Results 21-40 of 1,524 for speaker:Emer Higgins in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023 the then Minister for Business Employment and Retail signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: si-no-424-of-2023-employment-regulation-order-security-indus...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Health and Safety (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Health and Safety Authority, from 01 January 2024 to date, has conducted 3,673 inspections. The tables presented at the end of this response set out the number of inspections by month and by sector. Health and Safety Authority inspectors, following an inspection may give advice either verbally or in writing, on how a duty holder can make improvements on health and safety in their...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: In December 2023, my Department introduced a Roadmap, up to January 2026, for increasing the minimum annual thresholds for employment permits. The first adjustments were introduced on 17 January this year. The thresholds for most employment permits had not changed in almost a decade and were out of date, having not kept pace with wage inflation since 2014. The purpose of the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On 24 August 2022, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was informed that the High Court had granted an injunction prohibiting the commencement of the proposed Statutory Instrument giving effect to the new Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Industry. As a result of the injunction, the Order could not be proceeded with at that time. On 28 July 2023, both the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On the 25th August 2023, the then Minister for Business Employment and Retail signed the Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Sector which came into force on 4th September 2023. The ERO provided for a wage increase to €12.90 per hour from that date. The full details of the ERO are available here: si-no-424-of-2023-employment-regulation-order-security-indus...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: There is presently no general statutory entitlement in Ireland for workers for bereavement leave. An employee's entitlement to take time off in such circumstances depends on whether any such provisions exist in the employee’s contract of employment. For the majority of workers, conditions of employment, including bereavement leave provisions, are matters for negotiation between...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: EU Directives (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Government fully supports the right of any worker to join and be active in their trade union. Employees have the right under the Constitution to form associations and trade unions. Under Irish legislation, an employee cannot be discriminated against or dismissed because they are a member of a trade union. The Unfair Dismissal Acts provide for a number of grounds under which a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a policy priority for me and this Government. The Government’s efforts to create sustainable enterprise in the regions is working, as can be seen by the latest Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Local Enterprise Office figures. Enterprise Ireland’s strategy fully aligns with Government's ambition to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: In Ireland, the support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been robust and multifaceted, reflecting the government's recognition of their critical role in the economy. Recently, the Government agreed on a range of measures aimed at reducing costs for SMEs, including reopening the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) Scheme, introducing a second payment for businesses in the retail...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The concept of working from home or via digital hubs has progressed across a number of fronts. The right to request remote working is now available to all employees under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. These provisions were commenced on the 6th of March 2024 and this right is now in operation. The Act includes obligations for the employee and the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Tobacco Control Measures (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Amendment) Bill 2024 is a matter for my colleague Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD. This Bill refers to the commencement of section 28 of the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act. I have been consulted on this and I support these changes. I have also asked that I be appraised of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: On 15th May, my colleague, Minister for Justice McEntee, and I announced that Government approval had been secured for a number of key actions to increase Ireland's competitiveness in attracting the skills and talent our economy and society needs. A key component of this was the approval to implement a single permit for both employment and residence in Ireland. Currently applicants must...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment, equality, and industrial relations legislation, in respect of which the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is mandated to secure compliance. Ireland’s employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis. Mechanisms exist for the determination of employment status. Where an issue...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Chairman of the Labour Court wrote to me on the 19 April 2024 confirming that the Court has adopted proposals for an Employment Regulation Order ('ERO') in the contract cleaning industry and the matter is receiving due consideration in accordance with my statutory role. I will confirm my decision shortly. The draft proposal is available to view on the Labour Court’s website.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Immigration Policy (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment is to increase targeted workplace inspections in sectors or firms where there is an increased risk or reports of non-compliance with the range of employment and workplace requirements and permit regulations as part of a suite of measures announced by the Government last week. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) will increase its...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Data (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The WRC’s Inspection and Enforcement Services have primary responsibility for driving employment and employment permit legislation compliance in Ireland. This is achieved through a combination of targeted inspections, assisting non-compliant employers in becoming complaint and robust prosecution and enforcement where they do not, and direct and indirect information provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Registrar of the Labour Court wrote to Minister Burke on the 18 April 2024 forwarding the Order of the Labour Court varying the terms of a Registered Employment Agreement. I can confirm that the matter is receiving due consideration and it is expected that an Order confirming the agreed variation will issue shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that the Critical Skills Employment Permit application for the person concerned in the details supplied was received on 5th May 2024. On 7th May 2024 the application was formally accepted and placed in the processing queue. Applications for employment permits are dealt with in date order. As of 17th May 2024, the Employment Permits...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act commenced on 7 March 2024 and provides the right to request remote working arrangements for all employees and the right to request flexible working arrangements for parents and carers. The Code of Practice for Employers and Employees Right to Request Flexible Working and Right to Request Remote Working was also published on that date. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (21 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Details regarding renewal applications in respect of each of the past six months are set out in the three tables below. The first table shows the number of renewal applications received during the requested period, the second table outlines the number of renewal applications processed in each of the last six months, and the third table shows the number of renewal applications at various...