January. I would argue there is a lack of urgency with regard to some of the measures introduced today. In thinking about the impact of the budget and the extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, we must look at the two permanent cost-of-living crises...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Finance): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: It will be a self-assessed tax. Who is going to 'fess up and say their home is vacant for 30 days of the year? The rate of just 0.3% is a joke. The Department of Finance is setting itself up for failure. It is saying the vacant homes tax is not expected to yield significant revenue. If the Government is serious about a vacant homes tax, the rate needs to be significantly higher and it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I express solidarity with the more than 1,000 workers who are out on strike yesterday, today and tomorrow across a number of section 39 organisations and community employment schemes in Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Donegal. Most of these workers provide vital health and disability services to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and yet they have had no pay increase since...

Seanad: School Transport: Motion (21 Sep 2022)

Marie Sherlock: I want to raise the issue of the school transport scheme for children with special educational needs. It is a good scheme when it works. However, I know of families who were told on 15 August this year that they were eligible for the school transport scheme, yet five weeks on 12 children with special educational needs in new ASD classes in Dublin 15 do not have school transport.There have...