Vol. 895 No. 1
6. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress made on the University of Limerick report into zero-hour contracts; if he will confirm whether seasonal workers were consulted in the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37943/15]
This question relates to the work done by the University of Limerick on zero-hour contracts and the Government's proposals to strengthen the rights of those workers, particularly focusing on seasonal workers.
I thank Deputy Pringle for tabling the question. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that yesterday afternoon, following a decision by Government yesterday morning, I published the study by the University of Limerick, UL, on the prevalence of zero-hour contracts and low-hour contracts in the Irish economy. This week, I will launch a public consultation process to give all interested parties an opportunity to consider and respond to the conclusions drawn in the report and the recommendations made by UL. I understand that UL conducted stakeholder interviews with 30 bodies as part of the study, including 13 employer and business organisations, eight trade unions, four NGOs and five Departments and agencies.
It is important to point out this is an independent study, and the conclusions drawn and the recommendations made are those of UL. Therefore, it is essential that the various stakeholders who contributed to the study and, indeed, other interested parties who may not have had an opportunity to engage with UL, are given an opportunity to consider and respond to the findings and recommendations in the report. This will allow me and the Government colleagues to be more fully informed before formulating our own views on the policy recommendations that I should bring to the Government arising from the study.
I urge all parties with an interest in the area to consider carefully the findings and recommendations published yesterday, and I would welcome submissions in response to the study, including submissions from seasonal workers and their representatives, to whom the Deputy referred in his question.
I thank the Minister of State. I am glad to hear the report has been published and consultation is commencing. I raised the issue of seasonal workers in particular because they are largely unrepresented by any of the trade unions or NGOs and it will be difficult to get their views because of this. Most of the sectors in which they are involved are not organised through trade unions. Is there a way these workers can be targeted to get their views on this, perhaps through an outreach meeting in an area where seasonal work is predominant or the only work available? Will the Minister of State and the Department consider this as part of the consultation process?
We are conscious of the role seasonal workers play in the economy, and we are also conscious of the opportunities required to be given to seasonal workers for work during periods of the year. I am sure the Deputy has had an opportunity to look at the report at some level over the past 24 hours. It is balanced and UL's recommendations are independently provided and will be considered by the Government. UL was conscious of taking a balanced approach to its findings and recommendations, to ensure those working non-guaranteed hours and those doing seasonal work are protected and receive the full panoply of employment protections and also ensure a degree of flexibility in the labour market so enterprises can be run efficiently and effectively. The study is also conscious of the very clear view that no interventions should be made in a legislative or regulatory fashion which would very rigidly prevent people from taking up seasonal work.
Thank you.
It is important to ensure protection for people and to acknowledge the needs of enterprises which are active during seasonal periods and provide work for people, which has been the case traditionally throughout the country.
I call Deputy Pringle.
I appreciate what Deputy Pringle is saying. The opportunity will arise, of course-----
I will come back to the Minister of State later.
-----during the consultation process for people, including the Deputy, to contribute to the process.
I thank the Minister of State. One of the traits of seasonal work in Donegal, particularly in the fishing industry, is that although workers do not have zero-hour contracts they could be called into work at 9 o'clock in the morning and be sent home again at 10 o'clock and that is it for the day. This means they cannot avail of social welfare protection. This needs to be addressed. If seasonal workers are taken on they should be guaranteed a certain minimum number of hours that day to allow them to be able to sustain themselves in employment. I hope this will be taken on board in the consultation process.
This is an area we asked UL to examine. The report states there is not extensive use of zero-hour contracts in Ireland. It is prevented by the provisions of the Working Time Act 1997, but it is important that our labour market policies, employment protection legislation and the regulatory environment keep up with evolving practices in industry. UL identified the prevalence of what might be termed "if and when" contracts, where there is potentially no mutuality of obligation between an employer and an employee. This may very well be the case in the instance provided by Deputy Pringle. We need to be conscious of this in the proposals we make. We also need to be conscious of the role played by the Department of Social Protection through family income supplement and access to jobseeker's payments for people working in an atypical fashion with non-guaranteed hours.
Thank you.
We are conscious of this. The UL also acknowledged that because of the relatively recent evolution of "if and when" contracts this may very well require further work and further examination over the next period of time.
7. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the current status of the Cadbury and Mondelez jobs that were announced to have been in jeopardy earlier in 2015; if these job losses have been reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37154/15]
We had the bad news in late February of the possible loss of 160 jobs in Coolock, Rathmore and Tallaght. We have not had any update since mid-summer. I understand the Minister established an interagency group led by Enterprise Ireland.
