Results 281-300 of 1,045,326 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Garret Ahearn OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Norma Foley OR speaker:Pat Buckley OR speaker:Leo Varadkar OR speaker:Carol Nolan OR speaker:David Stanton)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I appreciate that. If we compare it with January to May of last year, there is no significant increase in the number of closures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I appreciate that. It is interesting because that is very different from what we are getting from other groups. We are in a budget period, however, so it is understandable. The Low Pay Commission is recommending the abolishment of the payments for under-19s. In 2017, it recommended introducing this measure. What has changed? The commission knew all about the issues we are discussing in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I understand the then Minister asked for a review of it. It just seems like a total shift in opinion from the commission's previous recommendation. I cannot see anything that would not have been foreseen beforehand in the context of equal pay for everyone or people being paid less, the challenges that brings and the possibility of exploitation. I do not understand why the commission has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: I have one more question. It is hard to agree with 18- and 19-year-olds being paid a lower wage. I know education is a factor, but the majority of 18- or 19-year-olds are finished secondary school. As only 4% of 19-year-olds are being paid that wage, surely it would not be a big cost for the sector to give them full minimum wage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: And considering that employers are paying almost all of them full wages.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

David Stanton: How do we compare with other European countries in the context of this issue? I understand that a number of countries have done what is proposed in the Bill, namely abolished the distinction. How has it fared in those countries?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

David Stanton: Of the countries which have moved towards where we are looking to go with this Bill, has there been any major negative impact on employment or on the concerns we spoke of, such as youth workers not being employed or let go or people leaving school early? It is happening in other countries, so I am interested to know the impact.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

David Stanton: It was stated earlier that sectors such as hospitality and maybe retail would be impacted to a higher degree because they employ many students and others on these wages. Where such changes have been made in Europe, have those sectors been impacted? Did any European states put in place supports for the sectors most likely to be impacted by the changes?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

David Stanton: It would be interesting to see the impact of this, especially in the United Kingdom and in those sectors. We could get that almost in real time. How soon could the witnesses come back with that information?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

David Stanton: I thank Ms Pyke. That is good.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sub-Minimum Rates of the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Sep 2024)

Garret Ahearn: It was stated that one of the arguments against changing the sub-minimal rates is that young people might be the first to go, which is an obvious possibility when an employer is making a decision. Do the witnesses have statistics on the increase in youth employment when this was introduced? Obviously an employer would have seen it as an incentive at the time to take on someone young at a...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Réada Cronin: I accept everything the Minister of State said. The Bill is about making sure children and vulnerable adults are safe. That is what is most important. There are different areas of risk. The Bill's provisions are relevant to people going for certain jobs or looking to do volunteering. During the Covid period, there were people in my area delivering food shopping to older people living...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Paul Donnelly: I do not have much to add to what has been said by my colleagues. This important Bill needs to progress. I hope it is done in a speedy manner and that we have the opportunity to get it passed before the general election. I am not pre-empting the calling of the election. Perhaps the Minister of State will tell us today whether it will happen in September or October. I wish all my...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: This is vital legislation. We must ensure we have absolute due diligence and a streamlined process in regard to vetting. I am saying more than I usually would while in the Chair. I received a telephone call just before the debate started concerning a new facility in County Louth to deal with vulnerable children. The caller is dealing with a particular issue and asked me whether I know...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Question put and declared carried.

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 7.13 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 18 Meán Fómhair 2024. The Dáil adjourned at at 7.13 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 September 2024.

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill: I am greatly encouraged to see that Deputy Ó Snodaigh takes the same approach to volunteering as I do, which is that we do enough public service here. I cannot be baking tray-bakes and that. Perhaps when the electorate decides I need more time to bake tray-bakes and volunteer in different ways, I will spend my time doing that as well. In the meantime, I feel like I have a pass and now...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Pa Daly: I am sharing time with my colleagues. I thank them for their contributions. I also thank the Minister of State and her officials. We, too, would hope to work with the Government. I note some of the issues the Minister of State has raised. I await with interest the review or report which is going to be published presently. I understand what she is saying about the difference in risk...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Paul Donnelly: I thank my colleagues for working on this Bill because it is an important one. We have been talking about this issue for a long time. I had a couple of previous roles. I worked for Tusla and I was also a children's officer in a GAA club, which was a challenging role in itself as it involved making sure everybody in the club was Garda vetted and children were protected. We had all of the...

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 Jul 2024)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: When Deputy Donnelly was speaking I was trying to count up how many addresses I have had in my adult life. There are at least eight I can remember. I cannot remember the exact address of some of those. The nature of being a student or young person is that you move and 40 years later you do not remember where. The onus on us is to remember every single address, however. That is not the...