James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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453. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on the timeline of the transposition process of the Platform Work Directive in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29499/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Improving Working Conditions in Platform Work Directive entered into force on 1 December 2024. EU Member States have until 2 December 2026 to transpose the Directive into national law.

The Directive is complex and wide ranging. It seeks to ensure people working though digital labour platforms have the correct legal employment status that corresponds to their actual working arrangements, enabling them to benefit from the employment rights they are entitled to.

The Directive also aims to regulate the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms. The Directive will make the use of algorithms in human resources management in platform work more transparent, ensuring that automated systems are monitored by qualified staff, and that workers have the right to contest automated decisions. The Directive also imposes substantial limitations on the processing of personal data by these systems.

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment are currently engaged in consultation with Government Departments and agencies to consider what transposition measures will be necessary and will consult with other key stakeholders also. It is not yet known what legislation, if any, may be required to transpose the Directive in Ireland. A public consultation may be required when the scope of possible legislative change is determined.

My Department is represented at the EU Official Expert Group on the Transposition of the Directive which has been established by the European Commission. This Group has met four times to date and will meet again in late June. It will continue to meet regularly and will serve as a forum for cooperation between the Commission and Member States to examine correct implementation of the Directive. The Group will issue a final report on transposition by the end of 2025 which will be an important source of guidance for Member States.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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454. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on the proposed scope of the Platform Work Directive (PWD) during the transposition process, including the definition of a ‘digital labour platform’; the engagements to date by his Department with the Working Group on PWD transposition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29500/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Improving Working Conditions in Platform Work Directive entered into force on 1 December 2024. EU Member States have until 2 December 2026 to transpose the Directive into national law. The Directive seeks to ensure people working though digital labour platforms have the correct legal employment status that corresponds to their actual working arrangements, enabling them to benefit from the employment rights they are entitled to.

The scope of the Directive applies to digital labour platforms organising platform work performed in the Union, irrespective of their place of establishment or of the law otherwise applicable.

The Directive identifies digital labour platform a natural or legal persons providing a?service which meets all of the following requirements: (i) provided remotely via electronic means (e.g., website or app); (ii) at the request of the service recipient, (ii) involves organising work performed by individuals for payment irrespective of whether that work is performed online or in a certain location; (iv) and uses automated monitoring or decision-making systems.

To date there have been four meetings of the EU Official Expert Group on the Transposition of the Directive, examining Chapters I, II & V, with a further five planned for 2025. The group is chaired by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). Its membership comprises officials from all 27 EU Member States and observers from EU Social Partners and EFTA States.

The objective of the group is to assist and advise DG EMPL in ensuring that Member States correctly transpose the Directive into national law; foster cooperation among the European Commission, Member States, EU social partners, and EEA-EFTA States; facilitate discussions on the progress of transposition at the national level, encouraging the sharing of relevant expertise and insights from the negotiation process to aid in accurate interpretation; and prepare of a comprehensive report on the Directive’s transposition at the end of 2025 which will be an important source of guidance for Member States.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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455. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the potential impact of the Platform Work Directive on the competitiveness of the Irish market, in terms of attracting/retaining foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29501/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Improving Working Conditions in Platform Work Directive came into force on 1 December 2024, with a transposition deadline of 2 December 2026. The Directive is complex and wide ranging and seeks to ensure people working though digital labour platforms have the correct legal employment status that corresponds to their actual working arrangements, enabling them to benefit from the employment rights they are entitled to.

In February 2025, IDA Ireland launched its new strategy, Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-29, which emphasizes the importance of a consistent and transparent regulatory environment—one that effectively manages risk without hindering innovation across sectors—as a key driver of FDI success. Ireland has a strong track record of advancing workers’ rights by enhancing protections and improving working conditions. The transposition of the Platform Work Directive will continue this approach, ensuring that Ireland remains both a competitive and fair place to work and invest.

Under this new strategy, IDA Ireland will continue to target investments from across the globe through its global network of offices, and in collaboration with Team Ireland colleagues from this Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Enterprise Ireland, Research Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia and Culture Ireland. IDA will continue to partner with international investors and companies to grow their businesses, to complete ground-breaking research and innovation, and to develop a rich, vibrant, talent capability for the needs of industry.

Competition for FDI is intense, with virtually every country in the world seeking new FDI investments. Every single job created in Ireland by an FDI company has been hard won, against competition from a growing number of sophisticated locations. In 2024, Ireland ranked in fourth place among 67 economies measured for their global competitiveness in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking. This is the second consecutive year Ireland has placed in the top five economies globally.

My Department continues to work closely with IDA Ireland to ensure there is a strong continued pipeline of FDI into Ireland. Despite the challenging global issues affecting the Irish economy in recent years, including the impacts of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, Ireland continues to be seen as a location of choice for new investors and long-established companies who choose to reinvest in substantial expansions of their operations here.

Companies are positioning Ireland as a key part of their global value chains, against a backdrop of intense global competition and an increased focus on industrial policies and other geopolitical developments. My Department is not complacent about Ireland’s competitiveness position regarding FDI with policies, strategies and the legislative toolkit constantly kept under review to ensure objectives set out in this critical part of the economy are met.