What progress has been made on this? Have the agency and the Department had any talks with 3G Capital, the ultimate owner of Mondelez Kraft Heinz?
I have had discussions with Mondelez at senior executive level and the company has committed to me that it will invest in its operation here with the aim of achieving best-in-class production processes. Enterprise Ireland has also been in contact with the company on a continuous basis regarding the assistance it could provide for restructuring to minimise job losses. The workplace relations services of my Department have also been actively engaged in this process.
Labour Court hearings between the company and the unions concerned took place on 9 October 2015. The Labour Court recommendation for the production personnel represented by Unite and SIPTU is to continue the negotiation process with management on headcount reduction, shift pattern changes, outsourcing and a two year pay deal over a four week period beginning on 29 October 2015. The management expect the unions will ballot their members in the coming weeks to determine support for the proposed changes.
The Labour Court recommendation for the electricians represented by TEEU and the fitters represented by the TEEU and Unite is for the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to mediate between management and unions for a four week period beginning on 28 October 2015. Both parties have engaged with the mediation process in the WRC.
Immediately after the announcement by Mondelez, I established, as the Deputy has acknowledged, an inter-agency group to co-ordinate the response to the proposed job losses. The group, chaired by Enterprise Ireland, is seeking to secure alternative employment for Coolock, Tallaght and Rathmore and to ensure that departing workers have access to supports they need from State agencies for retraining, access to social welfare supports, access to advice on employment rights and access to advice and support for those workers who intend to start their own businesses.
I understand that the site in Tallaght will cease production in April 2016 with the severance and exit packages agreed. The company has engaged Penna O'Shea, the career transition provider, to assist the workforce in planning their future. Enterprise Ireland has visited the Tallaght site and will share the plant specification and worker profile with its clients. The plant specification and worker profile has also been shared with IDA Ireland. The inter-agency group has obtained agreement from SOLAS eCollege to offer any existing courses free of charge to all learners in Mondelez, Tallaght.
I have already directed Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to step up their efforts to find alternative projects for the areas affected. I continue to monitor the situation very closely and I have arranged to meet the company representatives shortly.
I thank the Minister for that response. I note detailed counterproposals were put forward six or seven months ago by the SIPTU, Unite and TEEU trade unions and by members of the workforce themselves who are obviously expert in this element of food production and it was feared some of the key brands, for example, the Twirl and the Snack, would be outsourced to Poland. The Minister stated we are in a critical period in these negotiations and referred to the role of the commission, etc. Is the position that the Minister will be able to save those jobs?
What response has he received? The ultimate mother group of this company, 3G Capital, which has a Brazilian principal in Rio de Janeiro and which has assembled this considerable food combine, has a bad track record in taking over companies, devastating their workforces, taking out value and leaving them. Has the Minister made contact with 3G Capital? There was word of a €11.7 million investment programme for Coolock and Rathmore. Has any of that been seen?
As the Minister will be aware, this is against a background where there are still more than 8,000 unemployed attending the two employment offices in Kilbarrack and Coolock in the constituency the Minister and I represent. As the Minister will be aware, there is still considerable anxiety and worry in the broader Coolock area that we could have further job losses here.
There is, indeed, an investment programme which the company has committed to but it requires a restructuring of its operations. Its intention is to achieve state-of-the-art production lines in Coolock. There were counterproposals and Enterprise Ireland supported the workers in furnishing those counterproposals. The position is they have entered into the detailed negotiations that I outlined in terms of the restructuring proposals the company is seeking and those are ongoing with both the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission playing a role to seek to find solutions. As I indicated, Enterprise Ireland will also support the company. It has programmes, such as lean manufacturing programmes, which can allow a company successfully achieve the competitiveness it needs.
Unfortunately, this is a situation where the company has indicated that restructuring is needed to be competitive in its markets and we are seeking to work with that and minimise the job losses. I share the Deputy's concern that we need to minimise the job losses but I would point out that Dublin has been enjoying a recovery. While there are some companies experiencing difficulties with which we deal, and it is a fight every day, there are also companies which are growing strongly. We work to achieve such growth as well.
On the Government's Twitter account, #allaboutjobs, it is notable that the Minister trumpets when new jobs arrive but he tells us nothing when there are serious job losses. On overall job figures, the Government mentions 126,000 jobs created, which is way below the total level of employment in late 2007 or early 2008. The Government is still a long way off that mark.
Is the Minister hopeful, from the initiatives taken by the inter-agency group, that these jobs can be protected, which is the key desire of our constituents and their families? What other assistance can the Minister give to ensure that the promised investment in the plants will happen as soon as possible and that we could look forward to a positive future?
