Results 1,461-1,480 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I am acutely aware of the ongoing difficulties that businesses continue to face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I note that the business you refer to has also been impacted by Brexit. As you know the Government has put in place a comprehensive package to help businesses and workers during the pandemic, including the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), the Pandemic Unemployment Payment...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Rights of People with Disabilities (13 Jul 2021)

Damien English: Enterprise Ireland continues to engage with Government and other interested parties to embed design, incorporating a Universal Design approach, in existing and future innovation and design-led programmes. Enterprise Ireland collaborates and works in partnership with the National Disability Authority on the Universal Design Grand Challenge. Enterprise Ireland supported the seventh annual...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Intellectual Property (13 Jul 2021)

Damien English: International Trade is a competence of the EU under the Treaties. In exercising that competence at the WTO, the European Commission engages with Member States, including Ireland, through a variety of Committee and Working Parties/Groups, including on intellectual property. The EU continues to be committed to an open and comprehensive dialogue with all WTO members to explore how the...

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I am pleased to introduce the Bill for the consideration of the House. I propose, first, to summarise the background and context of the Bill, the basic aim of which is to ensure the matters of immediate concern identified by the Supreme Court in its majority decision in the Zalewski case are immediately remedied in statute. I will then describe the purpose and reasoning behind each section...

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I thank all the Senators for their contributions and for assisting us with having a timely debate on the Bill and progressing it this week in order that we can, I hope, get it finalised. We will be back in the House on Thursday or Friday to deal with any amendments they might wish to put forward.Some amendments were put forward in the other House. We dealt with them, went through them and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Regulation (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The main source of copyright legislation in Ireland is the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 (as amended) (the CRRA). The CRRA provides the means for copyright holders to enter into license agreements with Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) to represent their rights in relation to the public use of their copyright protected works. These organisations are responsible for the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I am acutely aware of the ongoing difficulties that businesses continue to face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I know some businesses have yet to reopen and in particular businesses who offer indoor hospitality and indoor activities. As you know the Government has put in place a comprehensive package to help businesses and workers during the pandemic, including the Employment Wage...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: In March 2020, an Employment Permit COVID 19 Contingency Plan was implemented, with the Employment Permit Section moving seamlessly to a totally remote working environment. Conscious of the impact of COVID 19 on enterprises, my officials have endeavoured to be as flexible as possible within the legislative framework of the employment permit system. The feedback received from enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The Government recognises that both the travel industry, and businesses connected with it like the one to which the deputy refers, have been very badly effected by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. As you know, the Government has put in place a comprehensive package to help businesses and workers during the pandemic, including the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), the Pandemic...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: In response to the urgency required in providing COVID-19 response measures for business, officials in my Department have been drawn from areas within the Indigenous Enterprise, SMEs and Entrepreneurship Division, and the Enterprise Strategy Competitiveness and Evaluation Division, to work on various initiatives since May 2020, including the Restart Grant Scheme and the Small Business...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (8 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial function and I have no direct involvement in its day-to-day operations. However, I am informed that the completion of decisions by Adjudication Officers are subject to a range of factors including complexity of legal issues, volume of documentation, length of hearings etc and are generally aimed...

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I confirm that I am speaking on behalf of my Department. My officials are very much disposed towards engaging with everybody on this issue because they want justice to be administered properly and people's rights to be vindicated. We have a concern with the term "chilling effect" being used all the time because we want to encourage people to use the WRC, not to be afraid to use it and...

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2021)

Damien English: As everyone knows, I will talk to anybody, so in any review I have no hesitation in talking to anyone after 12 months, especially those who have been affected by any decision we make here. My officials are the same because in drafting the legislation we have engaged directly with committee members as well as the relevant unions and people involved in this day to day. We are very open on...

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for tabling these amendments. I understand what she is trying to achieve. I will try to give her words of comfort. We believe that most of what she is asking for is already in the legislation. I will outline the reasons for that belief. I understand the Deputy's concerns but I remind the House that this is a two-way street and that employers might not want their...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Redundancy Payments (6 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The provisions relating to seasonal workers and redundancies are set out in the Redundancy Payments Act 1967. Seasonal employees may build up the requisite service required for statutory redundancy notwithstanding that they may work only for a number of months in the year. In the case of seasonal workers who are laid off for an average period of more than twelve weeks per year prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (6 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The ratification of ILO Convention C190 is a matter of priority for Ireland and we continue to work towards being amongst the first ILO member States to ratify, with plans to progress the ratification this year. The issue of ratification by Ireland of International Labour Organisation Convention 190, Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, is being considered in the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Farm Safety (6 Jul 2021)

Damien English: The Health and Safety Authority’s staff complement is composed of both administration and inspector grades. The current inspector headcount in the Authority is 105, comprising of Grade I (senior inspectors) as well as Grade II and Grade III inspectors. Inspectors operate across all of the Authority’s legislative mandates which include occupational health and safety, chemicals,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Health and Safety (6 Jul 2021)

Damien English: My office has been made aware of a workplace fatality in Dublin Port, however, as the Deputy will appreciate, details and reports of inspections and investigations are an operational matter for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and is not something that I can comment upon. The HSA has confirmed that this investigation is ongoing rather than having been concluded, the Authority does not...

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I thank all the Members for their contributions today. I thank the Deputies for their general support of the Bill, their recognition of the urgency to pass it and their co-operation in that regard. Some of the issues raised probably are not the most directly urgent in respect of the Supreme Court judgment but I will certainly follow up on them. I will respond to Members in writing. Deputy...

Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Damien English: I move: "That the Bill be read a second Time". It is good to be back in the Dáil Chamber. Hopefully, it will not be too long before we get back here permanently. I am pleased to introduce the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 for the consideration of the House. I propose, in the first instance, to summarise the background to and context of the Bill, the...