Results 121-140 of 5,616 for speaker:Alan Dillon

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: As I said in my earlier contribution, Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in redundancy situations. In the first instance, responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and workers rests with the employer and the workers and their representatives. The programme for Government supports the critical role of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: I am not familiar with the detail of this specific case, but Ireland's system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature. It has been a consistent policy of consecutive governments to support the development of the institutional framework within the WRC and the Labour Court. In this instance, we did receive advance notice of collective redundancies from the company which...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he will be aware, Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment, equality and industrial relations legislation. Ireland’s system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature. It has been the consistent policy of successive governments to support the industrial relations institutional framework. Indeed, the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: Family reunification policy for non-EEA nationals falls within the remit of the Department of Justice. Consequently, I can confirm that my Department does not apply conditions to family reunification through the employment permit system. I do, however, acknowledge that the minimum salaries for which an employment permit can be issued are an important factor in family reunification. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The right to request a remote working arrangement has been available to all employees under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 since 6 March 2024. The Act includes obligations for the employee and the employer with regard to requests for remote working arrangements, including details on how the request shall be made by the employee and details on how the employer...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: European Union (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is an International court set up by participating EU Member States to deal with the infringement and validity of Unitary Patents. The international Agreement on a Unified Patent Court was signed by many EU Member States during Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2013, with a view to establishing the Unified Patent Court. The UPC and the Unitary Patent entered...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: My Department does not operate a scheme of the type referred to by the Deputy (i.e. road closures or diversions caused by state-funded construction that reduces footfall or prevents access to businesses). However, I would of course hope that businesses and contractors would have a constructive dialogue about issues of the kind raised by the question.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: I am aware of the Respect at Work Campaign which is seeking new protections for workers seeking to organise in their workplaces. Our Programme for Government commits to the development of an Action Plan to promote collective bargaining as required by the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages. Article 4 of the Directive, Promotion of Collective Bargaining on Wage Setting , aims to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: Balanced regional development remains a key focus for me and this Government. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs). These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders, which focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in each region. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: While I have not had the opportunity to engage with this group and have not received correspondence from them, I am very conscious that the Night Time Economy brings social and economic benefits to towns and villages across Ireland. It is an important driver of tourism, contributes to our economy, our culture and creative sectors.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 44 together. The SME sector in Ireland is one of the most productive job creators in our society and they are also one of the most vital sectors to the success of the Irish economy. The Programme of Government is committed to bring forward measures to support SMEs including: develop an all-island innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem support...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Programme for Government is clear in setting out the importance of SMEs to our highly competitive economy. Through the lens of the SME Test, we are driving home the importance of the “think small first” principle and scrutinising new legislation and regulation to ensure that SMEs are not disproportionately impacted. Officials from my Department, and the Department of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Functions (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Programme for Government is clear in the intention to support small businesses and, in particular, the retail and hospitality sectors. The new Small Business Unit to be established in the coming weeks in my Department will be one of the tools utilised to ensure the delivery of targeted support for small businesses. These small businesses continue to be the backbone of our local and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: Enterprise Ireland supported jobs in 2020 and 2024: 2020 2024 Total Job Numbers 4,697 5,206 Total Gains 206 293 Total Losses -387 -148 Employment in Enterprise Ireland supported companies in County Kerry has increased by 11% since 2020, it now currently stands at...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The table below sets out the number of employment permits issued in 2022, 2023 and 2024: Year 2022 2023 2024 Number of Employment Permits issued 30,922 30,981 39,889 My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in 2021, which impacted on processing times. From the start...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: Family reunification policy for non-EEA nationals falls within the remit of the Department of Justice. Consequently, I can confirm that my Department does not apply conditions to family reunification through the employment permit system. I do, however, acknowledge that the minimum salaries for which an employment permit can be issued are an important factor in family reunification. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Employment Permits Section of the Department informs me that 628 applications for Critical Skills Employment Permits (CSEP) were refused in 2024, and 17,168 CSEPS were granted. The Employment Permits legislation sets out the criteria which must be satisfied in order for an Employment Permit to be issued. The legislation sets out both mandatory and discretionary reasons for refusal of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Retail Forum, that I chair as Minister of State for Small Businesses and Retail, was established in 2014, and remains an important platform for engagement with the retail sector. It allows for open discussions between retail stakeholders and Government on issues of importance to it and affords members the opportunity to identify practical actions to be implemented by government, or by the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: The new Programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, places an emphasis on assisting Irish owned businesses to scale up and to succeed on international markets. My Department supports start-ups to scale into successful businesses by providing a comprehensive range of supports and resources through Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices, including grants and equity...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (20 Feb 2025)

Alan Dillon: While Ireland has several notable indigenous MNCs, there is potential to create more enterprises that are internationally impactful. The White Paper on Enterprise notes the central role of incubation and acceleration programmes in promoting the scaling of start-ups. International evidence identifies the presence of a supportive landscape for start-ups including a coherent and navigable...