Results 101-120 of 3,591 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Damien English

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 May 2022)

Damien English: As the Deputy knows, the permits do not cover that area at the moment but we are doing a review which is starting in the next couple of weeks. We have been engaging with the various Departments and agencies over the last couple of weeks to gather the evidence to make the case. If there is a case being made to extend the work permits into that area, it is something we can do. The decision...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 May 2022)

Damien English: The Deputies have raised a few issues there. The debate has not changed much. They are very much focused on IP and the IP regime. The position of the EU has always been that that is not where the sole focus should be. The Deputies and I have differed on that for many months. I am not going to change their minds here. I am happy to consider the letter that was sent to us by the committee...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 May 2022)

Damien English: I was not at that committee but will be happy to read back over the submissions on that. I have not had a chance to get a sense of what is being put forward. Much of the debate on this, including the debates we had in these Houses, focused on supply. The EU always took the position that that would not necessarily be the issue and there were many other parts of it, including the capacity of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (19 May 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 33, 37, 52, 58 and 59 together. I thank Deputy Connolly and her colleagues for tabling them. As we have outlined previously to both Houses, universal and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is crucial in the global fight against Covid-19. This is at the heart of the Irish Government's international...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (19 May 2022)

Damien English: We have been very clear here. We should respect the advice and guidance of the WRC. We encourage that. Naturally we ask all parties to do that and we do that on a regular basis be it public or private organisations. I am not familiar with the situations the Deputy is raising. If it is a funding issue it has to be directly raised with the Minister or Department with responsibility for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (19 May 2022)

Damien English: The Deputy keeps saying that but he keeps referring to a situation I do not know about.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (19 May 2022)

Damien English: I thank Deputy Naughten for raising the question in respect of work permits. I agree with him on the issue of access to skills. Every company we talk to across the country raises the issue with us. The regional enterprise plans will be of major assistance in helping us focus our minds on this. I also refer to the regional skills fora and various national skills strategies working across...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (19 May 2022)

Damien English: I do not think any of us would stand over the processing time for permits over the last year. However, we have to recognise that the number of applications went up by 70% and those numbers are continuing to increase this year. It looks like there will be over 35,000 permits applied for this year. We have put an action plan together since last November under the guidance of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (19 May 2022)

Damien English: For non-trusted partners it is about 21 weeks. With the team of people involved now, we are quite happy that we will make great inroads into that time over the next couple of weeks. The 3,000 permits that were applied for since October in the horticulture and meat industry sectors are nearly all processed now which is a big bang. That will help us focus on bringing the timeline well down...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Work Permits (19 May 2022)

Damien English: A couple of issues there are not under our Department. I understand the report on social housing limits is with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, at the moment and he hopes to bring forward those changes very soon. He took questions on the matter here last week. That would be a positive step. We all recognise that they have not changed since 2011. The social housing barrier and the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (19 May 2022)

Damien English: It is important to emphasise that Ireland's system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature and that responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers rests in the first instance with the employer, the workers and their representatives. The State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement mechanisms to support parties in their...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (19 May 2022)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy. I am sorry I could not hear at the start. There was an issue with the sound. I know the Deputy has not named the case. I am not familiar with it because the details relating to it were not provided with the question.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (19 May 2022)

Damien English: It is a number of cases. The system is not legally binding. We urge all parties to these cases to honour the recommendations if they can and to follow the advice. That is how it works best. The arrangement has served us well over the last years. In these disputes, the recommendation comes from the WRC and Labour Court and should be followed as well as possible in most cases. We would...

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...

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Deputy Healy-Rae-----

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: If I speak fast, I know we can read fast and listen fast. What I said is that nobody has said we are banning the saving or cutting of turf.

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: No. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae is after speaking about what I said. What I said to him was that we are looking at regulating the sale of turf, not stopping the cutting or sale of turf. The Deputy should check the record of what I said before accusing me of saying something wrong.

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Going back to the various parts of the motion that relate to fuel tax, it is important to remind the House that the driving forces behind the current energy prices are generally outside of the control of the Government, and most reasonable people understand and accept that. We have to work within that and try to reduce the cost pressures on people. This point has been discussed at length in...

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: I welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, on this Sinn Féin motion on the rising cost of home heating fuels and to respond to some of the issues that were raised in the debate. Sinn Féin has expressed the view that the May carbon tax increase should be cancelled, excise duty on home heating oil should be temporarily removed and plans...

Home Heating Fuels: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Let us not generalise. There are many urban areas that also need regeneration. It is welcome that capital expenditure funding of €10 billion is available to be channelled into rural and urban regeneration throughout the country to enhance different areas and allow them to go on and develop. There are some parts of the country that have been neglected for 30 or 40 years and...