Results 141-160 of 6,063 for speaker:Alan Dillon

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (17 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: My Department operates several useful forums that facilitate consultation with the enterprise sector on a wide range of enterprise issues. Examples include the Enterprise Forum, the Retail Forum and the Cost of Business Advisory Forum. The forums provide a platform for engagement with the enterprise sector to consider the enterprise policy implications arising from both national and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (17 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) play an extremely important role at local level, as part of a supportive ecosystem, providing their services direct to small businesses and promoting entrepreneurship within towns and communities across the country. The LEOs, based in each of the 31 Local authorities, can provide a wide range of enterprise supports to micro-breweries, small distilleries...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (17 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Your question specifically relates to Budget 2026 which will be announced by the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation on 7th October. The Government through its agency Enterprise Ireland remains deeply committed to supporting the international growth of this vibrant and high-potential sector. Through a broad suite of...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Environmental Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Re-turn is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee and set up by beverage producers to meet their obligations under the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations. Re-turn is responsible for all operational and funding matters relating to the DRS, including staffing of the company. Re-turn is not required to declare individual CEO or Directors salaries directly to the Department; however,...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Environmental Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) was introduced on 1 February 2024 to encourage more people to recycle plastic bottles and cans and to deliver on our ambitious EU targets for the recycling of those products. Re-turn always encourages consumers to redeem their deposits, and it is important that the public is aware that Re-turn retains an open-ended liability to refund deposits to...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Tax Code (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 129 together. In May this year, my Department published a draft National Policy Statement and Roadmap for Circular Textiles for public consultation. The consultation is now closed and we have commenced considering the submissions made with a view to publishing the final Statement & Roadmap by end of this year.  A number of submissions...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Policies (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: In line with our obligations under the Single Use Plastics Directive, I want to reduce our use of plastic bottles and to this end, I am supporting the installation of public water fountains with grant aid from the Circular Economy Fund.  While ultimately the decision to install such infrastructure in Dublin is a matter for the relevant local authorities, my Department is working with...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Under the Waste Management Act, local authorities are statutorily responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. It is open to the Chief Executive of any local authority to exercise their executive function in relation to waste collection to re-enter the waste collection market as direct service providers if they so choose. Under...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Waste Management (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Ireland uses the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model to manage a number of waste streams such as Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs). Producers of WEEE and ELVs may meet their relevant obligations through membership of a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO). End of Life Vehicles Environmental Services (ELVES) CLG is the PRO with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: There is a wide range of significant supports provided by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices to assist small and medium-sized businesses in all sectors including to support businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors that find themselves in challenging circumstances. The Deputy may be aware that we have simplified access to grants and support programmes through the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022 commenced on 27th October 2022 and provided, for the first time in Ireland, clarity and transparency to how tips, gratuities, and mandatory service charges are treated. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect and support workers. This Act further strengthened protections for lower paid...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: As chair of the Retail Forum I am aware of the issues facing retailers across the country. The Programme for Government is clear on the intention to support small businesses and, in particular, the retail and hospitality sectors.  The establishment of the Small Business Unit within my Department is a recognition of the importance that the Government places on small businesses.  We...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Public Sector Staff (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system, maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills or labour shortages in the State in the short to medium term. This objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system, designed to maximise the benefits of economic migration while minimising disruption to Ireland’s labour market. The system is governed by the Employment Permits Act 2024, which provides the legislative framework for granting employment permits to non-EEA nationals seeking to work in Ireland. The Act outlines the criteria and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, and advisory services. Given the independence of the WRC, it is not appropriate for me as Minister to either...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The sudden onset of widespread remote working during the pandemic has led to a broader acceptance by employers and workers of remote working as a viable long-term option, along with increased interest in flexible working arrangements and work life balance more broadly. Remote, hybrid and flexible working arrangements have become a new normal for many workers. The most recent data from the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Recycling Policy (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) aims to prevent the generation of packaging waste, to ensure that all packaging on the EU market will be recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. This will come into effect in August 2026. The Regulation falls under the remit of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, and officials from that Department are...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The table below outlines the funding allocated under my Department to companies and businesses in County Louth from 2023. Total funding allocated to County Louth includes the annual LEO Louth budget for the years 2023 to 2025 and also payments under business support schemes including Power Up/ICOB/TBESS. Total grants by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to companies in Louth are included...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation, which offers extensive protections to workers. While there is no statutory entitlement to a reference from an employer, where an employer does provide a reference, they have a duty of care to ensure it is fair and not misleading. There are currently no proposals to introduce a new statutory obligation on employers to furnish...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (8 Sep 2025)

Alan Dillon: The Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025 was published on 23 May 2025. This Bill will, inter alia, amend the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 to expand access to the Insolvency Payments Scheme to protect employees of employers who cease trading without entering into liquidation, receivership or bankruptcy, and provide for the...