Written Answers Nos. 734-746
734. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to his funding announcement on 24 January 2017, the amount each local authority will receive to deal with eradicating Japanese knotweed, by county, in tabular form; and the local authority areas which have reported the existence of Japanese knotweed. [4500/17]
View answerMy Department is participating in a joint initiative with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to map and treat the invasive plant species Japanese Knotweed. This involves a rolling programme led by TII.
The amounts which will be allocated to different local authorities in 2017 is still under consideration in conjunction with TII.
735. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the detail of exact funding approved for the repairs to a bridge (details supplied); and if he will request Limerick County Council to erect a memorial to the two men who died tragically on 29 August 2015 while carrying out maintenance works at the bridge. [4504/17]
View answerAn allocation of €700,000 has been provided to Limerick Council in 2017 for repairs to Thomond Bridge.
Approval from my Department would not be required in respect of any memorial plaque which Limerick Council may wish to provide at Thomond Bridge. However, I appreciate that the local authority may wish to erect a plaque to commemorate the two brave men who perished and can see no difficulty with them doing so.
736. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the grants or other forms of financial assistance available to soccer clubs with amateur status. [4636/17]
View answerThe Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the Government's primary vehicle to support the development of sports facilities and the purchase of sports equipment.
The 2017 round of the programme is currently open for applications. Applications must be made online at www.sportscapitalprogramme.ie. The application period closes at 5pm on 24 February, 2017. Clubs and sports groups not already registered on the website can do so until 5pm on 10 February 2017.
Information on how to make an application, including written and a link to an online YouTube guides to the application process are also available on the website.
738. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of staff under the aegis of his Department in the clerical officer, staff officer or equivalent grade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4943/17]
View answerAs at 31 December, 2016 there were 116 Clerical Officers (103.93 full time equivalent) and 11 Staff Officers (9.3 full time equivalent) in my Department.
I have asked the non-commercial agencies under the aegis of my Department to provide the Deputy with the information requested in respect of their organisations. If you do not receive a reply from the agencies within ten working days please advise my private office.
The referred replies under Standing Order 42A were forwarded to the Deputy.
739. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will undertake a full review of the rights of artists here, including a thorough examination of existing copyright laws and the current Competition Act. [4089/17]
View answerIn response to Parliamentary Question No. 294 put down by the Deputy on 20 October 2016, I informed the Deputy that Government had approved the General Scheme of a Copyright Bill, the main purpose of which is to respond to certain of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Copyright Review Committee entitled “Modernising Copyright”, which was published in October 2013. Formal drafting of the Bill with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel is currently in progress.
Artists who are employees in Ireland have the same rights as all other employees. In cases of self-employed artists, as with other self-employed workers, the application of competition law would only be a consideration if there are allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.
740. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the advice she would provide to a person who has had an accident in work due to lax health and safety practices and is dissatisfied with the outcome of the Health and Safety Authority's inspection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4471/17]
View answerThe Health and Safety Authority (HSA) investigates workplace accidents and fatalities under the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005. The Authority is independent of the Department and the Minister in the conduct of such investigations and in its decision-making (together with the DPP) on whether to prosecute or not based on the findings in each case.
In instances where an individual is dissatisfied with the outcome of an investigation this must be pursued directly with the Authority in the first instance. The HSA is committed to providing the highest level of customer service. In this regard the Authority has a Customer Service Charter which outlines its commitment and provides details of what a person can expect in their dealings with the Authority. If for any reason a person is not satisfied with the service that they receive from the HSA the Customer Charter outlines how a complaint can be made to the Authority and how that complaint will be dealt with.
This Charter sets out the procedures in relation to both the making of informal complaints and formal complaints. A formal complaint will tend to be of a more serious nature and will be thoroughly investigated by a senior Investigating Manager who will endeavour to resolve the complaint within thirty working days of receiving it. The Investigating Manager will advise the complainant (in writing for written complaints and verbally for verbal complaints) of the findings of the investigation, any recommendations considered appropriate and the reasons for such findings and recommendations. In a situation where a complainant is dissatisfied with the response they have received they have a right of appeal which will involve an independent review of the response by an Assistant Chief Executive (ACE) of the HSA (where the ACE might have acted as the Investigating Manager the appeal will be dealt with by the Chief Executive of the HSA). Reviews on foot of an appeal will be completed within twenty working days.
For more information please see the link to the HSA Customer Service Charter on the HSA website: http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Corporate/customer_service_charter.pdf.
741. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason it is taking up to eight months for persons to have their cases scheduled for hearings under the Equality and Redundancy Acts by the Workplace Relations Commission; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3847/17]
View answerThe Deputy should note that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial function and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations or adjudication function.
Notwithstanding this, I am informed that the establishment of the WRC has significantly reduced the delays in the hearing of cases in some bodies that it replaced.
