Written Answers Nos. 32 - 37
32. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the announced job losses in the Cantrell and Cochrane bottling plant and the measures he will take to protect these jobs and others in the manufacturing sector. [2085/16]
View answerClearly my first thoughts are with the workers affected by the announcement of job losses at the company.
The decision announced on 12 January is part of a company-wide restructuring particularly of its manufacturing base which the company has undertaken following the loss of contracts for private label water which has led to serious underutilization of capacity.
I have spoken to senior management at the company in recent days and urged them to reconsider the decision in relation to the facility in Borrisoleigh but unfortunately this did not prove possible.
The Group announced that following a detailed review of its manufacturing and operational footprint, it intends to consolidate production from sites in Shepton Mallet in England and in Borrisoleigh into its manufacturing site in Clonmel. Under this proposal, production and packaging will be transferred on a phased basis from the facility in Borrisoleigh. Consequently, Clonmel will become the core manufacturing site for Bulmers and Magners cider, Tipperary Water and the company’s range of niche premium beers and ciders. In support of the proposal, the Group will invest in excess of €10 million in enhancing packaging and logistics capability in Clonmel, creating 80 additional jobs, and designed to put Irish-based employment on a secure and competitive footing. The company has indicated that Borrisoleigh will remain as a key transport hub and both logistics and warehousing operations will be maintained in the town.
The company has indicated that, where possible, the workers at Borrisoleigh will be offered alternative employment at the expansion in Clonmel. Regrettably, net roles lost in Ireland across the company’s operational network are estimated to be 54 jobs. I note the company’s statement that it will provide support and training for the workers affected. In addition, all the supports of the State will be made available.
Enterprise Ireland will continue to engage with the company as it undertakes restructuring. The Agency will continue to monitor the situation at the company and will continue to offer any assistance that it can within Enterprise Ireland’s remit.
I understand that the company has initiated the consultation process with its employees and their representatives who are impacted by the announcement. The company plans to meet with employee and union representatives over the coming weeks.
Workplace Relations Commission information staff are available to meet staff of the affected enterprises, either individually or collectively, to assist the parties concerned.
With regard to protecting jobs in the manufacturing sector, the sector remains a key pillar of employment growth in the Irish economy. The companies that Enterprise Ireland works with, including its manufacturing clients, are a vital source of employment, both direct and indirect, in every county in Ireland.
In recognition of that, I established a Manufacturing Development Forum to act as a consultative body to advise my Department on manufacturing issues. The Forum helped inform work to develop a new National Manufacturing Strategy, Manufacturing 2020, published in early 2013, and it identified that an additional 20,000 jobs can be created by 2016. The Action Plan for Jobs 2016 will contain further actions to support the Irish manufacturing sector.
33. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation given recent high-profile human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, including the beheading of 47 persons in a single day, and given that Ireland exported €23.4 million worth of military items to Saudi Arabia between 2011 and 2014, if he will review the export of military items to Saudi Arabia through the appropriate channels. [2020/16]
View answerMy Department is responsible for controls on the export of military items from Ireland. Under Irish law, military export licences must be sought in respect of the goods and technology, and any components thereof, listed in the Annex to the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order, S.I. 216 of 2012 which reflects the EU Common Military List.
Export licences to a value of €23.4m were granted under this legislation between 2011 and 2014 in respect of exports to Saudi Arabia. In most cases the licences were issued in respect of exports to systems integrators in countries other than Saudi Arabia and where these goods were ultimately re-exported in finished products to Saudi Arabia. Such re-exports are licensed by the relevant national licensing authority.
The licence values may not reflect the value of goods actually exported under those licences. Companies may include the value of expected repeat business into their licence applications and this business may not occur. Hence, the value of exports actually made under those licences may be less than the face value permitted under the export licence.
All export licence applications are subject to rigorous scrutiny, and are considered in the light of the spirit and objectives of the 2008 EU Common Position on Arms Exports.
Proposed exports of military products to Saudi Arabia, as with all other destinations, are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. My officials are in regular contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on export licensing issues. They consult with that Department in respect of all military export licence applications involving Saudi Arabia. My officials seek observations on any foreign policy concerns that may arise in respect of a proposed export; such factors are subject to review in the light of developments in a given region. Any observations which may arise from this examination are considered in the final assessment of any licence application.
