Results 13,661-13,680 of 16,316 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: From my perspective, the Minister's job is to manage the jobs, enterprise and innovation sector in a fair manner in the interests of the people and in a manner that allows people who want to work hard, invest, take risks, etc., to be properly and fairly compensated for those inputs into the economy. I also believe that to achieve that, information is necessary. I cannot think of any other...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: Is the Minister suggesting that any of the multiples would pull out of Ireland because they have to come clean and be honest and transparent about their levels of turnover and profit? For as long as I can remember there have been periods of major costs increases in the State. Ministers say from time to time that such and such a multiple is margin- or profit-harvesting. There is...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 49: In page 81, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following:“(a) the importance to and impact on the economic viability and sustainability of primary producers of decisions made at processing and/or retailing level,”.The idea behind this amendment is to ensure a stable environment and economic viability for producers and to ensure this is a key...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 50: In page 81, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following:“(2) All retailers defined as relevant grocery goods undertakings must disclose their profits in the Irish market.”.This is an important amendment not only for this legislation, but in the context of dealing with corporate companies. A whole range of multiples do not provide details of their...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: The Minister will be aware of numerous examples of businesses which form one company to engage in one activity and another company to engage in a second activity. The use of separate companies enables them to circumvent employment law and constructively dismiss members of staff. I have no doubt this practice will take place in this context if it results in a competitive advantage for the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: The purpose of Committee Stage scrutiny of legislation is to enable issues that fell through the cracks during the earlier process of consultation and investigation to be brought up. We are all paid to do our job of bringing these issues to the fore. I know how long it takes for the legislative wheels to turn at Government level. It takes longer from the Opposition's perspective because we...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: No.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: Our perspective is that it would widen the number of intermediate suppliers in the supply chain.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: How many firms will be captured by the Bill as it is drafted? How many would be captured - in real terms or in proportional terms - by the Bill if it were amended in the way we seek? I expect the Department would have proportional figures in mind when drafting such measurements.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: At this stage I wish to signal that I will raise this issue on Report Stage. Why is the Minister limiting this to groceries? Let us consider what happens in the newsagent, the grocery shop or the convenience store. There are quite a number of other products such as phone credit, stamps and newspapers, as well as services such as bill payment, which are part of normal commerce. The abuse...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I can take it, then, that the Minister is not opposed, after proper consultation with market sectors and proper investigation by his own Department, to the inclusion of other sectors in the Bill in the future.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 45: In page 79, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:“(b) garden plants,”.I tabled this amendment not just because my mother loves garden plants. It is a significant section of the grocery trade and affects a great many businesses. It is anomalous that it has been left out. I ask the Minister to include it.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I appreciate the Minister's quandary. The Opposition will always clip the ear of a government that does engage in proper consultation. As there is no doubt of that, we cannot give out to the Minister for not seeking consultation. The key point is that the term "a grocery store" does not meet the current market realities. In the current market, grocery stores, and shops in general, have...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: The problem I have is that we are dealing with legislation that deals with competition but this section hangs on the fact that there must be competition within the media market but we put no real yardstick or threshold on that. That is a mistake because any Minister or Oireachtas committee can be put under pressure from those same media interests. We have seen media groups exert extreme...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 44: In page 73, line 30, after “internet” to insert “and issue a press statement outlining”.This is a very simple amendment which aims to increase the stakeholder consultation and engagement when the draft guidelines are published by the Minister. It is simply an attempt to widen the level of engagement.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 31: In page 53, line 30, to delete “prevalent” and substitute “present”.Before I get to the specific amendment, I mention that we are now on the media section. There seems to be no yardstick or threshold contained in the legislation as to what is the maximum cross-media ownership limit. It seems to me it is an arbitrary decision by the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 13: In page 26, to delete lines 5 to 21 and substitute the following:"Comptroller and Auditor General, give evidence to that Committee.".The section verifies the accountability of the chairperson to the Committee of Public Accounts. There is a feeling at the moment that the Government is secretly uneasy with it and the role that it is undertaking. I thought it was...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, line 28, after "Act" to insert "no later than 3 months following enactment of this legislation".The Minister's last words regarding amendment No. 4 were "legal certainty". By not having a date for the establishment of the legislation, it creates legal uncertainty. The purpose of the amendment is to create legal certainty. As the Minister stated, the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: I move amendment No. 10: In page 18, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:"(9) Vacancies of the Commission membership will be filled within 3 months.".The Government has a poor record on filling vacant positions. Over Christmas, there unfolded an issue with the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, not having positions filled thereby reducing its ability to do its job and...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (15 May 2014)

Peadar Tóibín: Why two years and not seven years?