Written Answers Nos. 219-231
219. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the timeframe for the construction and completion of IDA Ireland's advanced facility for Tralee and the successful tenderer for building the facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45922/15]
View answerIDA Ireland launched its new five-year strategy entitled Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019 in April of this year. The strategy has a strong focus on regional development, setting forth aims and strategies to achieve a significant increase in investment going into regional locations. To support that aim, IDA Ireland is rolling out a €150 million capital investment programme to help attract more multinational jobs into each region over a 5-year period. This programme will include investments over the coming years in building advanced technology buildings and office facilities in a number of regional locations to provide state-of-the-art property solutions for clients.
In line with this strategy, IDA Ireland has commenced a 3-year building programme to attract FDI to designated regional locations where the private sector has failed so far to invest thus requiring IDA Ireland to intervene. IDA Ireland plan to construct an advance technology building in Tralee, Co. Kerry, subject to planning permission. Planning permission will be submitted before the end of the year. The anticipated completion of the building is in the first quarter of 2017.
The tender process is currently underway and a contractor will be appointed prior to obtaining planning permission.
220. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if IDA Ireland has investigated the possibility of a former company returning to Kerry; the efforts made and the outcome; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45923/15]
View answerThe Amann facility is privately-owned and not in IDA Ireland’s property portfolio. It currently belongs to Bioatlantis, an indigenous Irish company, which occupies c.70,000 sq.ft. of the building for its own manufacturing requirements. The remaining 75% of the building is available for lease.
Although not an IDA Ireland building, the agency continues to follow up on FDI opportunities relating to the facility, including with the former owner, and has also promoted the facility to a number of potential clients, through IDA Ireland’s network of overseas offices.
IDA Ireland will continue to work with Bioatlantis and promote the facility when and where appropriate.
221. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if a person has been refused an employment permit; if an application by the person for a review of the decision was received outside the 28 days permitted for a review; if the person can make a fresh application for an employment permit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46034/15]
View answerA new application for an employment permit may be submitted at any time, as long as there is no active application being processed at the time of submission. In the situation that is described, there is no active application, so a new application could be considered.
222. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware that the Athy area in County Kildare is a jobs black spot; the investment and resources he has put into rectifying this situation since March 2011; and his plans to address this unacceptable situation. [46130/15]
View answerSince the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, employment has increased by over 135,000 across the economy as a whole and has exceeded the initial target set by the Government for 2016. All regions have experienced jobs growth, but the rate of progress in some regions is less than in others. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting job creation in the regions this year.
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs Initiative was launched by Government in February of this year. The purpose of this initiative is to identify a range of actions over the period 2015 - 2017 aimed at facilitating each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels in each of the regions.
The Action Plan for Jobs for the Mid East region, which includes Athy, is currently under development and is expected to be launched in early 2016. As with other plans, it will include a series of practical actions, developed in collaboration with regional stakeholders, to support enterprise growth and job creation across the Mid East region and enable the region as a whole to realise its economic potential and create jobs.
The primary objective of each of the plans published to date is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020 and to ensure the unemployment rate of each region is within one per cent of the State average. Key targets in the Regional Action Plans published to date are to increase the number of entrepreneurs/start-ups in each region by a minimum of 25%, improve the 5-year survival rate by 25% and improve scaling performance of companies by 25%.
All regional Action Plans will be supported by investment of up to €250 million over the next five years, including €150 million for a property investment programme by IDA Ireland. The intention is that a further sum of up to €100 million will be made available over the next five years through three competitive calls to be administered by Enterprise Ireland. These competitive calls will be targeted at innovative and collaborative approaches to support job creation across the regions.
In April 2014, a new Regional aid map was published, providing details of areas of the country in which the State can grant State aid, at enhanced rates, to businesses to support development and employment. Under the revised map, Athy has been included as an eligible area. This presents a significant opportunity for developing businesses, supporting employment, and growing the enterprise base in Athy. Regional aid can be given to businesses to support new investment and new employment in productive projects, and can also be provided under schemes for tourism grants, urban and rural renewal and other tax-based development schemes.
In March 2011, there were 18,207 people recorded on the Live Register in Kildare County. This number has since fallen to 13,851 as at November 2015.
Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland have also placed an increased emphasis on the regions in their new corporate strategies. Enterprise Ireland works with entrepreneurs and business people across the full business development spectrum - from early-stage entrepreneurs, to established business owners and Irish multinational companies. Earlier this year IDA Ireland launched its 5 year strategy for the period 2015 to 2019 which aims to create 80,000 new jobs in the economy over the period and increase investment into each region by between 30% and 40%. Meanwhile, the Local Enterprise Offices are committed to providing consistent supports for microenterprises across all regions and acting as a first-stop-shop in delivering business growth and jobs for the small and micro-enterprise sector.
223. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of innovation vouchers awarded to companies based in County Waterford. [46156/15]
View answerThe Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher Initiative was introduced in 2007 in order to drive an on-going innovation culture shift within small enterprise by promoting and encouraging knowledge transfer between Ireland’s public knowledge providers and the small business community and creating greater synergies between the two. Under the initiative, vouchers worth €5,000 are allocated to small business whose proposals, to work with public knowledge providers on specific innovation issues, meet certain criteria. The Innovation Voucher Programme has been running successfully since its inception and it continues to meet an important need in the small business sector.
Enterprise Ireland recognises that an important source of knowledge, expertise and competitive advantage which is available to Irish companies is to be found in the Research Departments of our Institutes of Technology and Universities. The Innovation Voucher scheme gives small companies access to this vast source of innovative acumen and in so doing acts as an important facet of knowledge transfer from these Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to industry. These Vouchers can be used by the companies to purchase advice and knowledge that is new to the company.
Since the programme’s launch, in 2007, 464 Vouchers, with a total combined value of €2.3 million have been awarded to companies based in county Waterford, as detailed in the following table.
|
County |
Total Number of Innovation Vouchers |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
|
Waterford |
464 |
62 |
64 |
76 |
40 |
35 |
76 |
58 |
26 |
27 |
224. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of technical feasibility grants awarded to companies based in County Waterford. [46157/15]
View answerEnterprise Ireland’s mission is to partner with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, innovation, leadership,and competitiveness. The ultimate objective is increased employment and prosperity in Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland offers financial support to help companies investigate the viability of a new export oriented business or proposition or to develop a new product, process, technology or service offering. This is offered through a feasibility grant. In many cases, if the feasibility grant is successful, many companies go on to carry out a larger business development project (such as an Innovative HSPU package) or an R&D project with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland. Typical elements of a feasibility study include market research, business plan development, technical research and prototyping.
Table 1 identifies the number of technical feasibility payment transactions to companies in County Waterford by Enterprise Ireland between 2010 and 2015.
Technical Feasibility studies are a subset of the feasibility grant offer. Table 2 identifies the number of feasibility study payment transactions to companies in County Waterford by Enterprise Ireland over the period, 2010 to 2015. Feasibility study grant offers include technical feasibilities, R&D stimulation grants, CORD grants, HPSU feasibility, Food Works Feasibility grants, Competitive feasibility Fund and Going Global grants.
Table 1: No of payment transactions for Technical Feasibility Grants to companies in County Waterford between 2010 and 2015.
|
Year |
No of payment transactions |
Amount Paid € |
|
2010 |
10 |
108,339 |
|
2011 |
7 |
55,171 |
|
2012 |
1 |
21,708 |
|
2013 |
2 |
18,880 |
|
2014 |
- |
- |
|
2015 |
- |
- |
|
Total |
20 |
204,100 |
Table 2: No of feasibility study payment transactions to companies in County Waterford by Enterprise Ireland between 2010 and 2015.
|
Year |
No of payment transactions |
Amount Paid € |
|
2010 |
47 |
212,525 |
|
2011 |
62 |
205,361 |
|
2012 |
26 |
74,126 |
|
2013 |
13 |
87,533 |
|
2014 |
4 |
27,850 |
|
2015 |
3 |
28,861 |
|
Total |
155 |
636,257 |
Source : Enterprise Ireland Cognos System ran 16 December 2015. Note the above payments exclude payments to infrastructural clients, Shannon Free Zone Transfer Clients, Incubation Centres and Employment Subsidy Scheme recipients.
225. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of companies in County Waterford that have availed of research and development funding over the past five years. [46158/15]
View answerEnterprise Ireland’s mission is to partner with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, innovation, leadership, and competitiveness with the ultimate objective of job creation. A key element of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is to develop innovative companies through supporting research and development at the company level. Enterprise Ireland has a number of financial supports to encourage companies to focus on research and development activities both within their companies and by collaborating with other companies and the third level research institutes.
24 companies in Waterford have been paid by Enterprise Ireland for research and development activities between 2010 and the present time (15 December 2015). These research and development supports include the R&D Fund, the RTI Fund, R&D Stimulation Grants, Technical Feasibility studies and R&D equity packages. Some companies received more than one payment in a given year, and some companies received multiple payments over different years. Table 1, column 1 below shows the breakdown by year of the 65 payment transactions to these 24 companies. Column 2 shows the breakdown of the 24 companies approved. Column 3 shows the breakdown by company by year. Some companies have been approved in different years and therefore the total of 32 is higher than the total number of companies approved (24). Column 4 shows the amount paid per year to these companies.
It should be noted that in addition to these 24 companies, 11 companies were paid Innovative HPSU funding towards the development of their business plan over this period. Many of these business plans would include research and development activities among the other business development activities but are not included in these figures.
IDA Ireland's Research and Development grant payments to companies in Co. Waterford over the past 5 years are set out in table 2.
Table 1: Enterprise Ireland breakdown of payments to the 24 companies between 2010 and 2015.
|
Year |
No of payments |
No of companies that received payments between 2010-2015 |
No of companies to receive payments in a given year |
Amount Paid € |
|
2010 |
19 |
13 |
13 |
540,209 |
|
2011 |
13 |
7 |
10 (3 of these companies also received payments in 2010) |
199,029 |
|
2012 |
24 |
0 |
2 (these 2 companies also received payments in 2010 and 2011) |
230,793 |
|
2013 |
3 |
2 |
3 (one company also received payments in 2010, 2011 and 2012) |
118,880 |
|
2014 |
3 |
0 |
2 (one company also received payment in 2013) |
83,853 |
|
2015 - (15.12.2015) |
3 |
2 |
2 |
72,323 |
|
Total |
65 |
24 |
32** |
1,245,087 |
Table 2: IDA Ireland R&D grants Waterford 2010-2014
|
Year |
Number of grant payments |
Amount paid |
|
2010 |
0 |
€0 |
|
2011 |
1 |
€76,915 |
|
2012 |
2 |
€214, 249 |
|
2013 |
1 |
€903,041 |
|
2014 |
0 |
€0 |
226. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of finding a replacement industry following the closure of a manufacturing plant (details supplied) in County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46193/15]
View answerFinding a replacement industry for Carrickmacross remains a very high priority. I have been in regular contact with IDA Ireland to ensure that everything possible is being done to market the facility abroad through IDA’s network of overseas offices. I have also ensured that Enterprise Ireland is likewise marketing the facility to its client base. The premises are privately owned and leased by BOSE. Both the building itself and the skilled workforce already there are strong selling points.
IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland met with Monaghan County Council on 23 September to discuss the BOSE facility. A follow-up meeting will be held in the New Year to further discuss the matter. Both agencies will continue to work with Monaghan County Council on this issue.
Since the national Action Plan for Jobs was launched in early 2012 more than 20,000 extra people are at work in the North East/North West region (a 12% increase), while 31,600 jobs were lost in the region in the period 2008 - 2011. Monaghan, like many other areas, has seen positive trends in recent years, with employment in agency-supported companies expanding by 11% and substantial improvement in the live register. However, I believe that more can be done. As part of the government’s €250m Regional Action Plan for Jobs, I recently launched the North East/North West Action Plan for jobs with a target to create 28,000 additional jobs throughout the North East/North West. The Plan focuses on maximising the strengths and assets of the region to support enterprise growth and job creation and to build on the progress that has already been made.
227. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of attracting an industry-manufacturing facility to a location (details supplied) in County Cavan, given that all modern infrastructure facilities are provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46194/15]
View answerCounty Cavan is marketed as part of IDA’s North East Region which consists of 3 counties, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. There are 36 multinational companies based in the North East, employing 4,440 across the Region, of which 7 companies are located in Cavan employing 1,136 people. The North East also has a vibrant cluster of Indigenous companies with 80 based in Cavan and employing 4,048 people.
