Results 401-420 of 3,425 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: Absolutely not. We are supporting both workers and businesses. We have a legal requirement to have regard to the potential impact of making an order to vary the number of sick days. For that reason, the Minister, Peter Burke, the Minister of State, Dara Calleary, and I have asked the ESRI to provide data so we can make an evidence-based, informed decision because that is what responsible...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (23 May 2024)

Emer Higgins: As the Deputy is aware, the Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced employer-paid, medically certified, statutory sick leave for the first time in Ireland. From 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was up to thee days' sick leave, which increased to five days on 1 January 2024. As the Deputy will be aware, statutory sick leave, and its phased roll-out, was designed in consultation with...

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. At that time approximately 16,000 workers benefitted from the ERO, which included a wage increase to €12.90 per hour. In addition to the pay increases, the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) for...

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

Emer Higgins: The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was published on 19th October 2022 and must be transposed into Irish law by 15th November 2024. The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work. Article 4 of the Directive, Promotion of Collective Bargaining on Wage...

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

Emer Higgins: My Department is responsible for operating Ireland's managed employment permits system, maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. Our system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-European Economic Area nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages in the State required to develop and...

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

Emer Higgins: As I have previously outlined, following engagement with the Department of Health - which has policy responsibility for the dental sector - the Interdepartmental Group on Economic Migration Policy concluded that the Irish Dental Association's submission to the 2023 review of the Occupations Lists did not contain sufficient evidence to support a change in the status of Dental Nurse in respect...

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

Emer Higgins: Balanced regional enterprise development is a key focus for me and this Government as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise. My Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs). The Mid-West REP is implemented at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders...

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: enterprise.gov.ie/en/legislation/legislation-files/si-no-424...

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

Emer Higgins: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services. ...

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

Emer Higgins: The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced employer-paid, medically-certified, statutory sick leave for the first time in Ireland. From 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was up to 3 days’ sick leave, which increased to 5 days on 1 January 2024. The Deputy will be aware that statutory sick leave, and its phased roll-out, was designed in consultation with the Minister for...

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

Emer Higgins: While the issue of false self-employment is complex, and debate often exists as to scale of the problem, there is consensus that it is important to tackle the issue where possible to prevent people being exploited across all sectors, including the building trade. Ireland has robust mechanisms for the determination of the employment status and the Government is committed to tackling false...

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

Emer Higgins: The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced employer-paid, medically-certified, statutory sick leave for the first time in Ireland. From 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was up to 3 days’ sick leave, which increased to 5 days on 1 January 2024. The Deputy will be aware that statutory sick leave, and its phased roll-out, was designed in consultation with the Minister for...

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

Emer Higgins: Balanced regional enterprise development is a key focus for me and this Government as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise. My Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs). The Midlands REP is implemented at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders...

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

Emer Higgins: Balanced regional enterprise development is a key focus for me and this Government as set out in the White Paper on Enterprise. My Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs). The South-East REP is implemented at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders...

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

Emer Higgins: Balanced economic regional development is a key focus for this Government and requires a whole-of-government approach. Activity supporting economic development around the country is driven by the local authorities, central Government Departments and a wide range of state agencies and offices. My Department contributes to this objective through a range of activities as set out in 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: 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...