Results 1,761-1,780 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Seanad: Reopening Ireland (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment): Statements (26 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I am sorry that I will not have time to answer everyone's questions but I will come back on specific questions and I will try to cover some of the topics. I thank the Senators for the debate, which has certainly been worthwhile. There are ongoing negotiations through the various subcommittees, there will be the Cabinet today and tomorrow and we will also be dealing with NPHET. I will feed...

Seanad: Reopening Ireland (Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment): Statements (26 Nov 2020)

Damien English: There is an issue that Senator Ahearn raised with me. The regulations state that the restrictions are until 12 o'clock on 1 December. The Cabinet is very well aware of this and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have said they will bring absolute clarity to this tonight or tomorrow when making their announcement. People are wondering whether it is 1 December or 2 December. That will be...

Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: Does this concern Part 4?

Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I can. I apologise as I have only just walked into the Chamber for the debate and I believed we were dealing with section 4. Part 4 of the Bill provides for amendments to the Companies Act 2014 to facilitate the operation of a substitute securities settlement system compatible with the law of the EU after the transition period. The settlement of securities trades, whereby securities are...

Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: On the question of relevance, it will come into play in March, perhaps. Until now, the system was operated under the UK's central bank. Owing to the changes because of Brexit, we are moving to a Belgian bank. This was dealt with in legislation by the Department of Finance last year. The UK system was paper based. The changes to companies law are to facilitate electronic transfers in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I thank the Chairman for the invitation to attend today. I will address the committee on my own behalf and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Robert Troy, as we both work in this area in relation to the review of Duffy Cahill report and the other necessary discussion and debate around insolvency and redundancy. The committee invited me to discuss the implementation of the Duffy Cahill...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: There have been a few letters going to and fro on the details of the potential of doing it. It was also raised at one of the Labour Employer Economic Forum meetings. As soon as we had the transfer of functions to cover employment law and company law, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and I brought together a number of stakeholders to discuss a range of ideas, similar to what the committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I do not have a view.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I do not have an expressed view, apart from stating that if a fund such as this is deemed appropriate, the question would be who pays into it. This is why we have had a discussion. Any decision in this area involves all of the stakeholders, including employers, employees and representatives bodies. We cannot decide out of the blue to have a fund. We have to work out who would pay into it....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: It certainly was and if the Deputy suggests we take a broader policy view on it, that would be a separate discussion from what is recommended in the Duffy Cahill report but it is certainly something that can be looked at in the long term. It is not something that could be decided in the month of August or September. The Deputy referenced Debenhams and the letters. We are undertaking this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: We have legal advice on that which states that in this case it would not be retrospective. I do not see how we could make it so, but all that will certainly be considered. We took legal advice but we have not found a way that it could be made retrospective.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: It is the legal advice our Department has. I can share it with the Deputy. I am doing so now. The legal advice is that it would not be retrospective. We may all have a different view on that. I am again-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: I will check-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: It is fine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: In all these areas legal advice can be sought by anyone. We looked at this in probably August or September. Naturally, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and I have said at every occasion that anywhere we could help in the Debenhams case we would, within the law. That is what we have checked. Again, however, we have to be very clear here as to what this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: Is the Deputy referring to entitlement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: Is that in respect of the fund?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: Again, that is what we are trying to tease out. If one decides to have a fund in future-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: We have asked for people's views as to how the fund could be managed and whether it would be a voluntary fund. If it is not to be a voluntary fund, and if one were to go down the road of making the fund effectively a State fund, one would be going into increasing PRSI and taxes and having more resources there. I think in the Duffy Cahill report there is discussion of having a fund, but it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Implementation of Duffy Cahill Report: Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (25 Nov 2020)

Damien English: The Deputy is asking for an entitlement for the workers in addition to that. The State has decided that two weeks is what is appropriate. There is a fair draw on the Social Insurance Fund. I am not even sure the unions are suggesting we draw on the Social Insurance Fund for that. If one wants another fund, how will it be managed? At some of those meetings the question was asked as to...