Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 30 November 2022

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary)

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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On capital savings, there is some detail in the submission as to how the €61.35 million in capital savings was achieved. That is now about to be redistributed. I refer to where the money is coming from, some of which includes the drawdown that was deferred, as the Minister of State mentioned, and that will need to come back. How much of the capital savings, when broken down, is money due that has been deferred and will be claimed at some point in the future?

I am not trying to bounce the Minister of State into giving an answer on an issue that was not referenced. Given that the report on a four-day week was published this morning and the Minister of State has said some sort of savings have been made, is there scope in the Department's budget to further fund this scheme? I do not think much more investigation will be needed because all the evidence seems to suggest that a four-day week is a positive project, not just for workers but also employers. I know there is no hostility in the Department to the scheme but it should move the scheme forward, publicise it and get more companies involved. Today's report indicated that all 12 companies involved will retain the four-day week beyond the pilot programme, albeit a small number may do so for a short period. Is there scope for this?