Regional development is fundamental to IDA Ireland’s new strategy for the next five years, titled ‘Winning – Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019’, which was launched earlier this year. For the first time, ambitious investment targets have been set for each region, with a strong focus on securing a significant uplift in the number of investments. Central to this is a driving ambition for employment growth throughout all regions over the lifetime of this strategy.
As part of IDA Ireland’s commitment to achieve a significant uplift in the amount of FDI projects going into regions, the strategy outlines key actions aimed at achieving that, including a €150m property investment plan, spread out over five years, which will support the achievement of the organisation's regional goals. The funding will be used to upgrade Ireland's business and technology parks, make investments in a number of strategic utility-intensive sites and build new advanced technology buildings in a number of regional locations.
Since the national Action Plan for Jobs was launched in early 2012 more than 20,000 extra people are at work in the North East/North West region (a 12% increase). Cavan, like many other areas, has seen positive trends in recent years, with employment in agency-supported companies expanding and substantial improvement in the live register. However, I believe that more can be done. As part of the government’s €250m Regional Action Plan for Jobs, I recently launched the North East/North West Action Plan for jobs with a target to create 28,000 additional jobs throughout the North East/North West. The Plan focusses on maximising the strengths and assets of the region to support enterprise growth and job creation and to build on the progress that has already been made.
I am informed by IDA Ireland that the lands in Killygarry at the Business and Technology Park consists of approximately 17 hectares. The Park has direct access to the N3 that connects Cavan town to Dublin. There are currently approximately 11 hectares of serviced marketable land available on the park. The main tenant on the Park at present is ATA Group (an Enterprise Ireland client).
The Agency have assured me that they are happy to consider opportunities to utilise the Park to attract other non-traditional type investments into the region, investments which do not fall under the general remit of IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland but which could create investment and employment opportunities. These lands are currently zoned ‘Industrial & Employment’. Any non-traditional type interest in the IDA lands will be considered on a case by case basis and subject to IDA Ireland Board Approval and Ministerial Consent.
228. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of appointments to State boards under the aegis of his Department and the number of appointments that have been advertised on his Department’s website since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46257/15]
View answerSince March 2011, I have made 139 appointments to the Boards of the Agencies under my Department’s remit. Of these, 71 were within my discretion; 40 were as a result of a nomination process; and 27 were by virtue of the Office held and were not appropriate, therefore, for public advertisement. In one instance, the initial appointment was made prior to 2011. Of the 71 appointments made within my discretion, 38 applied through an advertised process.
The current position in relation to the composition and future vacancies on all such Boards may be accessed through the website www.stateboards.ie, administered by the Public Appointments Service.
229. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of his Department who have appeared before the relevant joint Oireachtas committee since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46272/15]
View answerDetails of the chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of my Department since March 2011 who have appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee are set out in the following tables.
January to December 2015
|
Name of Chairperson |
Name of State board |
Title of Oireachtas Committee |
Date of Appearance |
|
Dónal de Buitléir |
Low Pay Commission |
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
14/04/2015 |
January to December 2014
|
Name of Chairperson |
Name of State board |
Title of Oireachtas Committee |
Date of Appearance |
|
Dermot Divilly |
Personal Injuries Assessment Board |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
15 July 2014 |
January to December 2013
|
Name of Chairperson |
Name of State board |
Title of Oireachtas Committee |
Date of Appearance |
|
Julie O’Neill |
NSAI |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
2 July 2013 |
|
Terence O’Rourke |
Enterprise Ireland |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
23 July 2013 |
|
Adrienne Murray |
Microfinance Ireland |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
12 November 2013 |
|
Michael Horgan |
Health and Safety Authority |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
19 November 2013 |
|
Ann Riordan |
Science Foundation Ireland |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
3 December 2013 |
|
Frank Ryan |
IDA Ireland |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
19 December 2013 |
January to December 2012
|
Name of Chairperson |
Name of State board |
Title of Oireachtas Committee |
Date of Appearance |
|
Brendan Walsh |
Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority |
Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
18 December 2012 |
March to December 2011
|
Name of Chairperson |
Name of State board |
Title of Oireachtas Committee |
Date of Appearance |
|
None appointed |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
In addition, the Chairperson of the then Competition Authority, Ms Isolde Goggin, appeared before the Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Committee on 24 July 2012. Ms Goggin was appointed on 1 October 2011 following an open recruitment process undertaken by the Public Appointments Service. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission was formed with the amalgamation of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority on the 31 October 2014 and does not have a board structure.
230. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of the Acts currently in force for which he has lead responsibility and that have Parts or sections yet to be formally commenced, including the purpose of same, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46287/15]
View answerActs currently in force, for which I have lead responsibility which have parts or sections yet to be formally commenced, are as follows:
|
Title of Act |
Section yet to be formally commenced |
Details or Purpose of Section |
|
Consumer Protection Act 2007 |
Sections 48 and 49 of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 have not been commenced as the Attorney General has advised that the provisions are incompatible with the maximum harmonisation nature of the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices which was transposed into Irish law by the Consumer Protection Act 2007 |
Section 48 prohibits traders, who accept payment for goods and services by different relevant methods (currently defined as cash, credit card, direct debit or any other method prescribed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) from imposing an additional charge by reason of customers choosing to pay for goods or services by one relevant method as against another. Section 49 provides that, where it is permissible for a trader to impose a payment charge in accordance with section (i.e. where the trader only accepts one relevant method of payment or imposes the same charge in respect of all relevant methods of payment), the trader must state the price of the goods or service as a single amount inclusive of any such charge. |
|
Companies Act 2014 |
Section 4 in part, sections 68, 981, 1191, 1248 and 1325 |
Section 4(1) in so far as it relates to Part V of the Companies Act 1990 (No.33 of 1990) (being Part V of that Act to the extent that it remained in force on and from the commencement, on the 6th day of July 2005, of section 31 of the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 (No.12 of 2005)) Note: Repeal of Part V of the 1990 Act is pending the Department of Finance's commencement of the Market Abuse Directive and Market Abuse Regulation. Required to be transposed by July 2016. Section 4(2) in so far as it relates to Regulation 6 of the European Communities (Mergers and Divisions of Companies) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No.306 of 2011). Sections 68(2), 981, 1191 and 1248 in so far as they relate to securities (or interests in securities) that, before the 1st day of June 2015, were admitted to trading or listed on any market, whether a regulated market or not, in the State or elsewhere. Section 1325 will not be commenced until Bank of Ireland (established by Royal Charter) becomes a registered company. |
|
Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 |
Section 98 Section 199 Section 247 |
This section of the Act is a reserve type provision that will be invoked only if the need arises. This section amends section 65 and 66 of the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997. It would be under the responsibility of the Minister of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to commence this section. This section of the Act is a reserve type provision that will be invoked only if the need arises. |
|
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No. 10 of 2005) |
Section 4(2) in as much as it refers to the repeal of existing enactments as per Schedule 2, Part 1 - Mines and Quarries Act 1965 (in as much as it relates to Mines), - Dangerous Substances Acts 1972 and 1979, - Safety in Industry Acts 1955 and 1980, (of 1955 Act, sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 31, 32, 36, 39, 50, 51, 53, 58, 59, 62, 63, 67, 76, 79, 80, 82, 87, 88, 89, 96, 97, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 18, 123, 126 & First, Second and Third Schedules) (of 1980 Act sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 17, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 42, 43, 47, 48, 51, 52, 54, 56 & Schedule) - Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Acts 1987 and 1995 (Note: The Health and Safety Authority introduced a Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Dock Work in 2015. This facilitated the repeal of a further 2 sections of the Safety in Industry Acts 1955 and 1980. The Department is currently working in consultation with the HSA, on Regulations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to bring the enforcement regimes for mining, offshore installations and the sectors affected by the remaining elements of the Safety in Industry Acts into effect. These will be enacted in due course and accompanied by the appropriate commencement order to commence the relevant part of section 4(2) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005). |
The repeal of Existing Enactments as per Schedule 2, Part 1 - Boiler Explosions Act 1882 - Boiler Explosions Act 1890 - Mines and Quarries Act 1965 - Dangerous Substances Acts 1972 and 1979 - Safety in Industry Acts 1955 and 1980 - Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Acts 1987 and 1995 - Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 |
|
Dangerous Substances Act 1972 |
