Results 101-120 of 11,045 for speaker:Damien English

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Visa Applications (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The aim is that within the next six months the working group involving both Departments will bring forward some suggestions about how we can align our systems. We will set out a plan for establishing a single application procedure to cover employment permits and entry visas. It is about how we can align our systems. We managed to fast track and fix the delays in our Department by...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Enterprise Policy (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: We have discussed some of the issues the Deputy has raised previously. We certainly discussed them at the SME task force that the Tánaiste set up over two years ago to focus and see if we need another agency or if we can reach the companies we want to reach through our existing structures. Our best estimate is that it is best to use the structures we have that have worked extremely...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Enterprise Policy (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: It is important that we use the centre-of-excellence approach, which shares the data across the various LEOs and is able to compare them. There is that advice and guidance through the LEOs as well. Having visited all the LEOs, I saw the great work they are doing at first hand. While each LEO administers the national schemes and the schemes we have all agreed, they have their own version of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Visa Applications (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. This is an important area and one the Department has concentrated on a great deal in recent years. We have made efforts to put in place the right team to manage the permits that have been applied for through the Department. Much has already been done to improve the employment permit system. My Department is already focused on improving the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Enterprise Policy (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I will go back over the information we have. Following the dissolution of the county enterprise boards in 2014, an enhanced national assistance enterprise model was established to be delivered by local authorities on behalf of Enterprise Ireland through the local enterprise offices, LEOs. This structure has allowed the LEOs to effectively...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Wage-setting Mechanisms (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: In 2021 the Labour Court prepared a proposal for a Sectoral Employment Order for the employees and apprentices in the electrical contracting sector. Sectoral Employment Orders (SEOs) are legally binding orders and require employers in the specific sector to provide staff with minimum rates of pay and pension contributions. SEOs can be established following a request from a trade union or an...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Delivering balanced regional growth and sustainable local job creation is a core objective of this Government and is a key component in the recently published White Paper on Enterprise. The White Paper emphasises the role my department and agencies continue to play in achieving this objective through direct assistance to businesses as well as promotion and enhancement of the regional...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Ireland’s employment permits system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine roles that are either in critical short supply or are ineligible for an employment permit. These lists undergo periodic evidence-based review guided by relevant research, a public/stakeholder consultation and the views of the Economic Migration...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Data (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Enterprise Ireland surveys its portfolio of clients annually to collect employment data, this survey occurs over October/November each year. It is not possible to give employment gains from a specific date, in this instance March 2020, however it is possible to give employment gains from the year ended 2020 to the year ended 2021 and this data is supplied as follows: Job...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Standards Authority of Ireland (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is an independent agency, under the aegis of my Department. As part of its remit, NSAI carries out a range of operational functions, some of which are in areas which fall within the lead policy responsibility of other Departments. In this context, NSAI carries out activities in relation to construction products, which is an area within...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Ireland has a robust suite of legislation to protect and support workers facing redundancies. The Cahill-Duffy report was in response to particular terms of reference which were quite narrow and specific and do not address the generality of redundancies that arise in insolvency situations. Following constructive engagement with the Social Partners, the Department published a Plan of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Bodies (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The Department of Justice recently published the Review of the Atypical Scheme for non-EEA Crew in the Irish Fishing Fleet who had been catered for under the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) since 2015. The report and its recommendations followed an extensive consultation process with stakeholders involved in the scheme. Two of the recommendations of the Review Group are that the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Balanced regional development is a priority of mine and Government and is a key component of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022 – 2030. The Deputy will be aware that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has secured up to €145m over the coming years from the European Regional Development Fund to support projects coming from the Regional Enterprise Plans. I am keen...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes certain legal obligations on employers proposing collective redundancies. These obligations include the requirement to consult and provide information to employees and their representatives, and to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment of the proposals at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes place. The Act...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The cross-departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group was established by the Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, in March 2022. My Department was represented on the Group which was charged with examining strategic workforce challenges in publicly and privately provided front-line carer roles in home support and nursing homes and the Report of the Group was...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: In November the Government agreed to extend the mandate of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to provide grant aid to firms in manufacturing and internationally traded services employing more than 10 but no more than 50 full time employees. The extension of the mandate will ensure a continuation of support for enterprises that have grown to ten or more employees, as appropriate to their...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: The Student Enterprise Programme is a national initiative organised by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). The Programme aims to foster an enterprise culture among post-primary students in Ireland. It embeds entrepreneurship and encourages students to consider entrepreneurship as a career path in the future. In November I launched the 21st Student Enterprise Programme for 2023. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: As part of Local Enterprise Week 2022, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) hosted a programme consisting of over 220 virtual and physical events including 12 free National Spotlight events on topics such as “Future Proofing Your Small Business”, “Internationalising Your Business”, and “Going Green”. These events took place nationwide and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Joint Labour Committees (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: In March 2022, the Tánaiste tasked a High-Level Working Group under the auspices of the LEEF to review Ireland's collective bargaining and the industrial relations landscape. The Group's final report was published in October and is available on the DETE website. In the final Report, the Group have developed three principles which could result in meaningful reform of collective...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (13 Dec 2022)

Damien English: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The system is managed through the operation of the Critical Skills and Ineligible Occupations Lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for an employment permit where there is a surplus...