Specifically, in relation to complaints under equality legislation, I understand that during 2016 the WRC received 1,537 specific complaints under equality legislation. Of these approximately 25% have been scheduled and the average period between date of receipt of the complaint and the first hearing date is approximately 25 weeks.
The remaining complaints received in 2016 include a number of multiple complainants against single respondents. These complaints are "on hold" at the request of the parties for a variety of reasons, including the availability of the parties/witnesses, requests from parties or their representatives for the hearing not to proceed for myriad reasons including ill health, unavailability of a key witness, settlement talks etc. While these scenarios are outside the control of the WRC, they naturally impact on timelines for hearings.
Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that the ability of the Commission to schedule cases is influenced by a number of factors; the completeness of the information on the initial complaint form; the need to seek statements in equality/unfair dismissal cases and the availability of Adjudicators.
Complaints under equality legislation are, in general, complex matters, where the facts surrounding the complaint can be quite sensitive and often disputed.
Consequently, parties are required to furnish comprehensive details of the issues in dispute, in advance of the hearing. This enables each party and the Adjudicating Officer, to have prior notice of the arguments which the other side will be relying upon. Moreover, there may be significant aspects of law at issue. Affording the parties adequate time to address these matters at the outset facilitates the efficient conduct and smooth hearing of the matter later on.
The Deputy may be interested to know that in feedback received by the WRC as part of its stakeholder engagement, there was a strong view that both equality and unfair dismissal cases may actually require a longer lead in time for scheduling.
The situation under the redundancy legislation is that the Commission received 722 specific complaints in 2016, of which approximately 50% have already been scheduled. The average period between the date of receipt of the complaint and the first hearing date is just under 19 weeks. A considerable number of the remaining complaints are linked to complaints under other employment rights statutes, including linked claims for unfair dismissal. These linkages impact on the scheduling period, and similar to the situation under the equality legislation, external requests for more time are also a delaying factor.
I can assure the Deputy that the WRC is doing everything within its control to ensure that cases are brought on for hearing without undue delay. However, the Commission is always mindful that parties must have sufficient time to prepare for cases bearing in mind the often sensitive nature of the cases.
Should the Deputy have details of a particular complaint which has been lodged for eight months and has not yet been scheduled for hearing, she might contact the Commission's Director of Adjudication so that the matter can be investigated.
742. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action she is taking to prevent the exploitation of consumers by ticket touts and to ensure equitable access to tickets for entertainment, sporting and other events; the detail of her discussions with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3949/17]
View answerIn response to the public concern over the issue of ticket resale, I met with the Minister for Tourism and Sport in October 2016. My Department then undertook an examination of the primary and secondary ticket markets and the measures taken, or not taken, in other countries to regulate these markets. That examination led to the detailed consultation paper which I issued on 20 January 2017 together with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister for Tourism and Sport. Though ticket resale has been the subject of considerable comment, there is a lack of reliable information about important aspects of the practice, including its extent, the sources of tickets put up for resale, and the prices achieved, as opposed to advertised, on the secondary ticket market. The aim of the consultation is to provide us with a better understanding of the issue and to help us identify the practical measures that might be taken to give consumers fairer access to tickets in the future. Those measures may include changes to the existing regulatory framework. That will be determined following an assessment of the responses to the consultation and other relevant factors.
My Department has overall responsibility for consumer protection. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister for Tourism and Sport have a role on the issue because of the wish to ensure that fans can access tickets for sporting events on fair terms and because of commitments given to UEFA in connection with the Euro 2020 Championship and to be given to World Rugby in connection with the bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Major concerts and sporting events also draw large numbers of visitors to Ireland and are important for the tourism sector. Our discussions to date have focused on the decision to hold a public consultation and the arrangements for the launch of the consultation.
743. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of Enterprise Ireland companies per county that have an unlimited structure, in tabular form; the total number of supported jobs of such companies per county at 31 December 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4006/17]
View answer744. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of unlimited companies per county registered with the Companies Registration Office at 31 December 2016, in tabular form; the total number of supported jobs of such companies per county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4007/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 743 and 744 together.
On 31 December 2016, there were 206,868 companies on the register of the Companies Registration Office (CRO). 4,555 of these companies are individually incorporated as unlimited companies. Data on employee numbers is not available on the CRO register.
I am informed that of the 5,000 Enterprise Ireland (EI) client companies, 310 are unlimited companies employing 36,976 people. It should be noted that a large number of the 310 unlimited companies are individual companies within wider group structures. The number of distinct companies that have an unlimited structure and that are EI clients would be approximately 160 unlimited companies.
It should also be noted that my Department’s Employment Survey on EI supported jobs is conducted on a plant/location basis rather than a company basis. The total number of plants owned by the 310 unlimited companies was 350, as some companies have several plants across the country.
