Results 341-360 of 4,764 for speaker:Damien English in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: European Council (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: In line with the Council Conclusions on the 2022 Annual Sustainable Growth Survey and Joint Employment  Report adopted at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council Meeting on 14th March 2022, the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee continue to reflect on the need for refining existing multilateral mechanisms to further identify and prevent...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Under the Employment Permit Acts, in order to work in the State all non-EEA nationals require a valid Employment Permit or relevant immigration permission from the Minister for Justice which allows them to reside and work in the State without the requirement for an Employment Permit. The Irish State’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Member State, Ireland is committed to ratifying Convention C190.  Ratification is being considered in the context of our standard approach to the ratification of international instruments. Ireland does not ratify international conventions until it has been determined that national law is in line with the provisions of the international...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Data (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Health and Safety Authority has confirmed that they have no recorded incidents of workplace accidents due to sleep apnoea, as requested by the Deputy. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, an employer has a duty of care to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace The Act applies to all places of work. An employer’s duties include the following - - Managing...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reports (26 Apr 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 a particular terms of reference which were quite narrow and specific and which do not address the generality of redundancies that arise in insolvency situations. Following extensive engagement with the social partners, the 'Plan for Action on Collective...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: A whole of Government response is required in order to respond to the recommendations of the Pensions Commission, of which the issue of mandatory retirement clauses is one element. My Department is considering the Commission's recommendations in relation to mandatory retirement ages in certain contracts of employment. There is no statutory retirement age for employees in Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (26 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As a result of a settlement agreement reached in December 2021, the Security ERO as approved was quashed and the draft proposals remitted back to the Labour Court.   A Division of the Labour Court decided on the 7 February 2022 to direct the holding of a fresh hearing involving all interested parties desiring to be heard. This hearing took place in March. It is my understanding...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Local Enterprise Offices in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath have been integral in the LEO mission to promote entrepreneurship, foster business start-ups and develop existing micro and small businesses to drive job creation and to provide accessible high quality supports for business ideas. The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘First Stop Shop’ for providing advice and guidance,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Renewable Energy Generation (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: My Department is actively engaging with the renewable energy sector, both directly and through our agencies. Enterprise Ireland continues to identify and work with the key Irish companies with the capability to support the offshore wind industry’s growth through the Offshore Wind Industry Cluster. The Enterprise Ireland Offshore Wind Showcase Event will be held this summer,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 44 together. To date, my Department has provided funding of €250 million administered by Enterprise Ireland to support the establishment of some 270 Enterprise Centres throughout Ireland, of which approximately 40 of these Centres were funded under the auspices of the Regional Enterprise Plans. This investment has enabled the establishment...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: International Agreements (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As an International Labour Organisation (ILO) Member State, Ireland is committed to ratifying Convention C190. Ratification is being considered in the context of our standard approach to the ratification of international instruments. Ireland does not ratify international conventions until it has been determined that national law is in line with the provisions of the international instrument....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Government has worked to support businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, Restart Grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of tax...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 saw the dissolution of 80 town councils and the Government has no plans to reintroduce town councils. Instead, the focus of the Programme for Government – Our shared Future- is to strengthen the operation of the 95 municipal districts established in 2014 and which cover the entirety of the State’s population as opposed to the 14% of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: Awaiting reply from Department.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: As Minister with responsibility for workplace Health and Safety legislation, I have requested the Health and Safety Authority to analyse a range of options to achieve the objective of the proposed Workplace Ventilation (Covid-19) Bill 2021. This analysis is underway including a review of approaches taken in other European Union Member States. I have been informed that a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. From the start of January to the end of December 2021, some 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The Government has worked to support businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, Restart Grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of tax...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The employment permits system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages, in circumstances where there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one. The system is managed through the use of lists designating highly skilled and ineligible...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Relations (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: The short report emphasises the importance of social dialogue between employees and employers and their respective bodies. The report suggests that some essential workplaces - particularly in residential care and meat processing - saw deterioration in their working conditions during the pandemic. The report suggests that this was largely due to the fact that such workplaces lacked union...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Wage-setting Mechanisms (7 Apr 2022)

Damien English: I have acknowledged the pressures people are feeling as the cost of living increases. I know these costs are increasing rapidly and that those on lower incomes are being disproportionately affected. In relation to the minimum wage, since its establishment in 2015, the Low Pay Commission has been responsible for making annual recommendations to Government on the appropriate rate of the...