Wednesday, 30 Sep 2015

Written Answers Nos. 91-97

Public Procurement Contracts

Questions (91)

Michael McGrath

Question:

91. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 92 of 2 July 2015, the reason a company (details supplied) which recently terminated its contract for the supply of stationery and office supplies to the Open Government Partnership Group 4 Sector, that is central Government, local authorities and schools, has now been awarded a new contract by the education procurement service; the way the reasons cited by the company for withdrawing from the original contract have been dealt with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33586/15]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The tender referred to was administered by the Education Procurement Service who also awarded the contract for a 12 month period. The contract covers schools and ETBs but not the other segments of the original Group 4 lot. The contract was awarded by way of an open tender procedure under the EU Procurement Directives. This tender process was entirely independent from the central arrangements established by the OGP. The details of the competition run by the Education Procurement Service are a matter for that Contracting Authority. Any further queries in relation to that process are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills who has responsibility for the Education Procurement Service.

The OGP is at an advanced stage of planning a tender process for a new office supplies framework which will be structured in a manner that addresses the issues highlighted by the existing national framework. At this point, it would be inappropriate to comment in relation to the mechanism by which the issues which arose under one lot of the previous framework will be addressed.

Office of Public Works Properties

Questions (92)

Eric J. Byrne

Question:

92. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a building (details supplied) in Dublin 12; the future plans for this building; if it can be transferred or made available for use by community groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33642/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

The property at 390-396 Clonard Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12 has accommodated the Probation Service for almost 20 years. The Probation Service remains in occupation of the property with plans in place to vacate by the end of 2015.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) policy for properties deemed surplus is as follows:

1. Identify, in the first instance, if other State Bodies, including government departments and the wider public sector has a use for the property;

2. If there is no other State use for a property the OPW will then consider disposing of the property on the open market, if and when conditions prevail, in order to generate much needed revenue for the Exchequer;

3. If no State requirement is identified or if a decision is taken not to dispose of a particular property the OPW would consider, community involvement subject to the receipt of an appropriate business case which would indicate that the community/voluntary group has the means to insure, maintain and manage the property ensuring that there is no cost to the Exchequer.

The Commissioners of Public Works are currently examining options regarding the future use of this property and will do so in line with the above stated policy.

Departmental Agencies Funding

Questions (93)

Mick Wallace

Question:

93. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 131 of 15 July 2015 and 343 of 14 July 2015, his views on the discrepancy between the figures provided by his Department in relation to State funding awarded to indigenous private companies by the county enterprise boards and local enterprise offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33511/15]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) provide supports for their clients in the form of capital grants (so-called “Measure 1” supports) which are paid directly to companies and “soft” supports (so-called “Measure 2” supports), such as training, mentoring, and entrepreneurial capacity building, etc, where there are no direct grants paid to the companies but where the allocation is used to fund the cost of providing the service.

The figures provided for Parliamentary Question No. 131 of 15 July 2015, which was taken along with Parliamentary Questions Nos. 342 and 363 of 15 July 2015, relate to the amount of State funding allocated to County Enterprise Boards / Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) for the totality of direct grants and soft supports for indigenous private companies each year for the period from 2011 to 2014.

Question No. 343 of 14 July 2015 relates to the amount of funding paid directly to LEO client companies by the County Enterprise Boards/Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) over the same period in respect of direct grant aid only, i.e., Measure 1.

Accordingly, the apparent discrepancy in the figures quoted in the two replies arises simply from a difference in interpretation of the two Questions. Both my officials and I are willing to provide any further clarification required.

Equality Tribunal Cases

Questions (94)

Clare Daly

Question:

94. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views that the Equality Tribunal lacks the powers to compel respondents in discrimination cases to furnish complainants with information and-or documentation relevant to the complainants' cases, thus hampering a complainant in the preparation of a case in the run-up to a hearing before the tribunal, which compromises their right to a fair hearing and undermines the principle of equality of arms in legal proceeding. [33576/15]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Equality Tribunal is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations. The Equality Tribunal has jurisdiction to investigate and decide upon complaints of discrimination under the Employment Equality Acts, the Equal Status Acts and the Pensions Acts. The Equality Tribunal also provides a statutory mediation service.

Under the Employment Equality Acts a person who believes that he or she may have experienced discrimination is entitled under Section 76 of the Acts to write to the person he or she believes may have carried out the discriminating action asking for certain information. A statutory form of questionnaire (Form EE.2) is available from the Tribunal and can be downloaded from the website. A statutory reply form gives the person who receives the questionnaire an opportunity to set out his or her version of events. This form is available (Form EE.3) from the Tribunal and can be downloaded from the website. The Acts state that the Director may draw such inferences as seem appropriate from a respondent failing to reply, or supplying false, misleading or inadequate information.

Under the Equal Status Acts a service provider could be a bank, an educational institution etc. Under the Acts notification of a complaint must be in writing and sent by the complainant to the respondent within two months of the incident complained of (or, in the case of repeated incidents, the most recent one), stating the nature of the allegation and the intention to seek redress under the Equal Status Acts, if not satisfied with the service provider’s response. This standard form allows for questions to be asked of the service provider. A sample reply form is also available to the service provider (Form ES.2) and these forms can be downloaded from the website. The service provider is not obliged to reply but the Acts state that the Tribunal may draw such inferences as seem appropriate if the service provider does not reply or provides a false, misleading or unhelpful reply.

Both parties to a complaint before the Equality Tribunal under equality legislation are requested to provide information in advance of a hearing. The Equality Tribunal does not have the power to compel either party to provide this in advance of the hearing. The Equality Officer, as part of his or her independent investigation ensures that all relevant evidence is provided and both parties are given the opportunity to respond to the evidence. This is in accordance with the principles of fair procedures that underpin the investigation of claims before the Equality Tribunal. Furthermore, Equality Officers have the power under equality legislation to obtain information which they consider they require to enable them to exercise their investigative functions.

