Results 10,281-10,300 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (6 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Member State, Ireland is committed to ratifying Convention C190. Ratification is being considered in the context of our standard approach to the ratification of international instruments. Ireland does not ratify international conventions until it has been determined that national law is in line with the provisions of the international instrument....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Local Enterprise Offices in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath have been integral in the LEO mission to promote entrepreneurship, foster business start-ups and develop existing micro and small businesses to drive job creation and to provide accessible high quality supports for business ideas. The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘First Stop Shop’ for providing advice and guidance,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Renewable Energy Generation (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: My Department is actively engaging with the renewable energy sector, both directly and through our agencies. Enterprise Ireland continues to identify and work with the key Irish companies with the capability to support the offshore wind industry’s growth through the Offshore Wind Industry Cluster. The Enterprise Ireland Offshore Wind Showcase Event will be held this summer,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 44 together. To date, my Department has provided funding of €250 million administered by Enterprise Ireland to support the establishment of some 270 Enterprise Centres throughout Ireland, of which approximately 40 of these Centres were funded under the auspices of the Regional Enterprise Plans. This investment has enabled the establishment...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: International Agreements (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Member State, Ireland is committed to ratifying Convention C190. Ratification is being considered in the context of our standard approach to the ratification of international instruments. Ireland does not ratify international conventions until it has been determined that national law is in line with the provisions of the international instrument....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Government has worked to support businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, Restart Grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of tax...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 saw the dissolution of 80 town councils and the Government has no plans to reintroduce town councils. Instead, the focus of the Programme for Government – Our shared Future- is to strengthen the operation of the 95 municipal districts established in 2014 and which cover the entirety of the State’s population as opposed to the 14% of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As Minister with responsibility for workplace Health and Safety legislation, I have requested the Health and Safety Authority to analyse a range of options to achieve the objective of the proposed Workplace Ventilation (Covid-19) Bill 2021. This analysis is underway including a review of approaches taken in other European Union Member States. I have been informed that a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. From the start of January to the end of December 2021, some 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Government has worked to support businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, Restart Grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of tax...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

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, in circumstances where there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one. The system is managed through the use of lists designating highly skilled and ineligible...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Relations (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The short report emphasises the importance of social dialogue between employees and employers and their respective bodies. The report suggests that some essential workplaces - particularly in residential care and meat processing - saw deterioration in their working conditions during the pandemic. The report suggests that this was largely due to the fact that such workplaces lacked union...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Wage-setting Mechanisms (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: I have acknowledged the pressures people are feeling as the cost of living increases. I know these costs are increasing rapidly and that those on lower incomes are being disproportionately affected. In relation to the minimum wage, since its establishment in 2015, the Low Pay Commission has been responsible for making annual recommendations to Government on the appropriate rate of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The most recent Sectoral Employment Orders (SEOs) for the Construction Sector and the Electrical Contracting Sector came into effect on 1 February 2022. These SEOs fix statutory minimum rates of pay and other conditions, including sick pay and pension entitlements, for these sectors. Any employer in a sector covered by an SEO has a legal duty to comply, at a minimum, with those terms. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: A whole of Government response is required in order to respond to the recommendations of the Pensions Commission, of which the issue of mandatory retirement clauses is only one element. My Department is considering the Commission's recommendations in relation to mandatory retirement ages in certain contracts of employment. There is no statutory retirement age for employees in Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: There have been a wide range of measures taken by government to provide support for business during the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic including the provision of grants for businesses. A range of detail is set out in tabular format for the Deputy. In addition to the information contained in the table, I can advise that the Restart Grant Scheme was operational through the 31 local...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: From next year the Government is introducing a new permanent public holiday in celebration of Imbolc/St. Brigid’s day. This will be the first Monday in every February, except where St. Brigid’s day, the 1st day of February, happens to fall on a Friday, in which case that Friday 1st February will be a public holiday. The Governments want to ensure that the public holiday provides...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Under the Employment Permit Acts in order to work in the State all non-EEA nationals require a valid employment permit or relevant immigration permission from the Minister for Justice and Equality which allows them to reside and work in the State without the requirement for an Employment Permit. The Irish State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Ukraine War (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Just this week the Ukrainian President addressed a joint sitting of the Dáil and Seanad and shared the heart-breaking and inspiring story of his people’s courage and endurance in the face of a grotesque and appalling aggression they are facing. Members of the House were united in our support for the people of Ukraine as we open our country to them for refuge. In the first...