Results 20,301-20,320 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Senators. I should single out Senator Quinn, who, to be fair, put a lot of work into devising a piece of legislation. While there were some unintended consequences of the way it was formulated which we felt unable to accept at the time, we have, I believe, caught the spirit of what he intended and done it in a way that our own legal advisers are happy with. I join with the...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I will certainly check out who is paying for the permits. According to the information we have, however, it is normally employers. Under the previous legislation, where an application was made by an employee, he or she did not go through the labour market test. That may have provided something of an incentive for some of the provisions not to be fully applied because of the way in which...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I can accept the idea of a review but not the terms of the amendment. I point out to Senators that a quarter of all permits issued so far this year had no fee at all attached to them be they new or renewals. This is because a range of applicants do not currently have to pay any fee, including spouses and employers which are registered charities. That said, it is my intention to carry out a...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: As I explained in the Dáil on Committee and Report Stages, providing for sector-specific employment permits would only be possible if the Department was to waive all checks on the employer, which I cannot accept. All employers of permit holders are on the Department's database which is regularly checked by the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, as part of its employment permit...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The purpose of the requirement to produce documentation is to ensure employment permits are only granted where the criteria for granting them are met. It is a requirement of the legislation that I, as Minister, must be satisfied that such criteria are met and if the documentation furnished is insufficient for the making of a decision, the employment permit may not be granted. The provision...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Bill has been carefully drafted to provide for intra-company transfers and contracts for service. In the case of intra-company transfers the foreign national is employed outside the State by a foreign employer to carry out duties for or participate in a training programme provided by the connected person - the Irish branch. The permit holder is not employed by the connected person. In...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I think I replied to those but-----

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Yes. Basically the position is that we have provided a reactivation permit for cases we believe is adequate to the cause. What is being proposed in these amendments would go beyond what we believe would be appropriate for the policy in this area. That is why we are not willing to accept the proposal.

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: With regard to amendment No. 10, the Senators will be aware that it is my intention that all the conditions pertaining to the issue of a permit under the new reactivation scheme be mandatory. The four mandatory conditions are designed to deter abuses of the proposed scheme, and I believe they are proportional and reasonable, given the advantages conferred by this permit type on the holder....

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: My intention in creating this new civil proceedings option for illegal workers is to give them a chance to claim compensation in a situation where there is no legal contract of employment on which to base any other type of claim. The compensation provided for is the national minimum wage or other mandatory statutory rate of pay for the job, with the latter element to cover the reintroduction...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: We will get into all kinds of complexities if I accept the amendment. As we know, new recruits are often taken on at different rates of pay from existing recruits. The issue of setting out the comparator is a very complex procedure. In addition, we are providing retrospective action so that employers who engaged in such practices in the past will have to pay. We have to use a statutory...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The purpose of providing access to the Irish labour market to the spouses, civil partners and dependants of critical skill employment permit holders and third country researchers, under Council Directive 2005/71/EC, is to differentiate Ireland by enhancing its attractiveness as a destination for this cohort of highly skilled migrants when compared with our competitors. As such, this is a...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am quite happy to respond. The truth is that I do not see this provision as adding the signal to the employers that the Senator has put forward. The legal advice we have is that it offers the alternative. It allows employers have a new avenue of defence. Whereas if we have a very simple test of why the person did not apply for a permit, namely, whether they take reasonable steps to have...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The effect of amendment No. 4 would be to create a new employment permit scheme specifically for this cohort of foreign nationals. The normal criteria generally applying to employment permits - which are there to protect the Irish labour market from distortion - would not apply to such cases, for example, a specific job with a specific employer for a specific duration. In general,...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Like others, I acknowledge the work of the Migrant Rights Centre in this important area. I hope this Bill brings some fairness to the process. We have tried to ensure that we make changes in the legislation in order that if a person had a permit previously he is able to get back into the system. We have created a specific category of permit for such a situation. I realise this was an area...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Portfolio (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by IDA Ireland that they do not own any marketable land on the Baldoyle Industrial Estate. The Agency is aware of privately owned industrial space on the estate and has assured me that it will promote this land as part of its marketing efforts, in response to specific client queries and also where the opportunities arise for the purpose of winning FDI projects for the county....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Development (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by IDA Ireland that at present the agency is not aware of any EU funding available for assisting in the rejuvenation of its Industrial Estates.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Local Enterprise Offices Establishment (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: One of the constant challenges for enterprise support services is awareness levels among key target audiences of the range of supports that are actually available. Much effort and tax payer's money goes towards the provision of these services but repeated surveys show that awareness among business people remains low. As part of an ongoing and broader effort to bridge this awareness gap, the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permit Appeals (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The application in respect of the person named above was refused on appeal on18th February 2014 on the basis that the position on offer is one of the occupations currently ineligible for a new employment permit.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permit Criteria (16 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Employment Permits in general are issued only for full-time job vacancies for a range of positions which are not on the list of Ineligible Categories of Employment for Employment Permits. Spousal/Dependant Employment Permits may issue for jobs with as few as 10 hours per week. Spouses, recognised partners and eligible dependent (unmarried) children, who have been admitted to the State as...