John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the EU Platform Work Directive will be transposed; whether primary legislation will be required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26625/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 11^th March 2024, Ministers at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) confirmed the provisional agreement reached on 8 February 2024 between the Council’s presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators on the Directive. Ireland supported the proposal for agreement.

The text of the agreement must now be formally adopted by both institutions. After the formal steps of the adoption have been completed, Member States will have two years to incorporate the provisions of the Directive into their national legislation. DETE will now consider what are the next steps in order to transpose the Directive in Ireland and whether primary legislation will be required.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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104. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to outline Ireland's national position in respect of the EU's Platform Work Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26626/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 11^th March 2024, Ministers at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) confirmed the provisional agreement reached on 8 February 2024 between the Council’s presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators on the Directive. Ireland supported the proposal for agreement.

The text of the agreement must now be formally adopted by both institutions. After the formal steps of the adoption have been completed, Member States will have two years to incorporate the provisions of the Directive into their national legislation. DETE will now consider what the next steps are in order to transpose the Directive in Ireland.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will engage with industry to ensure that companies who solely rely on sales advisers to attract customers will not be inadvertently brought into the scope of the EU Platform Work Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26627/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On 11^th March 2024, Ministers at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) confirmed the provisional agreement reached on 8 February 2024 between the Council’s presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators on the Directive. Ireland supported the proposal for agreement.

The agreed Directive text strikes a balance between respecting national labour systems and ensuring minimum standards of protection for persons working in digital labour platforms across the EU.

The main compromise elements agreed revolve around a legal presumption which will help determine the correct employment status of persons working in digital platforms:

• Member States will establish a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, to be triggered when facts indicating control and direction are found.
• those facts will be determined according to national law and collective agreements, while taking into account EU case-law.
• persons working in digital platforms, their representatives or national authorities may invoke this legal presumption and claim they are misclassified.
• it is up to the digital platform to prove that there is no employment relationship.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on work underway on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26628/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was published on 19th October 2022 and must be transposed by 15th November 2024. The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

The Directive includes three sets of measures:

1. One of the goals of the Directive is to increase the number of workers who are covered by collective bargaining on wage setting. It will require Ireland to develop an action plan to enhance collective bargaining coverage by the end of 2025.

2. To ensure minimum wages are set at adequate levels, the Directive also requires countries with statutory minimum wages, as in Ireland, to put in place clear and stable criteria for minimum wage setting, indicative reference values to guide the assessment of adequacy, and to involve social partners in the regular and timely updates of minimum wages.

3. The Directive provides for improved enforcement and monitoring of the minimum wage protection established in each country. The Directive introduces reporting by Member States on its minimum wage protection data to the European Commission.

My Department has received legal advice on the minimum wage elements of the Directive and work is underway to ensure transposition by the deadline of November 2024. Legal advice is that Ireland’s current minimum wage setting framework, namely the Low Pay Commission, is largely already in compliance with the provisions of the Directive.

A technical group has been established with Department officials and the social partners to examine what is required to implement the collective bargaining elements of the Directive. My Department has also requested legal advice as to whether any legislative change is required in order to transpose these elements into Irish legislation by the transposition deadline at the end of the year.

Appropriate legislation to transpose the Directive will be brought forward in due course, following receipt of the aforementioned legal advice and further consultation with the social partners.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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107. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether collective bargaining systems will be required for all direct engagement employers in Ireland as a result of Section 25 of the Directive which sets out that Member States (with collective bargaining coverage rates below 80%) need to put action plans in place to progressively increase the collective bargaining coverage rate, and what is the timeline considered for implementation of such a plan and systems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26629/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was published on 19th October 2022 and must be transposed into Irish law by 15th November 2024. The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

Article 4 of the Directive, Promotion of Collective Bargaining on Wage Setting , aims to promote collective bargaining on wages in all Member States. The Directive requires Member States in which the collective bargaining coverage rate is less than 80% to provide “for a framework of enabling conditions for collective bargaining” and to publish an Action Plan to promote collective bargaining. It should be noted that the 80% threshold is an indicator triggering the publication of an Action Plan, rather than a mandatory target to be reached. The deadline for the Action Plan to be submitted to the Commission is the end of 2025. However, it is intended to publish it ahead of that date.

The European Commission's Expert Group Report on the transposition of the Directive published last November was clear that the design of the framework of enabling conditions and the content of the Action Plan is up to Member States, in consultation with the social partners.

Therefore, a technical working group has been established with Department officials and the social partners to consider the content of the Action Plan. The group will consider what policy changes may be included in Ireland's Action Plan.

My Department has also requested legal advice as to what legislative change, if any, is required in order to transpose this article of the Directive into Irish legislation by the transposition deadline.

The consideration of the recommendations of the LEEF Final Report on Collective Bargaining will also be an important input to our Action Plan.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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108. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the impact of the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 will have on direct engagement employers in Ireland, and if sufficient time will be given to direct engagement employers to adequately introduce a new system given that the deadline for the transposition of this Directive is 15 November 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26630/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was published on 19th October 2022 and must be transposed into Irish law by 15th November 2024. The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

Article 4 of the Directive, Promotion of Collective Bargaining on Wage Setting , aims to promote collective bargaining on wages in all Member States. The Directive requires Member States in which the collective bargaining coverage rate is less than 80% to provide “for a framework of enabling conditions for collective bargaining” and to publish an Action Plan to promote collective bargaining. It should be noted that the 80% threshold is an indicator triggering the publication of an Action Plan, rather than a mandatory target to be reached. The deadline for the Action Plan to be submitted to the Commission is the end of 2025. However, it is intended to publish it ahead of that date.

The European Commission's Expert Group Report on the transposition of the Directive published last November was clear that the design of the framework of enabling conditions and the content of the Action Plan is up to Member States, in consultation with the social partners.

Therefore, a technical working group has been established with Department officials and the social partners to consider the content of the Action Plan. The group will consider what policy changes may be included in Ireland's action plan.

My Department has also requested legal advice as to what legislative change, if any, is required in order to transpose this article of the Directive into Irish legislation by the transposition deadline. At present, there is no proposal for a new industrial relations system that would impact on direct engagement employers.

The consideration of the recommendations of the LEEF Final Report on Collective Bargaining will also be an important input to our Action Plan.