Results 3,021-3,040 of 3,425 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 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: si-no-424-of-2023-employment-regulation-order-security-indus...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Health and Safety (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Health and Safety Authority, from 01 January 2024 to date, has conducted 3,673 inspections. The tables presented at the end of this response set out the number of inspections by month and by sector. Health and Safety Authority inspectors, following an inspection may give advice either verbally or in writing, on how a duty holder can make improvements on health and safety in their...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: In December 2023, my Department introduced a Roadmap, up to January 2026, for increasing the minimum annual thresholds for employment permits. The first adjustments were introduced on 17 January this year. The thresholds for most employment permits had not changed in almost a decade and were out of date, having not kept pace with wage inflation since 2014. The purpose of the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On 24 August 2022, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was informed that the High Court had granted an injunction prohibiting the commencement of the proposed Statutory Instrument giving effect to the new Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Industry. As a result of the injunction, the Order could not be proceeded with at that time. On 28 July 2023, both the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 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: si-no-424-of-2023-employment-regulation-order-security-indus...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: There is presently no general statutory entitlement in Ireland for workers for bereavement leave. An employee's entitlement to take time off in such circumstances depends on whether any such provisions exist in the employee’s contract of employment. For the majority of workers, conditions of employment, including bereavement leave provisions, are matters for negotiation between...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: EU Directives (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Government fully supports the right of any worker to join and be active in their trade union. Employees have the right under the Constitution to form associations and trade unions. Under Irish legislation, an employee cannot be discriminated against or dismissed because they are a member of a trade union. The Unfair Dismissal Acts provide for a number of grounds under which a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a policy priority for me and this Government. The Government’s efforts to create sustainable enterprise in the regions is working, as can be seen by the latest Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Local Enterprise Office figures. Enterprise Ireland’s strategy fully aligns with Government's ambition to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: In Ireland, the support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been robust and multifaceted, reflecting the government's recognition of their critical role in the economy. Recently, the Government agreed on a range of measures aimed at reducing costs for SMEs, including reopening the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) Scheme, introducing a second payment for businesses in the retail...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The concept of working from home or via digital hubs has progressed across a number of fronts. The right to request remote working is now available to all employees under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. These provisions were commenced on the 6th of March 2024 and this right is now in operation. The Act includes obligations for the employee and the...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am delighted to have the opportunity to once again present the Employment Permits Bill for the consideration of Seanad Éireann. Since the Committee Stage debate on the Bill, a minor technical amendment relating to the alphabetical order of section 2 was identified and I present the amendment to Members. I note the resubmission of a small number of Opposition amendments to the Bill,...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Senator. This amendment would require a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas within 12 months of the passing of the Bill, reviewing the conditions and wages of workers holding a seasonal employment permit. As I noted on Committee Stage, while I appreciate and understand the concerns of Senators, I will not be accepting this amendment. I will outline the...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Acting Chair. I want to address a couple of concerns that were listed here today. First, with regard to what Senator Higgins said about the zero-hour contracts, I see what she is saying on that but it is a really good testimony to a Member of this Chamber who, as the then Minister for Social Protection, former Deputy Regina Doherty, banned zero-hour contracts, which was a really...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: As the Senator said, the amendment calls for a report to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the labour market access available to spouses of employment permit holders, particularly looking to the gender impact, which is a very important issue to raise. This is especially the case for economic migrants working in vital roles in our health and social care sectors in...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: It is, legislatively.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I appreciate the Senator's outlining her concerns regarding workers' rights. I am not in a position to accept this amendment because it seeks a report reviewing the terms, conditions and remunerations afforded to employment holders to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. As I outlined on Committee Stage, conducting a review of this type of activity will be administratively highly...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The number of permits annually is 66,000. The reality is, therefore, that it would absolutely be onerous for us to be have to carry out inspections and checks in each individual case.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I appreciate that, but the only way to identify patterns is to analyse it. Sixty-six thousand is a huge volume. Monitoring those cases would be a significant body of work for my Department to undertake. In the context of the joint labour committees and the idea of raising the bar on a sector-by-sector basis, I fully appreciate this. Earlier today, I signed an order for new pay rates for...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank Senator Higgins for bringing forward this proposed amendment. We discussed this issue on Committee Stage and, as a result, I have now instructed my officials to implement a proposal around referencing the right to join a union in the employment rights information already provided to employment permit holders. I thank those Senators who engaged with me in recent weeks in relation to...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The amendment seeks to delete Chapter 3 of the Bill, which include sections 10 and 11 which deal with approved seasonal employers. Section 10 provides for the application procedures for employers who wish to become approved seasonal employers. Section 11 provides ministerial power to consider an application from an employer to become an approved seasonal employer and outlines the reasons...