As the Deputy will be aware, from 1 October, 2015, a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure will be established comprising two statutorily independent bodies replacing the current five (i.e. the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court). We will have a new single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and a separate appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court.

Following the establishment of the new structures all complaints under equality legislation will be dealt with at first instance by the WRC Adjudication Service and on appeal by the Labour Court (with the exception of complaints under the Equal Status Acts where appeals will continue to be dealt with by the Circuit Court). The Workplace Relations Act 2015, which will give legislative effect to these reforms, does not provide for any amendments to the existing provisions within the corpus of employment rights and equality legislation (including the Employment Equality Acts or the Equal Status Acts) which provide for the powers that are currently available to Equality Officers. The powers which were previously available to Equality Officers under those Acts will continue to be available to WRC Adjudication Officers following the establishment of the WRC.

Equality Tribunal Cases

Questions (95)

Clare Daly

Question:

95. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on very lengthy delays between the lodging of complaints with the Equality Tribunal and those complaints going forward to mediation and hearing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33577/15]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Equality Tribunal is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations. The Equality Tribunal has jurisdiction to investigate and decide upon complaints of discrimination under the Employment Equality Acts, the Equal Status Acts and the Pensions Acts. The Equality Tribunal also provides a statutory mediation service.

I am informed that the average waiting time for a hearing of a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts is currently approx. 12 months. However, in cases where the complainant and respondent opt for mediation, a mediation hearing is arranged within approx. twelve weeks of the initial lodgement of the complaint.

The Equality Tribunal has recently been endeavouring to put measures in place in order to reduce the current waiting time for a hearing. These measures include the training and appointment of a number of Rights Commissioners and persons from the external panel of WRC Adjudication Officers as temporary Equality Officers. These measures have resulted in the reduction of the waiting time for a hearing in equality cases from 22 months in May, 2015 to 12 months at end September, 2015.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the Equality Tribunal to reduce backlogs and waiting times for hearings, I believe the delays that users of the service are experiencing are unacceptable. This is one of the reasons why I am implementing a root and branch reform of all five Workplace Relations Bodies.

My objective is to deliver a world-class workplace relations service which is simple to use, independent, effective, impartial, cost-effective and provides for workable means of redress and enforcement, within a reasonable period of time.

From 1 October, 2015, a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure will be established comprising two statutorily independent bodies replacing the current five (i.e. the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court). We will have a new single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and a separate appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court. All complaints will be dealt with by a single body of first instance where the aim will be to have a hearing within three months from the time the case is lodged.

This Act will also result in the establishment of new structures for the resolution and adjudication of complaints and disputes across the entire corpus of employment rights and equality legislation. The aim of the Act is to create a modern, user-friendly, world-class employment workplace relations system that will provide significant benefits for its users and society as a whole. The focus will be on resolving the workplace disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Mediation will be offered to facilitate resolution of complaints where possible at an early stage and without recourse to adjudication. Mediation will be offered only where all parties have indicated their willingness to participate in the mediation process and where acceptance by the relevant parties is received. In such circumstances, it is anticipated that the time frame to reach mediation will be three weeks.

The WRC Adjudication Officers will comprise a diverse panel of adjudicators which will include experienced industrial relations and HR practitioners, employment lawyers and civil servants with appropriate skills/qualifications. This will include the current cohort of Rights Commissioners and Equality Officers along with an externally recruited panel of suitably qualified and experienced persons. The 19 Adjudication Officers, selected for appointment following an open competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service in December last year, have undergone intensive training and are now available for assignment. These Adjudicators, together with the pre-Establishment Day cohort of Equality Officers and Rights Commissioners who have been appointed as WRC adjudicators, will be working to provide efficient and effective adjudication on complaints and disputes.

It is anticipated that the waiting time for a hearing under the equality legislation will be reduced by a further three months by the end of 2015.

Employment Rights

Questions (96)

Dara Calleary

Question:

96. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the timeline for the completion of the study being carried out on zero-hour contracts by the University of Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33594/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

I confirm that the University of Limerick (UL) has completed its study, which I received recently. The study is a substantial body of research into the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts across the Irish economy, the manner of their use and their impact on employees. I intend to bring the report to Government in the first half of October with a view to its immediate publication and to provide stakeholders with a period of time within which to consider its findings and respond to me, prior to my bringing policy recommendations to Government on foot of the study which I intend to do at the earliest opportunity.

Departmental Advertising Campaigns

Questions (97)

Dara Calleary

Question:

97. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the role his Department had in arranging and negotiating an advertisement on Raidió Teilifís Éireann radio from an organisation (details supplied) regarding the Action Plan for Jobs; the costs involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33595/15]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The advertisement on RTE radio the Deputy is referring to is part of an awareness campaign aimed at providing information to start-ups and SMEs of the more than 80 significant Government supports available to assist them in starting and growing their businesses. My Department decided to run an awareness campaign in response to a well-recognised demand for more information on Government supports for SMEs. Following a tender process in the Official Journal of the European Union, a successful tender was identified.

This awareness campaign, which was launched in February of this year, uses the web address www.actionplanforjobs.ie as a landing page for those interested in using the Government's online SME tool which helps explain what supports one might qualify for.

In addition to Chambers Ireland, the campaign uses other business representative groups like SFA and ISME, as well as experienced and young entrepreneurs who act as ambassadors to raise awareness of the supports available.

As announced at the time of the campaign launch a total budget of €250,000 plus VAT for the awareness campaign has been provided for within the Department's existing resources.