Results 10,361-10,380 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Regional Aid (5 May 2022)

Damien English: That is a very different situation. I want to ensure what is said in the House is correct. To be clear, and in defence of my departmental officials, they have worked extremely hard on this for a long number of years. They went to great length and in detail to try to protect and get back as much area as we possibly could. If somebody says they have different evidence, I would like to see...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Regional Aid (5 May 2022)

Damien English: That is fine.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Primary Medical Certificates (5 May 2022)

Damien English: I thank Senator Maria Byrne for raising this issue. I hope I have the right answer to this question because we might have misinterpreted the question here. If I have the wrong understanding of the question, I would be happy to come back with another answer. We took it from the question that the Senator was asking about the appeals board and the appeals adjudicator. If that is not the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Primary Medical Certificates (5 May 2022)

Damien English: I again thank the Senator for raising this issue, which is important to all of us in both Houses who represent people who need the extra assistance to be able to avail of these supports. We are all glad that the wider review is under way. Hopefully it will change the criteria and make it possible for someone to be able to be assessed not just on the criteria that we have all been used to in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Construction Industry (5 May 2022)

Damien English: I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this issue. It is very important. We can all see the effects of inflation in costs in every part of construction throughout the country. We also want to protect the public capital investment plans we have made and rolled out under Housing for All, Project Ireland 2040 and others. There is to be a great amount of capital expenditure, over €10...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Construction Industry (5 May 2022)

Damien English: I again thank Senator Gallagher for raising this matter and for clearly putting across the issues that are at play in all of our counties and certainly in the Border region. I will certainly take a look at what he has said is happening across the Border. To be very clear, while this is not my direct area of responsibility, I will raise this matter with the Minister for Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (4 May 2022)

Damien English: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration while minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market.  The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Damien English: On the exemption from the obligation to pay this, the burden of proof is on the employer to show an inability to pay because it would jeopardise the business. There is nothing to be afraid of there in the context of public opinion; it is based on factual evidence. I am conscious that, for whatever reason, not everyone is aware it is in the existing legislation or uses it. The sick leave...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (5 May 2022)

Damien English: The Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 transposed Directive 91/533/EEC concerning an employer's obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship. The Act provides that an employer must provide its employee with a written statement of the particulars of the employee’s terms of employment. Included amongst those particulars...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (5 May 2022)

Damien English: The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the operation of the occupation lists: the critical...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (5 May 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 101 together. The State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of the European Union and other EEA states. However, where specific skills prove difficult to source within the EEA, an employment permit may be sought in respect of a non-EEA national who possess those skills.  This...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (5 May 2022)

Damien English: Under the Employment Permits legislation my Department applies a range of criteria to both the employer and the employee when assessing an application for an employment permit, including that a contractual relationship exists, minimum annual remuneration requirements are met and that any registration requirements are met prior to issuing the permit. When assessing an application for an...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (4 May 2022)

Damien English: I acknowledged that at the start. I am just quoting the rates that are in place around Europe. Ours is set at 70%, which we think is a reasonable balance. The Minister is very clear on the medium-term plan which is to set the rate at 70% of basic pay, capped at €110 per day. It is to ensure that employers know what their obligations would be and they know that the percentage is...

Living Wage Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (11 May 2022)

Damien English: I begin by thanking the Deputies for contributing to this Private Members' Bill on a living wage. I have been present for some of the debate and was following online before that. I thank Deputies for their contributions. The Bill the Labour Party has brought forward is timely in light of where we are with our own plans under the programme for Government. The Government, like many people...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (11 May 2022)

Damien English: The Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Contract Cleaning Sector came into effect in December 2020. The ERO fixes minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment for workers in the contract cleaning sector and employers in those sectors are obliged to pay wage rates and provide conditions of employment not less favourable than those prescribed. An employer of workers to whom an ERO...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (11 May 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. These supports include access to appropriate and affordable finance, and the Government, working with agencies, the banking sector and alternative finance providers offers additional targeted supports where there are market failures. Further information...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (12 May 2022)

Damien English: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration while minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The system is intended to act as a conduit for key skills which are required to develop enterprise in the State for the benefit of our economy, while simultaneously protecting the balance of the labour market. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (12 May 2022)

Damien English: As the Deputy is aware, Government have responded with up to €2.1 billion in measures to date to mitigate the rising cost of living including a personal income tax package worth €520 million, a social welfare package is €550 million & we have reduced VAT from 13.5% to 9% on gas and electricity bills from the start of the month until the end of October. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 May 2022)

Damien English: The tables attached show the number of employment permits that have been granted to Chefs in each of the years from 2016 to 11 May 2022 inclusive, and the number of employment permits that have been granted to the other areas of the hospitality sector during the same period of time.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 May 2022)

Damien English: The Employment Permits Section of my Department inform me that, on 10 December 2021, a Critical Skills Employment Permit application for the person concerned (in the details supplied) was received. On 19 April 2022 the application was refused as the annual remuneration on offer was less than €64,000 for a 39 hour working week when the job on offer is not listed on the Critical Skills...