Results 161-180 of 2,396 for speaker:Barry Ward

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: I thank Mr. Kalfin. Does anyone else want to come back in?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: On the issue of sharing information, I ask the witnesses to share documents with the committee rather than with individual members.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: If nobody else wants to come in, I will ask a couple of questions. Mr. Kalfin talked about marginalisation and how that is one of the issues that is affecting the overall quality of the work environment. Could he elaborate on that a little bit, such as, in the context of Ireland, where the specific marginalisation is and what we can do about it?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: So people in customer-facing roles have higher stress levels.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: I would have thought it would be the opposite.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: What is Mr. Kalfin's experience of the gap between employed people and self-employed people, given the number of protections for employees that do not necessarily extend to people who work for themselves or even as employers? Is there a gap in the quality of life or the employment conditions between those two groups?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: Is there a public policy we should be pursuing to address that gap or is there something Mr. Kalfin would recommend?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: I call on Senator Davitt.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: If I may, I will ask Mr. Kalfin about mandatory retirement. There is a lot of debate about pension ages and things like that. Particularly in the public sector, not just in Ireland but elsewhere in Europe, mandatory retirement ages are being implemented. That results in a loss of institutional knowledge and, as Deputy Butterly was saying, sometimes people who would love to continue working...

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: On a cross-European Union basis, does Mr. Kalfin see enlargement as an opportunity or as a threat? Does it create any difficulties from the point of view of the overall employment experience or employment satisfaction of Europeans? For example, if we were to admit a new country in the coming years, it would contribute to the overall statistics and may well lower them. I do not know. Is...

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: We were too, although it may have been a long time ago.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: I hope Mr. Kalfin does not misunderstand me; I am very much pro-enlargement. I think it is good for everybody involved. I am just wondering if there are aspects of it we need to plan for in advance. Mr. Kalfin is happy that it is a good thing across the board, particularly for the labour market.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: That is not for all of them, however. It is just for some of them.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: The accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, as an example, came with restrictions for a period.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: In Eurofound's experience of being an EU agency in Ireland, has it had any difficulties in the last 50 years?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: That is good to hear. Does the foundation have any difficulty in attracting staff?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: Does being in Ireland inevitably mean that the agency has more in the way of Irish people being interested in positions?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: Does being in Ireland mean that Eurofound engages more with Irish agencies or Irish entities than might be the case across the European Union?

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: I have seen that at first hand.

Committee on European Union Affairs: Eurofound: Discussion (1 Oct 2025)

Barry Ward: It is fair to say there is a tangible benefit to Ireland from having the agency here, as there would be for any other country that has an agency in it.