Results 461-480 of 4,768 for speaker:Damien English in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘first stop shop’ providing advice and guidance, financial assistance, and other supports to anyone wishing to start or grow their own business. The Local Enterprise Office can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (10 Feb 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 designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of mine and this Government. Throughout 2021, my Department has overseen the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024. These are ‘bottom-up’ plans, developed by regional stakeholders which identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: On 11 January 2022, Enterprise Ireland's end of year results for 2021 were announced. In total, 20,342 new jobs were created by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, resulting in a net job increase of 11,911 when job losses are taken into account, the highest annual increase in net employment ever reported by Enterprise Ireland. Total employment by companies supported by Enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Low Pay (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: Collective bargaining is primarily a matter for employees and their employers. Statutory wage setting mechanisms, provided for by the Industrial Relations Acts, can also be availed of for terms exceeding statutory minimums to become binding on a given economic sector. Both Hotel and Catering (Restaurants and Pubs) Sectors have established Joint Labour Committees (JLC) under the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important matter on behalf of workers based in Drogheda whose company has notified my Department in recent times of potential redundancies. I can confirm that Enterprise Ireland is in ongoing communication with the company in question and is closely monitoring developments. The company is in the early stages of establishing a workforce...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Schemes (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: Trading online is an important route for retail businesses to grow and improve. Developing digital capability with a strong online presence will assist retailers to become sustainable, increase their customer base and reduce their costs Digitalisation has increased the scope for competition in the retail sector, as reflected in the growth in online shopping and changing consumer...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Tourism Industry (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: An Tánaiste and Minister Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media jointly chair the Hospitality and Tourism Forum, organised by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media. The Forum meets regularly and provides opportunities for ongoing engagement with the organisations mentioned by the Deputy. Following the easing...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (10 Feb 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 201 and 202 together. Ireland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The employment permits regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages in the State,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (9 Feb 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 regime is designed to accommodate the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill skills and labour gaps for the benefit of our economy, in the short to medium term. The occupations lists are subject to twice yearly...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: European Union (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 152, 153, 154, 155 and 156 together. The international Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPCA), signed in February 2013, entails the establishment of an international court that will, when operational, have exclusive competence for actions for infringement and validity in respect of European patents. The requisite number of Member States have now...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Feb 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 over the short to medium term, 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, by design, vacancy led and managed through the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: My Department recommends all applications for an employment permit to be submitted at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date of an employment. The Department provides regular updates on its website in relation to processing times and advises employers to take current timelines into account as part of their recruitment plans. Employment permits are processed in date order and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, commits to establishing the Shannon Estuary Taskforce to consider the regional economic development potential of the Shannon Estuary. A call will issue shortly for expressions of interest to sit on the Taskforce. Once the composition of the Taskforce has been finalised, engagement with the designated Chairperson of the Taskforce will take place...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the operation of the occupation lists: the critical...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168, 169, 170 and 171 together. The Employment Permits Section of my Department inform me that the General Employment Permit applications for the all persons concerned (in details supplied) were received on dates between 8th December 2021 and 4th January 2022. Applications for employment permits are dealt with in date order. The Employment Permits Section of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: An amendment to expand the definition of "leave year" under the Organisation of Time Act 1997, to take account of other 12 month periods and provide clarity around the taking of annual leave, is under consideration. Such a proposal will require the amendment of primary legislation. In contrast, the recent introduction of new public holidays was done via regulations and was a more...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is, by design, vacancy led and managed through the operation of the occupation lists: the critical...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The number of Enterprise Ireland supported jobs by county in each of the years 2010 to 2021 is set out in tabular form below. In 2021, there were 20,342 new jobs created by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, resulting in a net job increase of 11,911 when job losses are taken into account. Total employment by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland in 2021 was 207,894. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Feb 2022)

Damien English: The Transitional Protocol: Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19, a revision of the Work Safely Protocol was published on 31st January. This publication reflects the lessons learned to date, including the most recent public health advice, and is the current guidance for the safe return and continued safe operating of workplaces. It places a greater...