Has the Department done anything in relation to the protection of iconic Irish brands, given the kind of attack on branded products in recent times and the difficulty of maintaining clear brands in the food area? All Irish food products are under this kind of threat from the German multiples and other companies.
The Minister to conclude. We must make good progress.
I can assure the Deputy much of the work of my Department focuses on companies which need to restructure to protect jobs and both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland have transformation programmes to help companies do that. They have been successful. Job losses in the IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland companies are at the lowest level in a decade and we are succeeding in managing companies.
In this case, as the Deputy will be aware, the company has indicated that there will be job losses but we are working to ensure there will be as few as possible and that the remaining jobs will be placed on a secure footing with the necessary investment and the efficiencies of modern production lines that can give them a secure future. That is what we are working to achieve. As I indicated, there are continuing negotiations with that aim in mind.
8. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects this country to remain equally attractive for foreign direct investment and indigenous job creation, having particular regard to the provisions made in budget 2016, and the potential of the Irish knowledge development box, or any other issues in the wake of changes to the 12.5% corporation tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37937/15]
This question purports to highlight the need for this country to remain attractive as a location for foreign direct investment and for the encouragement of the indigenous job creation sector in what is becoming a very competitive market.
Budget 2016 and the entire Action Plan for Jobs process have been designed to achieve balanced and sustainable growth across sectors, spanning both Irish-owned and foreign-owned enterprises. The recovery in jobs and exports to date is in large part due to the considerable improvements in the business environment for enterprise that have taken place in recent years. The measures announced by the Minister for Finance in budget 2016 last month have further strengthened the attractiveness of Ireland as a place for innovation, entrepreneurship and investment, delivering sustainable job creation and growth. A competitive and innovative enterprise base is at the core of Ireland's future economic development and Government policies for enterprise and innovation set the framework for continued investment and growth.
Ireland is the first country in the world to introduce an OECD-compliant knowledge development box, KDB, offering certainty to global and Irish-owned enterprises. The OECD approach sets out the principles and guidelines under which income arising from intellectual property assets can qualify for a lower rate of tax under a knowledge development box initiative. Ireland's KDB rate is 6.25% - half of the corporation tax rate - and is internationally competitive. It is important to note that there have been no changes to the headline corporation tax rate of 12.5%.
The knowledge box, as outlined by the Minister for Finance, will support and encourage both foreign and Irish-owned enterprise to undertake research and development here, to protect the intellectual property that arises and to benefit from the measure.
The Finance Bill also allows for the introduction of a provision pertaining to companies with income arising from intellectual property of less than €7,500,000, which will be introduced during 2016, when the necessary legislation to give it effect is enacted, and will be of direct benefit to companies of a relatively lower scale, with global income of less than €50 million.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Does he remain satisfied that indigenously grown companies have available to them sufficient incentives to ensure they can grow alongside the foreign direct investment sector and can compete equally well in the international marketplace?
Over two thirds of the budget I expend goes to Irish companies as opposed to foreign companies. Last year, for the first time in many years, the net job growth from Irish-owned companies supported by Enterprise Ireland exceeded that of the IDA, so that was significant progress. There is no doubt we are seeing the emergence of what Germany would call Mittelstand companies - strong, globally competitive companies, many of them in engineering, food or agri-tech. These companies are showing great resilience and capacity to grow. We have a balanced growth among the Irish companies, which are very strong in software and technology, but also strong in traditional sectors like food, agri-tech and engineering. I believe we have good prospects and we have a strong flow of entrepreneurship from Irish companies, which is encouraging for the future.
Have particular issues been brought to the Minister's attention, either by foreign direct investment companies or by indigenous companies, with regard to their future growth and the issues that might come across their radar when considering further investment?
The issue that comes up time and again is that of skills. There is no doubt that as digitisation, or whatever we want to call it, transforms virtually every sector, there is an increasing focus on a narrow range of skills. We need to up our capability across a whole range of skills. I am very encouraged by the new apprenticeship programme, where 86 employer partnerships applied to create new apprenticeships in areas where we have never had them before. That is an encouraging sign that business is willing to invest, in partnership with the State, to grow the skills base in new areas. That is the biggest issue. As they describe it, the war for talent is very strong among companies.
9. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is satisfied with the efforts of his Department to date as regards deepening Ireland's business relations with Saudi Arabia; if, at any meeting with his counterparts there such as on the trade mission he participated earlier in 2015, he raised the issue of the country's well-documented human rights violations; if human rights considerations are taken into account by his Department in policy decisions regarding its dealings with Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37210/15]
A 21 year old boy, Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, has been sentenced to public crucifixion and beheading for joining an anti-government demonstration in Saudi Arabia when he was 17. The execution is reported to be imminent and all appeals to the King have been ignored. It is reported by the family that the boy is being tortured while he awaits his death. His execution, if it is carried out in the next few days, will be the 136th since January. I wonder if the Minister is still of the opinion that trade missions are not the place to raise human rights issues effectively, no matter what horrors are taking place in the country we are doing business with.
