Results 3,881-3,900 of 4,720 for speaker:Neale Richmond

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Properties (10 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I can confirm that the Health and Safety Authority owns no properties or sites which are vacant or derelict.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (11 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Following the changes announced by my department in December 2022 to address the skills shortages in Ireland's home care sector, a quota of 1,000 general employment permits in respect of care workers and home carers was established. The number of employment permits issued and refused in this category since January 2023 is set out below. Month of issue Number issued ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (11 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that a Critical Skills Employment Permit application for the person concerned in the details supplied was received on 29thSeptember 2023. The application concerned is currently awaiting processing. As of 6thOctober 2023, the Employment Permits section are processing new applications in respect of standard employers received on...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (11 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The processing dates for employment permits in respect of non-EEA nationals are set out below (information collated on 6 October). New employment permit applications in respect of standard employers - 11 September 2023. New employment permit applications in respect of trusted partner employers - 14 September2023. Renewal applications in respect of standard employers - 12September 2023....

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

Neale Richmond: The right to request remote working will be available to all employees under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Under the Act, flexible working arrangements such as adjusted working patterns or reduced hours, will be available to parents and carers. Under the Act, employers will be obliged to have regard to a Code of Practice when considering applications for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (11 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system, maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills or labour shortages in the State in the short to medium term. In framing policy, consideration is given to other...

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

Neale Richmond: Firstly, my thoughts are with all employees facing job losses and I fully appreciate how difficult this situation can be. 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 certain legal obligations on employers proposing collective redundancies. These obligations...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I thank Deputy O’Reilly for the question. I think she knows my strong belief in these orders and support for them. In Ireland, there are three such mechanisms for setting wages in particular sectors, which all include flexibility to take into account the minimum wage conditions in place both now and into the future. First, an employment regulation order, ERO, sets the minimum...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I will make three points on that. First, people are always open to challenge in the courts. We believe in that as a democracy and we have to accept that, even when an order is agreed by employers and employees. There will always be some who want to challenge for whatever reasons. Second, I acknowledge the rates in security are very tight but, again, it is the minimum. It is the floor and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: We can set a new order for that sector as soon as January. It was six months in previously. I encourage employers and employees to get around the table and start working towards that. These SEOs are done with the full co-operation of employers and employees and their representative bodies. Both sides come to the table and work out something and these work very well in the large majority...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legislative Process (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I appreciate the opportunity to address this question. In April when the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I met the Deputy and representatives to discuss her Bill, the representatives of various retired persons associations expressed their concerns about the protections in place for people who were already in receipt of pensions. At that meeting, I was informed that these representatives had...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legislative Process (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Deputy raised a couple of points. As she knows from the previous times this matter was raised, progressing the Bill is a matter for her. The Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment met in public session in January to conduct detailed scrutiny of the Bill. Following that meeting, our Department issued a detailed brief to the committee, as requested, and nothing further has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legislative Process (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I will underline that this has not been kicked to the Department of Social Protection. The Deputy has now made that accusation a second time when I have clearly said that has not happened. We are dealing with a pensions issue. While it is of course under the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as the Deputy's Bill involves an amendment to the Industrial Relations...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legislative Process (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Deputy is misrepresenting things. That is unfair.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: As the Deputy knows, we in the Department are well aware of how important the work permit system is to both businesses and Irish consumers. As the Deputy would have heard in debates earlier this morning, over 40,000 work permits were allocated last year. This year, the number will be around 38,000 for people outside the EEA. With full employment and more people at work than ever before,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I acknowledge that every sector of the economy is having difficulties when it comes to labour. It is very difficult to say that this should not have been allowed to happen. It is a result of the fact that we have the fastest growing economy in the EU. We have the largest number of people at work in the history of the State, and we effectively have full employment. It is the mark of a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Work Permits (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I am committed to having those meetings when it is appropriate to do so. We have to conclude the review and look through the data. The last time this review was done, we received ten or 11 submissions. This time it has been multiples of that. That just shows where we have gone. Last year, 40,000 work permits were handed out. The number handed out the previous year was 19,000, and the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I thank Deputy Quinlivan for asking this well-timed question. I am extremely supportive of the living wage. It is part of our commitment to making work pay and supporting workers. As the Deputy correctly stated, the low-paid workers in our society are facing the same increases in the cost of living as the rest of us. They see their energy bills rising and are faced with childcare costs,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Government has flagged its aim to reach the living wage by 2026. There is no electoral context. It is not linked to the lifetime of the Government. We are moving steadily towards it. Will Deputy Quinlivan clarify whether it is still Sinn Féin's position that 60% of the median wage, moving towards 66%, is a living wage, as was the general consensus, or has it changed? It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Living Wage (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: On Tuesday, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, announced a €250 million investment from this Government in SMEs. This new fund will benefit 87% of rate-paying businesses across the country. This is in recognition of the need to increase the minimum wage, move towards a living wage, as well as accepting the increased costs to businesses. This grant will be paid into the bank accounts of...