Results 19,941-19,960 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: Amendment No. 53 provides that any party to the decision of the Labour Court under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, would be able to appeal that decision on a point of law only to the High Court, with the decision of the High Court to be final and conclusive. This amendment also provides for the standardisation of the relevant time limit applicable to refer an appeal to the High...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: Amendments Nos. 64 and 65 are just drafting amendments.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: The power to deal with cases by way of written submissions only is already provided for in equality legislation. Section 70(2)(a) of the Employment Equality Acts of 1998 to 2011 empowers the director of the Equality Tribunal to propose to the parties concerned that suitable cases be dealt with on the basis of written submissions only and without the need for a hearing to the director of the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 46: In page 42, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following: “Provisions relating to winding up and bankruptcy 50. (1) (a) There shall be included among the debts that, under a relevant provision are, in the distribution of the assets of a company being wound up, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all compensation payable under this Part by the company...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 47: In page 43, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “Amendment of enactments 51. (1) The enactments specified in column (3) of Schedule 6are amended to the extent specified in column (4) of that Schedule. (2) The amendments to the enactments specified in column (3) of Schedule 6shall not apply in relation to complaints or disputes made, presented or...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: We are providing that all hearings on appeal will be in public, but the initial hearing will be in private.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 37: In page 38, to delete lines 7 to 11 and substitute the following:“(11) A complainant may, in proceedings before an adjudication officer or the Labour Court in respect of a complaint presented, or dispute referred, by the complainant under this Part, be accompanied and represented by—(a) a trade union official within the meaning of section 11 of the Act...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 39: In page 39, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:“(2) Upon the hearing of an application under this section in relation to a decision of an adjudication officer requiring an employer to reinstate or re-engage an employee, the District Court may, instead of making an order directing the employer to carry out the decision in accordance with its terms,...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: Is that on the basis that the compensation level is not strong enough?

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am considering further amendments to sections 43 to 45, inclusive, to provide that non-compliance with an order of the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court regarding the enforcement of awards in employment rights cases would be an offence prosecutable summarily in the District Court. I am currently in discussions with the OPC on this matter and will revert to the committee on...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: It is consolidating a range of enactments and bringing in common procedures that will apply. Like any other restructuring process, it is a difficult Bill. Amendments come which provide greater clarity. It is the nature of this sort of Bill. We are also working to move this rapidly to deliver the consolidation within a timeline. We are trying to balance getting a strong agency up and...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 40: In page 39, lines 38 and 39, to delete “affirming, varying or setting aside that decision”.This amendment is required to clarify that the terms of the decision reached by the Labour Court under section 44 of the Bill on any specific appeal are provided for in the individual employment enactment concerned. These are detailed in Schedule 6.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 41: In page 40, to delete lines 5 and 6 and substitute the following:“(3) Subject to subsection (4)*, a notice under subsection (2) shall be given to the Labour Court not later than 42 days from the date of the decision concerned. (4) The Labour Court may direct that a notice under subsection (2) may be given to it after the expiration of the period specified in...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: There are currently three bodies carrying out the adjudicative function at first incident level, which will comprise the WRC adjudication service, namely, the EAT, the Rights Commissioner Service and the Equality Tribunal. Under existing procedures, neither the EAT nor the rights commissioners have the power to refer a point of law to the High Court, whereas the director of the Equality...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for his amendment. We are recruiting the new panel for the adjudication service through the Public Appointments Service. It will be a balanced panel with equal numbers of people appointed from legal, human resources and industrial relations streams. The PAS is undertaking a selection process with the external panel of adjudicators. The competition for inclusion on the...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: That is why we are recruiting additional people. There was a large backlog, part of it because the procedure was not as streamlined as it ought to be but we are aiming to get the waiting times back on track. Already there has been a great improvement in the scheduling of cases. For rights commissioners that happens on demand. There are backlogs in certain areas, which the Deputy knows...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 22: In page 35, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:“(9) A reference in any enactment to a rights commissioner shall be construed as including a reference to an adjudication officer.”.This is an additional safeguard to ensure that the full range of functions is transferred seamlessly between rights commissioners and adjudication officers and...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 23: In page 36, to delete lines 5 and 6.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: Section 41 does not apply directly to employment equality and equal status cases. Instead, sections 80 to 82, inclusive, amend the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000 and make them consistent with the provisions of section 41. There is no merit in requiring a separate hearing of equality cases from other employment matters which may be in dispute between an employer...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Equal Status Act 2000 will remain in place but will be subject to certain amendments through this Bill. We are not doing away with the Equal Status Act 2000 in any shape or form but we are having single hearings.