Results 3,641-3,660 of 4,720 for speaker:Neale Richmond

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Direct Investment (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: Regional development is at the centre of the Government's enterprise policy, as set out in the White Paper on enterprise, and it is the key focus of our Department's leadership of the regional enterprise plans. Similarly, the IDA’s strategy, Driving Recovery and Sustainability 2021-2024, has an ambitious target of 800 investments over the lifetime of its current strategy, and it will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Direct Investment (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Deputy is right. There has been an increase in the level of early warning reports and we all accept that a lot of that is due in part to a global restructuring, in particular in the tech sector, to which the Deputy referred in particular regarding PayPal. The one silver lining is that the global average has not impacted Ireland as much as the rest of the world. We have seen it being at...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Direct Investment (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: When the Deputy was elected to the Dáil in 2011, unemployment was 15.6% nationally. It is now at 3.9%. Much of that is down to the fact that people like the Minister, Deputy Coveney, visited ten large multinationals in California at the start of the year to talk about Ireland not only as a place to maintain investment but also to look for new FDI, in particular in places like County...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Workplace Relations Commission (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising this issue as well as for her engagement in committee on this issue. As we saw with the recent introduction of an SEO for the construction sector, these are important tools for our workers and must be enforced. It is the role of the WRC to inspect and I am open to further considering its role and powers to ensure SEO minimum rates of pay and terms and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Workplace Relations Commission (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I do not wish to revive the complete debate we had at committee a couple of weeks ago which was weird for both of us, when we kept agreeing with each other across the committee room. I do not wish to be doing too much of that, but I fundamentally believe that sectoral employment orders, SEOs, are a strong part of what we have in our industrial relations sector and are crucial for our economy...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Workplace Relations Commission (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: What we have seen over the past year or two is additional resources provided to the WRC and additional inspectors and cases go through the WRC. The Deputy would have read the annual report earlier in the week of the activities of the WRC in 2002, which saw an increase in the number of cases, resolutions and inspections, which are all good things. We remain optimistic and ambitious for the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for raising this really important issue. I was delighted to see it on the question paper, because it deserves a good hearing. Deputy O'Reilly has raised it with me directly and with the Taoiseach several times in this Chamber, at committee and via correspondence. First and foremost, my thoughts, like those of the Deputy, are with those Iceland workers who are going...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I hope to meet the employer very soon and I will keep the Deputy fully appraised of any engagement. We will also deal with a range of issues with regard to other matters we have been dealing with earlier such as price at the checkout. I am aware of the ballot and I know about a number of one-off protests that have happened at certain stores, that were not ballots or pickets, but they were...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Disputes (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Deputy and I have spent enough time with retail workers, be it through organised labour movements, in our daily lives or indeed engaging with them practically for many different reasons. We know exactly what the strains of working in the retail sector can be and the effort that goes in. It is a tough job done by many people throughout the country. Retail is the largest private sector...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: My Department co-ordinates Ireland's annual national reports under the revised version of the Council of Europe's European Social Charter. Ireland's 19th national report on the implementation of the charter was submitted to the Council of Europe in December 2021. The report covered the period 2017 to 2020 and focused on the accepted provisions under the thematic group of labour rights. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: There is quite a bit to unpack there, but I think the Deputy will accept the time lag between when the report was published and what has happened since has seen many of the breaches rectified. On a couple of points the Deputy made, the rates of minimum pay for workers of a certain age are under review by the Low Pay Commission. We discussed that during the last session of parliamentary...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Strategies (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: The recently published White Paper on Enterprise sets out the Government's strategy for entrepreneurship and was informed by the SME and entrepreneurship growth plan, which is a strategic blueprint for SMEs and entrepreneurs to start up, scale up and access foreign markets, as well as helping them to navigate the transition to a low carbon, digital economy. As part of the implementation...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Strategies (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I absolutely agree with Deputy Bruton that this is vital for the long term and short term in terms of identifying start-ups of all sizes throughout the country that have serious potential. I must give credit in particular to the local enterprise offices throughout the country. I am fortunate to visit them. We see new businesses coming on stream and not only establishing themselves within...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Redundancy Payments (9 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: I propose to take Questions Nos. 257 and 258 together. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in collective redundancy situations. The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes several obligations on employers who are proposing collective redundancies, including an obligation on employers to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Paternity Leave (9 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 provides for statutory paternity leave and benefit, and is a policy matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Act provides a new parent with an entitlement to 2 weeks' leave within 26 weeks of their child's birth or, in the case of adoption, of their child's placement. The parent may also...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: My Department, in common with the Civil Service and public sector generally, provides a wide array of flexible working arrangements including reduced working time. I understand that the Deputy is referring to recent initiatives built around working a four-day week for 100% of pay and no loss in productivity. This type of working arrangement has not been introduced in my Department or...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Relations (11 May 2023)

Neale Richmond: Contractual terms of employment are a matter for agreement between the parties to the contract. Whilst it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the particulars of proposed changes to employment contracts within a company, I would note that any alterations must comply with our existing suite of employment legislation including the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and the Payment of Wages...