Results 301-320 of 1,092,391 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Leo Varadkar OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Neale Richmond OR speaker:Stephen Donnelly OR speaker:Michael Collins OR speaker:Emer Higgins OR speaker:Robert Troy OR speaker:Verona Murphy OR speaker:Michael Lowry OR speaker:Seán Fleming OR speaker:Patricia Ryan OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald OR speaker:Matt Shanahan OR speaker:Charlie McConalogue) in 'Committee meetings'

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed): Public Transport (6 Nov 2024)

James Browne: On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the important issue of public transport for Wicklow. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens’ quality of life and addressing our climate action challenge, and this Government is committed to a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am very pleased to present to the committee a draft sectoral employment order for the construction sector. The draft order proposes to amend the previous SEO made in 2023 by confirming new minimum rates of pay, pension and sick pay entitlements for workers in the construction sector. If approved, the order will be the fifth of its kind to be made since the first SEO for the construction...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Deputy for welcoming the SEO. It is really important that we have these. It is a form of collective bargaining where we have trade unions, and where we have employers come to the table and collectively agree on the way forward for their industry. With regard to compliance with the provisions of the SEO, inspections carried out by Workplace Relations Commission inspectors...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: If there is noncompliance, a case can absolutely be taken to the WRC. It can be taken by an individual, and it can be reported to the trade union and taken that way. If the Deputy is aware of a situation where there is noncompliance, please let us know because that is something we will look at. We have EROs and SEOs in other industries. They work very effectively and it is very rare that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: In terms of collaboration with Revenue and the Department of Social Protection, I assure the Deputy that does happen. On 11 July, I chaired a meeting with officials from the Department of Social Protection and Revenue looking at the issue the Deputy described and the determination of the employment status working group. The working group had been set up on foot of the Supreme Court ruling...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: It will come into effect in August.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: No, the current SEO has not expired. The new one will be in place from next August and will also allow for increased remuneration the following August. One reason we tend to sign the SEOs about six months in advance is to give employers enough notice to take account of them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: The weekly contribution coming into effect from August 2025 will be €2.37 for employers and €0.63 for employees, which means the total weekly contribution will be €3.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am pleased to hear the Senator wants this to be passed quickly. That is absolutely our intention. For his son who is a third-year apprentice, this will mean he will be at 75% of the craft rate from August 2025, or 75% of €23, which is about €17.25. This is, I hope, good news for the Senator's son and all apprentices in his position. Where somebody is being paid below that,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: Their trade union is there for that reason. That is why people organise in a collective way. Five trade unions were at the table to negotiate this and have worked closely with employers in this sector to agree terms and conditions. Employers will now be legally and statutorily bound from August, once we sign this into law, to pay appropriately in that regard and unfair dismissals...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: The CSO does research on the sector but it is not broken down by craft. We have given a breakdown by craft, so it is a bit difficult to compare and contrast. Ultimately, we saw that the construction sector was a very unfavourable one in which to work during the recession and that this had a considerably negative impact on the pipeline of apprentices. It took Ireland a long time to recover...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: One of the things we have done through the negotiations is set out a stepped pay scale for apprentices. In year one, apprentices are paid one third of the craft rate, but when they get into year two, they are paid half of it. They are paid 75% of it in year three and 90% in year four. This is to recognise the training, development and additional skills they gain each year. Although...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank Deputy Stanton.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Senator. We expect this problem to be resolved very shortly. The WRC inspectorate is staffed by civil servants from my Department. The staff are ranked at executive officer and higher executive officer levels. Resources at inspectorate level in the WRC have increased by almost one third since 2020, with the WRC now having been sanctioned for 80 inspectors, representing an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Messages to Dáil and Seanad (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank everybody involved, including the five unions, employers, officials in my Department and the Labour Court. We have got to a good place and I will be happy to sign the statutory instrument.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 42 - Rural and Community Development (Supplementary) (6 Nov 2024)

Paul Donnelly: I will ask a question about the community centre investment fund. Is it for projects that are already in existence and need extra funding or is it for projects that just missed out on funding and now have an opportunity to get that extra funding?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Construction Sector) 2024: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Emer Higgins: I understand that the draft of it is nearing completion and that a review has been undertaken by the Department of Social Protection, the Revenue Commissioners and the Workplace Relations Commission. I should add that the commission was also represented at that meeting and a lot of collaboration is happening in that regard. It is now being shared with the group members for final...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation (6 Nov 2024)

Mattie McGrath: I am extremely disappointed to hear the Minister of State read out another waffle from the Department. The Department is currently assessing the options. Just imagine that. I have a document here from December 2022, when the Department promised 12 modular classrooms to deal with the accommodation. In February 2023 the Department of Education changed it and listed five modular classrooms,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation (6 Nov 2024)

James Browne: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue and giving me an opportunity to outline the position of the school. The Department of Education continues to provide very significant funding in support of the education of children with special educational needs, which is a priority for this Government, with over a quarter of the entire education budget dedicated to special education in recent...