Information on the total number of companies on the CRO register by county, the total number of companies that are registered as unlimited by county, the number of unlimited plants and jobs by county supported by EI is set out in the following table.
|
County |
*Total No. of companies |
*No. of unlimited companies |
**No. of unlimited plants supported by EI |
**No of employees in EI supported unlimited companies |
|
Carlow |
1836 |
29 |
6 |
217 |
|
Cavan |
2286 |
48 |
8 |
1684 |
|
Clare |
4521 |
83 |
5 |
699 |
|
Cork |
23349 |
483 |
35 |
5725 |
|
Donegal |
4695 |
53 |
14 |
611 |
|
Dublin |
86997 |
2440 |
112 |
7647 |
|
Galway |
9253 |
144 |
8 |
603 |
|
Kerry |
5187 |
118 |
12 |
1854 |
|
Kildare |
7723 |
127 |
16 |
1503 |
|
Kilkenny |
3131 |
62 |
9 |
408 |
|
***Laois, Leitrim, Sligo |
4805 |
37 |
6 |
284 |
|
Limerick |
7664 |
159 |
8 |
1168 |
|
Longford |
1181 |
21 |
6 |
1505 |
|
Louth |
5324 |
115 |
18 |
966 |
|
Mayo |
3857 |
49 |
10 |
1109 |
|
Meath |
6700 |
147 |
13 |
2671 |
|
Monaghan |
2151 |
56 |
13 |
1656 |
|
Offaly |
2161 |
34 |
4 |
642 |
|
Roscommon |
1720 |
21 |
4 |
512 |
|
Tipperary |
4874 |
80 |
19 |
2057 |
|
Waterford |
3905 |
64 |
7 |
1363 |
|
Westmeath |
3261 |
51 |
5 |
353 |
|
Wexford |
4923 |
83 |
8 |
1679 |
|
Wicklow |
5364 |
51 |
4 |
97 |
|
206868 |
4555 |
350 |
36976 |
* Source – the CRO
** Source - EI
***Note: Where there are less than four plants in any county they have been amalgamated for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
745. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will consider, as part of a collective response to the Brexit result, revisiting the proposals relating to setting up a local enterprise office in Drogheda to service the Drogheda and east Meath area (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4015/17]
View answerAs previously stated, my Department has no plans to deviate from the current Local Enterprise Office (LEO) model that was put in place following a Government decision in April 2012. This decision, underpinned by primary legislation, provided for the dissolution of the 35 County Enterprise Boards. Subsequently, 31 LEOs were established in each Local Authority Area, with LEO Louth situated in the County Council Offices in Dundalk.
During the first two years of their existence, the LEOs have supported an additional 7,500 net new jobs nationwide in small and micro enterprises. The LEO Capital allocation was increased by €4 million for 2017 to continue this momentum. The LEOs will use the additional monies to enhance the competitiveness and longer-term sustainability of start-ups, micro and small firms, which is of critical importance in the context of Brexit. Targeted initiatives will be rolled out through every LEO, including Louth, to develop capabilities in innovation, market diversification, cost competitiveness and business management.
In addition, a whole of Government approach has been put in place focussing on Brexit. My Department and its agencies are to the forefront of this effort. Ahead of the referendum we conducted a risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across policy areas and this fed into the national level assessment led by the Department of An Taoiseach.
Finally, the Department launched eight Regional Action Plan for Jobs in late 2015 and this included the North East/North West Regional Action Plan for Jobs which covers Counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan & Louth. An implementation Committee is in place and is working hard to deliver on the actions agreed within the plan that was created following extensive consultation with stakeholders. LEO Louth is a member of the Implementation Committee and is very much involved in driving the Regional Action Plan for Jobs agenda in that region.
746. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she has examined payment policies and their impact on employees, for example, when employees are paid monthly and begin a new job they can be up to five weeks without any income; her plans to conduct such a review and reduce this time period to two weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4057/17]
View answerUnder the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, modes of payment of wages are regulated. The methods of payment that are permitted include the following:
- a cheque or bank draft drawn on any of the commercial banks or a Trustee Savings Bank;
- a Payable Order or Warrant, issued by a Minister of the Government, Local Authority, etc.;
- a Postal Order, Money Order or Payable Order Warrant issued by or drawn on An Post;
- a credit transfer to an account specified by the employee;
- cash.
This Act also requires employers to provide a statement regarding wages to employees and regulates the deductions from wages that can be made. Payment intervals are not regulated. The matter is essentially a matter of contract between an employer and an employee. As this matter has not been one of contention, I have no plans to regulate to create a statutory upper limit of two weeks.
The Terms of Employment Information Act 1994 (as amended) (the 1994 Act) provides that an employer must provide an employee with a written statement of certain particulars of the terms of employment, including “the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or any other interval”.
I am reviewing certain aspects of the 1994 Act in the context of bringing forward proposals in response to the University of Limerick Study on zero hour contracts and low hour contracts. The policy response will seek to ensure that workers are better informed about the nature of their employment arrangements and their core terms at an early stage in their employment. In this respect, my Department is currently engaged in a dialogue process with ICTU and Ibec with a view to securing broad agreement before proposals are finalised. This work is nearing conclusion.