The provisions relating to explosives: - Part II of that Act, - Section 7 (1) and the Schedule to that Act in so far as they refer to the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854, the Explosives Act 1875, the Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1883, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 and the Revenue Act 1909, - Section 7 (2) of that Act, - any other provision of the Dangerous Substances Act 1972, to the extent that the provision is applicable to or for the purposes of explosives within the meaning of section 9 (1) of that Act. (Note: A review of the overall Dangerous Substances legislative regime is underway and the repeals envisaged in section 4(2) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, relating to the Dangerous Substances Acts 1972 and 1979 will be considered as part of that exercise). |
Part II Explosives Section 7(1) The repeal of each of the Acts referred to in the Schedule to the extent indicated. - Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854 (Section 56 and, in the nineteenth paragraph of section 72, the words “or throws or sets fire to any firework,”.) - Petroleum Act, 1871 (The whole Act) - Explosives Act, 1875 (The whole Act, except sections 73, 74, 75, 89 and 96 in so far as those sections are applied by section 8 (1) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1883, for the purposes of the latter Act.) - Petroleum Act, 1879 (The whole Act) - Petroleum (Hawkers) Act, 1881 (The Whole Act) - Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1883 (Section 3) - Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898 (Section 6 (c)) - Revenue Act, 1909 (Section 11) - Road Traffic Act, 1961 (Section 122) Section 7(2) The repeal of the application, by section 8(1) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1883, of sections 73, 74, 75, 89 and 96 of the Explosives Act, 1875, shall not be affected by any repeal effected by this Act and, accordingly, the said section 8 (1) shall be construed as if the Explosives Act, 1875, were still in force. |
|
Workplace Relations Act 2015 |
Section 37. Sections 65 to 70. |
Section 37 provides for the transfer of the power to prosecute for summary offences under relevant enactments from the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to the Workplace Relations Commission. Sections 65 to 70 make provision for a range of technical and transitional issues consequential on the dissolution of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT). The EAT will be disestablished once it has dealt with the caseload submitted to it prior to 1st October 2015. Sections 65 to 70 will be commenced upon the dissolution of the EAT. |
|
Employment Permits (Amendment) Act 2014 |
Section 15 –Subsection(5)(b) and (6) |
These sections amend section 12 of the Act of 2006 provide for a portion of the employment permit application fee to be refunded to a person nominated by the applicant where the application is withdrawn or refused. Currently, fees are refunded to the applicant only. It is intended to commence these provisions when the necessary changes are made to the employment permits processing system to support such a policy change |
231. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46396/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is referring to a national of another EU Member State moving to work in Ireland the principle of free movement of workers between EU member States applies. Any discrimination based on nationality against EU workers as regards employment, remuneration, or working conditions is not permitted.
The Deputy will understand that I am not in a position to comment or advise in relation to the employment or other rights applying to any individual’s specific circumstances. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any concerns an individual may have about their situation.
Ireland has a comprehensive body of employment rights, equality and industrial relations legislation, in respect of which the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is mandated to secure compliance. The Workplace Relations Customer Service Section provides information in relation to the rights and obligations under the relevant legislation. It can be contacted at Lo-call: 1890 80 80 90. The website www.workplacerelations.ie also provides extensive information on employment rights.
However, in so far as the Deputy is referring to the position of posted workers within the EU, the Deputy may wish to be aware that the Posted Workers Directive 96/71/EC (the 1996 Framework Directive) aims to balance the freedom to provide services across the Internal Market while ensuring that the rights and working conditions of posted workers are protected. Posted Workers are individuals who are employed in one EU Member State but are posted by their employer to work in another Member State on a temporary basis.
The Framework Directive provides that posted workers are entitled to core statutory employment rights in the country to which they are posted including, for example, national minimum rates of pay, minimum paid annual holidays, maximum work periods and minimum rest periods. Employers may apply the rights of the home Member State (i.e. the Member State where the posted worker normally works) if they are more favourable, or offer enhanced terms and conditions as an incentive for working away from home, but this would be a contractual agreement and not a statutory obligation. In Ireland, the Framework Directive was transposed by section 20 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001.