That is correct. Trade missions are to deal with trade but there are many avenues where the Irish Government takes a very strong line in regard to human rights issues. The situation is that we bring companies with us on trade missions which then seek to open up opportunities to trade. In the past four years, such measures and missions have opened up a net 40,000 extra people at work in exporting companies. A key focus is to grow in markets which offer opportunities, and these include areas like the Gulf region. It is clear we have to work on that and get companies to establish business-to-business links, encourage investment and encourage companies to form a base and grow in these markets that have growth prospects. Some 90% of the growth in trade is going to be outside of the European Union, so we are going to have to trade in Asia, the Gulf and in many countries, and Ireland has an interest in growing that.
Ireland has also been at the forefront internationally in raising human rights issues through bilateral contacts, especially through the European Union and the United Nations. We have never shied away from addressing these issues. We will continue to be a strong advocate for higher global standards that improve human rights and encourage the highest standards of business conduct and corporate social responsibility.
During the last trade mission I led to the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, in April of this year, Irish companies from a wide range of sectors concluded deals and created jobs in Ireland. They prospected with potential buyers and developed relationships with key sectors, including aviation, water technologies, financial technologies, support to various programmes and so on. These are important opportunities we need to develop.
Ireland is an active member of the EU human rights group in Riyadh which co-ordinates EU policy on human rights issues and progresses implementation of the EU’s human rights country strategy for Saudi Arabia.
The Minister said we have human rights standards but, seriously, we are only paying lip service to this. Each year, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation grants billions of euros worth of export licences for dual use goods that are sent by Irish-based firms to some of the most destabilised and war-torn regions on earth. Does the Minister know what role Irish firms may have played in the wide-scale massacre of Yemeni citizens by Saudi Arabia in the last number of months, backed by the US? It beggars belief that we can just totally ignore what is going on in Saudi Arabia. Has the Irish Government objected to the massacre of civilians in Yemen? Does it have any impact whatever on our trade dealing? It does not look like it.
The Minister said he cares. We were able to back the EU on its trade sanctions with Russia but, here, we cannot do enough business with the Saudi Arabians. According to international sources, they are actually beheading more people than ISIS. Would the Minister sell stuff to ISIS if it wanted to buy something off him? I am sure he would not, but he is prepared to sell stuff to Saudi Arabia and do business with it. I do not understand that. There is no consistency.
The Irish companies that are selling into Saudi Arabia are predominantly in areas like milk products, technology, medical products, oil and so on, and Irish services are also significant. Overall, the trade is about €1.5 billion into Saudi Arabia from Ireland, which is probably supporting 1,000 jobs in Ireland. It is a significant market for many of the companies we were just talking about, which are growing in, for example, the agri-engineering sector, and have technologies that are relevant.
In terms of dual use goods, the licensing in my Department is very carefully monitored and involves discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in areas where there might be particular issues of concern. If the Deputy has concerns about individual licensing arrangements, he should certainly bring them to the attention of the Department. That is very closely monitored and we are very careful to ensure there is no abuse of the obligations in that regard.
The Minister said we are doing €1.5 billion worth of trade with them. I do not want to be responsible for losing jobs in Ireland. However, the Swedes were selling Saudi Arabia €1 billion worth of armoury per year. When the Saudis started bombing Yemen, they cancelled that and they are no longer selling to them out of respect for what is happening to Yemeni citizens. We are not taking a position. Aside from that, if the Saudis find that countries like Ireland will trade away with them, whether in food, milk or dual parts, it means they have a licence to do as they please. Nobody is giving them as much as a smack on the back of the hand.
In November last year we gave permission for two overflights for planes travelling from Dover, Delaware to Saudi Arabia. We found out under a freedom of information request that those planes were carrying class 1 explosives, rockets, liquid fuel and rockets with bursting charges, possibly for the making of cluster bombs which are regarded as illegal. For all we know, because we do not search the planes, there are cluster bombs coming through Shannon. We do not know what is on the military planes coming through Shannon, because we are not allowed ask what is on them because there is supposed to be nothing on them.
How can Ireland continue with this position? How can we say we have a human rights position when we will not even search planes passing through Shannon to check whether they are taking cluster bombs to places like Saudi Arabia?
