Results 121-140 of 5,165 for speaker:Billy Kelleher in 'Written Answers'
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: Under "Towards 2016, The Ten year Framework Social Partnership Agreement", the Government is committed to delivering a key package of measures dealing with employment rights. This package will be set out in the Employment Law Compliance Bill which will be published shortly. Included in the package will be substantially increased penalties for breaches of employment laws. Already, the...
- Written Answers — EU Treaty: EU Treaty (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: I reject the inherent negative premise of the question posed by the Deputy. On the contrary, I am firmly convinced that the new EU Treaty will be of overall benefit to Irish workers. Our membership of the European Union has been very beneficial to Ireland from the point of view of Irish workers, as reflected in the strong growth in employment in Ireland in recent years, and the very positive...
- Written Answers — Redundancy Figures: Redundancy Figures (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The numbers of actual redundancies notified to my Department for the years 2002-2007 are as follows: Actual Redundancies 2002-2007 Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Actual 24,432 25,769 25,041 23,156 23,684 25,459 These figures show the number of employees on whose behalf claims were submitted for statutory redundancy lump sum payments. They do not reflect those who lost their jobs with...
- Written Answers — Health and Safety Regulations: Health and Safety Regulations (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The number of inspections/visits undertaken by Inspection Services in 2006 and 2007 to check compliance with the Protection of Young Persons Act (Employment), Act, 1996 was as follows: in 2006; 3,347 inspections/visits were undertaken, 1,766 of which were conducted outside of normal working hours; and in 2007; 2,625 inspections/visits were undertaken, 1,695 of which were conducted outside of...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 29 together. I asked the National Employment Rights Authority to investigate the matter. I am advised that the ship referred to by the Deputies is not, in fact, registered in Ireland. The responsibility for safety, rates of pay and living and working conditions on the ship rests, therefore, with the ship operator and the country where the ship is...
- Written Answers — Labour Inspectorate: Labour Inspectorate (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 38 together. In accordance with commitments given under Towards 2016, the Social Partnership Agreement, the number of Inspectors was scheduled to increase to 90, from the starting position of 31, by the end of 2007. Twenty new Inspectors were recruited by the National Employment Rights Authority during 2007 bringing the total number of Inspectors...
- Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) has been established on an interim basis since February 2007. The Authority will be established on a statutory basis on the enactment of new Employment Law Compliance Bill which I propose to publish shortly. A budget allocation of â¬8.553 million was provided for NERA for 2007 and this has increased to some â¬10.8 million for 2008. Three...
- Written Answers — Equal Opportunities Employment: Equal Opportunities Employment (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: Data from the CSO quarterly industrial survey shows that average industrial earnings per hour for male industrial workers on adult rates in June 2007 was â¬16.62. For female industrial workers the average rate was â¬12.73. From the CSO National Employment Survey for March 2006, average hourly earnings were â¬20.59 for males and â¬18.22 for females. These latter figures cover the entire...
- Written Answers — Employment Agency Regulation: Employment Agency Regulation (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 58 together. Following a period of extensive consultation, proposals for an Employment Agency Regulation Bill which will modernise the regulation of the employment agency sector and which will repeal and replace the Employment Agency Act 1971, have now been finalised, and I intend to submit to Government later this month a Memorandum seeking approval...
- Written Answers — Workplace Accidents: Workplace Accidents (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 52 together. The number of deaths recorded in workplace accidents during 2007 was 67 compared to 51 fatalities in 2006. I would like to record my sympathy to the relatives and friends of those who were bereaved. Unfortunately, the same sectors keep surfacing as having the most accidents and the same causes are continuously attributed to fatalities....
- Written Answers — Employment Appeals Tribunal: Employment Appeals Tribunal (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The Employment Appeals Tribunal is an independent semi-judicial body. The proceedings of the Tribunal are carried out in as informal manner as possible. To this end there is no requirement on a party to submit a list of witnesses before a hearing. I understand that when members of the Tribunal receive papers in advance of a hearing their procedure is to examine the names of the parties and...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The pay and conditions of employment of workers in the hotel industry are governed by Employment Regulation Orders. Labour Inspectors in the National Employment Regulation Authority (NERA) have powers to enter premises, inspect wage sheets and other records, interview the employees and workers concerned, recover arrears and, if necessary, take legal proceedings against an employer who is in...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The number of inspections/visits carried out in relation to the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 during which breaches were detected and the number of prosecutions initiated for breaches of that Act for the years 2006 and 2007 are as follows: in 2006: 2,002 inspections/visits were undertaken; in 104 cases breaches were detected and in one case a prosecution was initiated. in 2007: 1,942...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The number of workplace inspections/visits undertaken by the NERA Inspection Services in 2007 amounted to 14,413. Breaches were detected in 2,353 cases. During 2007, 28 cases were referred to the Chief State Solicitors Office. The level of fines imposed by the Court in respect of cases heard ranged from â¬200 to â¬2,500. The primary objective of the NERA Inspection Services, where...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The European Court of Justice issued a Judgement on 18 December 2007 in a case between the Latvian company, Laval, and the Swedish Building Workers' Union and others. The Swedish Labour Court had referred the case to the European Court of Justice to determine whether it is permissible under European law for trade unions to take industrial action, in the form of a blockade, to compel a foreign...
- Written Answers — Employment Appeals Tribunal: Employment Appeals Tribunal (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The current overall average waiting time for a case to be heard before the Employment Appeals Tribunal is 44 weeks. I understand that the Tribunal has been taking steps to reduce this waiting time, including targeting areas of the country where the waiting time is longest. The Government undertook in the Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016 to increase the staffing resources of the...
- Written Answers — Labour Inspectorate: Labour Inspectorate (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The number of employment rights inspections/visits undertaken in 2007 by the Inspection Services of the National Employment Rights Authority, or NERA, amounted to 14,413. In the year 2006, some 15,855 inspections/visits were undertaken. This represents a reduction of 9% in 2007. Insofar as comparisons with the same period in 2006 are concerned I am advised by NERA that some 10,600 employment...
- Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (7 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: It is not possible to provide figures for redundancies by town for any county. I have, however, set out the total number of actual redundancies for County Donegal for the years in question in the table below. Actual Redundancies for County Donegal 2005-2007 Year No. 2005 504 2006 984 2007 434 Total 1,922
- Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (12 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, Co Kilkenny as part of the decentralisation programme. To date a total of 65 civil and public servants have expressed an interest through the Central Application Facility (CAF) process in transferring to Thomastown. In anticipation of the move to Thomastown, the Authority has established an interim office in Kilkenny city...
- Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (12 Feb 2008)
Billy Kelleher: The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) have advised me that they are happy to meet with trade associations or representative bodies in relation to non-compliance with employment rights in any sector of the economy. In relation to trade associations representing the electrical contracting industry, I have been informed by NERA that they met with one representative body of that...