Results 21-40 of 3,007 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: It absolutely can be done through regulation, although we have not decided whether it will be. I am happy to take further correspondence on that.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I will open by giving my absolute assurance that we are genuine about wanting to protect vulnerable workers. The amendment the Senator tabled would add a new provision to the Bill that would effectively blacklist employers convicted of a wide range of employment rights breaches. This would represent a major change to the labour market enforcement system as it applies to the third country...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The amendments in this group are technical amendments, including textual changes and changes to cross-referencing.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Committee Stage (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Senator for this amendment. I fully agree with his intentions here, and this amendment aligns with Government position with regard to changing employer through a parallel process that is not a new employment permit application. The amendment requires a 12-month period for which a permit holder will be linked to an employer and we have actually gone further than that in this...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Tobacco Control Measures (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Amendment) Bill 2024 is a matter for my colleague Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD. This Bill refers to the commencement of section 28 of the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act. I have been consulted on this and I support these changes. I have also asked that I be appraised of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On 15th May, my colleague, Minister for Justice McEntee, and I announced that Government approval had been secured for a number of key actions to increase Ireland's competitiveness in attracting the skills and talent our economy and society needs. A key component of this was the approval to implement a single permit for both employment and residence in Ireland. Currently applicants must...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment, equality, and industrial relations legislation, in respect of which the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is mandated to secure compliance. Ireland’s employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis. Mechanisms exist for the determination of employment status. Where an issue...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Chairman of the Labour Court wrote to me on the 19 April 2024 confirming that the Court has adopted proposals for an Employment Regulation Order ('ERO') in the contract cleaning industry and the matter is receiving due consideration in accordance with my statutory role. I will confirm my decision shortly. The draft proposal is available to view on the Labour Court’s website.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Immigration Policy (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment is to increase targeted workplace inspections in sectors or firms where there is an increased risk or reports of non-compliance with the range of employment and workplace requirements and permit regulations as part of a suite of measures announced by the Government last week. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) will increase its...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Data (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The WRC’s Inspection and Enforcement Services have primary responsibility for driving employment and employment permit legislation compliance in Ireland. This is achieved through a combination of targeted inspections, assisting non-compliant employers in becoming complaint and robust prosecution and enforcement where they do not, and direct and indirect information provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Registrar of the Labour Court wrote to Minister Burke on the 18 April 2024 forwarding the Order of the Labour Court varying the terms of a Registered Employment Agreement. I can confirm that the matter is receiving due consideration and it is expected that an Order confirming the agreed variation will issue shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that the Critical Skills Employment Permit application for the person concerned in the details supplied was received on 5th May 2024. On 7th May 2024 the application was formally accepted and placed in the processing queue. Applications for employment permits are dealt with in date order. As of 17th May 2024, the Employment Permits...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act commenced on 7 March 2024 and provides the right to request remote working arrangements for all employees and the right to request flexible working arrangements for parents and carers. The Code of Practice for Employers and Employees Right to Request Flexible Working and Right to Request Remote Working was also published on that date. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Details regarding renewal applications in respect of each of the past six months are set out in the three tables below. The first table shows the number of renewal applications received during the requested period, the second table outlines the number of renewal applications processed in each of the last six months, and the third table shows the number of renewal applications at various...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023, the then Minister for Business, Employment and Retail, signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: enterprise.gov.ie/en/legislation/si-no-424-of-2023.html Joint Labour...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023, the then Minister for Business Employment and Retail signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: enterprise.gov.ie/en/legislation/si-no-424-of-2023.html Joint Labour...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023, the then Minister for Business Employment and Retail signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: enterprise.gov.ie/en/legislation/si-no-424-of-2023.html Joint Labour...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023, the then Minister for Business Employment and Retail signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: enterprise.gov.ie/en/legislation/si-no-424-of-2023.html Joint Labour...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: EU Regulations (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: State Aid rules do apply to own resource income generated and spent by Enterprise Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Agencies under the aegis of my Department, including Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA Ireland (IDA), can generate own resource income (ORI) and also receive sanction to retain an agreed amount. In 2023, figures for the ORI generated, sanctioned for retention, and amounts due to be remitted to Exchequer for both EI and IDA, are outlined in the tables below. Figures for generation of ORI and...