Ireland does not have an arms industry. The products Ireland sells are products such as soft drink concentrates, medical and pharmaceutical products, infant foods, general industrial machinery and equipment, dairy products, medical devices, stents, pacemakers, digital media and so on. Those are the markets Irish business is selling into in Saudi Arabia and they are important markets for these companies.
Clearly, there are problems in many of the countries we deal with and the regimes can be criticised. However, we must do that through channels that can influence the human rights performance of those countries, and that is what we do. The EU human rights group in Riyadh co-ordinates the European Union's approach and Ireland is actively involved in that. We have significant trade to Saudi Arabia and those companies have valuable markets. My job is to support companies in their export diversification and these are all products that are perfectly acceptable and tradeable.
10. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his assessment of job creation in Dublin over the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37939/15]
What is the Minister's assessment of job creation in Dublin? How many new jobs have been created and, in particular, how many of these have been created for graduates? Is the figure in line with his targets?
A key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which the Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports and provide a solid foundation for future growth. The goal of the Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018. This whole of Government effort has been integrated into the Action Plan for Jobs process which aims to strengthen the enterprise base, support entrepreneurship, improve competitiveness and support job creation in Dublin and in every region.
Significant progress has been made in Dublin. Since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched, some 50,000 additional people are back at work in Dublin. This compares with job losses of 90,000 in the period 2008–11. The trend in employment in enterprises supported by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland has been similar. Such enterprises created a net 20,000 jobs in the period 2011–14 compared to 10,000 job losses in the earlier period. In the past year, net employment growth in Dublin was 15,400. There was expansion in all categories of enterprise supported by my Department. This included 3,700 in IDA supported enterprises, 2,350 in EI supported enterprises and 793 in local enterprise office, LEO, supported enterprises.
While good progress is being made, the Government is not complacent about the challenge of achieving sustainable full employment over the medium term in all regions, including Dublin. As part of the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs, we launched the process for developing action plans for every region. The work on the preparation of the Dublin action plan for jobs is currently under way and will set ambitious targets for the region over the coming years to realise the potential of sustainable full employment and improved standards of living for the people of Dublin.
Deputy Flanagan also raised the issue of the employment experience of graduates, but I do not think the CSO gathers data on the net change. However, in terms of the areas in which we have visibility, such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, a significant share of graduates are obtaining opportunities in those companies. There is a high skill content to most of the growth in those sectors, so there are good opportunities for graduates, particularly those in the technology, engineering, mathematics field. There is strong performance in both pharma and ICT sectors.
The retention of nurses, doctors and graduates has been a major issue of concern in this country. We have lost many of them to the United Kingdom and other countries. What emphasis is being placed on ensuring that people who have spent so many years studying here get opportunities? We hear from many graduates that they have no option but to emigrate because of the lack of opportunity. I understand that as the economy picks up, more opportunities will arise, particularly for graduates. Emigration figures show that one out of every six people born in Ireland lives abroad. Many of these are abroad by choice, but there are some people who want to return, but they do not see the opportunities to do so. The Minister's narrative is that he is trying to create opportunities in order to get emigrants, particularly some of those who have emigrated in recent years, to return to Ireland to contribute here. Is he doing anything specific in that regard?
We will open a portal to allow individuals who are abroad see where there are opportunities emerging in Ireland. There is strong growth in ICT, financial services, bio-pharma and other sectors. The food sector is doing extraordinarily well and the Kerry Group recently filled 900 posts in its research centre. There are thriving and strong areas and opportunities and there are signs there is the beginning of a return flow of emigrants to Ireland. Net emigration is down to one third of what it was at its peak, so we are making headway.
In respect of nurses and doctors, these positions are not in my direct area. However, the Minister for Health has stated there are 3,000 additional people at work in our hospitals compared to a year ago. Therefore, there are opportunities opening for doctors and nurses in the health system. As we continue to see jobs recovery in the wider economy, this will allow us fund improved services in health areas that offer opportunities in those fields.
I thank the Minister for his response. In regard to doctors and nurses, they do not get the opportunities here to become specialists in different areas and not enough sweeteners are provided to persuade nurses who have emigrated to return. Many well trained people have emigrated over the past years. The message I want from the Minister today is one that will give hope to graduates that opportunities will improve.
I assure the Deputy that opportunities for graduates are very strong in the sectors where I have direct responsibility. As I said to Deputy Durkan, the issue in some areas is a skill shortage, particularly in the technology area. There is a need and desire to see people with qualifications return. In regard to conditions in the health area, that is a matter the Deputy will have to take up with other Ministers. It is heartening to see growth in the numbers employed in the health system and this opens opportunities for people in the sector.