Individual licences are valid for the export of a specific quantity of goods to a specific end-user within a twelve month period. A new application must be made for any exports above that provided for on the original export licence. All new and repeat licence applications are subject to the full export licensing scrutiny process.
The EU has a range of sanctions in place in respect of countries engaged in conflicts. All licence applications are considered having regard to these measures. Sanctions can include arms embargoes and various restrictive measures including prohibitions on the provision of targeted goods and services. There are currently no such sanctions in place in respect of Saudi Arabia.
34. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has sought to legislate to prevent a repeat of the Clerys store strategic insolvency and if he has met with Natrium Ltd. to discuss the future of Clerys store. [2063/16]
View answerSince news of the Clerys insolvency broke, I have maintained that we must be careful not to take rushed steps to amend the law and to create unintended consequences. Last week Minister Ged Nash and I announced that we have appointed two experts to examine the legal protections for workers, specifically in situations where valuable assets in a company are separated from the operating entity, and how the position of employees can be better protected in such situations. The experts have been asked to report by 11 March 2016.
As part of the twin track process, I have also separately requested the Company Law Review Group to examine legislation with a view to recommending ways company law could be amended to better safeguard employees and creditors.
With regards the latter part of the Deputy’s query, neither Minister Nash nor I have met with Natrium.
35. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she has implemented all the steps outlined in the European Union Council Recommendation COM (2015) 462, final, on the integration of the long-term unemployed into the labour market; the status of implementing actions outlined in the recommendation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2493/16]
View answerThe Recommendation referred to has not yet been finally adopted by the EU, but it is envisaged that this adoption by the Council will happen within the next week.
The Recommendation is aimed at spreading best practice, in terms of engagement with the long-term unemployed, across the Member States.
Essentially, the Recommendation is that Member States should take three concrete steps which open a pathway to labour market integration for the long-term unemployed:
(1) encourage registration with an employment service;
(2) assess individual needs and potential of the long-term unemployed before reaching 18 months of unemployment;
(3) offer a job integration agreement to the long-term unemployed at the latest when they have reached 18 months of unemployment.
For the purposes of this Recommendation, a 'job integration agreement' is understood to be a written agreement between a registered long term unemployed person and a single point of contact, having the objective of facilitating that person's transition into employment on the labour market.
Ireland, unlike a number of Member States, already has a system of assessing and profiling all newly unemployed people, and of agreeing a Personal Progression Plan which is in line with the “job integration agreement” envisaged in the proposed Recommendation. This system has applied to the newly unemployed since the introduction of the Intreo reforms over 2012-2014. In addition, the Department of Social Protection has commenced a process of re-engagement with those who are already long-term unemployed, a process that is now being sub-contracted to private providers of services under the JobPath initiative.
One concern underlying the Recommendation is the situation in many Member States whereby a long-term unemployed person, who exhausts entitlement to unemployment benefit paid by the national employment service, moves on to a welfare payment administered by municipal and local authorities. This can lead to discontinuity of service provision and loss of contact between the unemployed person and the national employment service. This situation does not obtain in Ireland, where Jobseekers’ Allowance is administered by the same local offices as Jobseekers’ Benefit; movement from one payment to the other does not therefore bring any discontinuity to the unemployed person’s engagement with the Department of Social Protection’s activation and case management process.
Given the above, Ireland is already complying with the thrust of the Recommendation.
36. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will allow carers (details supplied) who undertake educational courses while the person they care for is engaged in other services, such as school, maintain their carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2369/16]
View answerIt is a condition for receipt of carer’s benefit and carer’s allowance that the carer must be providing full-time care and attention to a person who requires such full-time care and attention consequent on a specified illness or disability. However, this condition is moderated by allowing the carer to work or engage in training outside the home for an aggregate total of up to 15 hours per week.
I am satisfied that the easing of the full-time care requirement achieves a reasonable balance between meeting the requirement for providing full-time care for the care recipient and the needs of the carer to be able to engage in employment or education outside the home – while also helping to address the issue of social alienation experienced by many carers.
37. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry for a device; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2370/16]
View answerQualification for the treatment benefit scheme is based on the insured person having paid the correct numbers of PRSI contributions, at the correct rate, over the relevant time period. The reckonable contributions for qualification purposes are those paid at the class A, E, H or P rate.
The person concerned was self-employed during his working life and as a result his PRSI contributions were paid at class ‘S’. As these contributions are not reckonable for qualification purposes for the treatment benefit scheme, he is not qualified for a hearing aid grant.
