Results 1,341-1,360 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 Sep 2021)

Damien English: Policy responsibility for the food production industry is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Food Wise 2025sets out a ten-year plan for the agri-food sector. It underlines the sector’s unique and special position within the Irish economy, and it illustrates the potential which exists for this sector to grow even further. The Minister for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 Sep 2021)

Damien English: The employment permits system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages, however, this objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one. In May 2018, following a detailed business case...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (21 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 76 together. Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The employment permits regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages in the State,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (21 Sep 2021)

Damien English: Policy responsibility for the Hospitality Sector is matter for my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. The Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group, under the auspices of Fáilte Ireland, was established in 2019 to coordinate relevant bodies to agree and implement a work programme addressing labour supply and skills requirements in the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Functions (16 Sep 2021)

Damien English: On 28 April 2021, I announced my intention to issue an Order to give effect to a statutory recommendation of the Labour Court concerning minimum rates of remuneration and other terms and conditions in the Security Sector. The Order was to apply from 1 September 2021. An ex-parte application to initiate legal proceedings challenging the underlying legislation in the High Court was lodged in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (16 Sep 2021)

Damien English: The ratification of ILO Convention C190 is a matter of priority for Ireland and my Department officials continue to work towards being amongst the first ILO member States to ratify, with plans to progress the ratification this year.  The issue of ratification by Ireland of International Labour Organisation Convention 190, Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: The current waiting time is about 11 weeks for trusted partners, people with regular engagement permits, and 17 weeks for those who are not, which is extremely long. Waiting times were considerably less than that up to a couple of months ago. It is still better than most countries we compete with. Along with the Tánaiste, I met the Secretary General and officials from the section to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I am trying to have a useful discussion.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: That is fine.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: However, the Deputy was not complaining.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I think he wants the answer I am going to give him.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: Fine.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I understand the procedures but I had understood there is an allocation to discuss the overall topic and I am trying to get the full answer in. The difficulty we have is that many employers are now contacting us looking for permits. They are asking us to go beyond the European labour market to find resources. That is a difficult piece to address when more than 100,000 people are in receipt...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. This is a common theme that we have dealt with over the last couple of months. We have engaged with many sectors that are having difficulty filling job vacancies. As the Deputy mentioned, food processing is one of those. I have engaged with these sectors and they clearly show me where they are missing out on opportunities to expand and grow....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Promotion (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I do not have those figures on me but I will certainly get them for Deputy Stanton. What we generally see is that any business that invests in the digitalisation agenda increases its sales as well as driving its innovation or its business. To allay concerns about online versus high street, the town centre first principal and approach is highly recommended in the programme for Government,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this question. If it is okay, I might answer it because the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and I chair the regional enterprise strategies, on behalf of the Tánaiste. Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of the Government. Our Department is overseeing the development of nine new regional...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I took time when I was in Tipperary last week to drive up and down nearly every street and every part of Tipperary town and I could see exactly what the Deputy is saying. It is an area that, in my view, has been suffering decline for a long number of years, not just in the past three or four years but possibly for even 20 or 30 years, and not because of Covid or Brexit or anything else. It...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: Sorry, Chair. I will make one last point. The main request I got from the briefing was for land for light industrial use. I think that is what the Deputy is looking for, and that is something on which I am committed to working with them.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: Again, I would be very happy to engage with Deputy Cahill on that because we are very clear and I know from talking to the local authorities that Joe McGrath, Anthony Fitzgerald and the other team involved in the hub there are very anxious that solutions are found in conjunction with all our Departments and agencies. Under the direction of the regional plans we are asking the IDA, Enterprise...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Promotion (15 Sep 2021)

Damien English: I thank the Ceann Comhairle and Deputy Stanton for raising this question. We would see encouraging people to go online as a very important response to the current sutuation in retail. As the largest private sector employer, retail is a key element in providing for the needs of society and other sectors of the economy and it is vital that it continues to develop capability and remain...