Vol. 1031 No. 1
60. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if consideration will be given to merging the employment permit and visa application processes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62109/22]
Will consideration be given to merging the employment permit and visa application processes?
I thank the Deputy for raising this question. This is an important area and one the Department has concentrated on a great deal in recent years. We have made efforts to put in place the right team to manage the permits that have been applied for through the Department.
Much has already been done to improve the employment permit system. My Department is already focused on improving the service, with initiatives such as: the trusted partner registration system; the introduction of the electronic employment permit; and the multisite general employment permit for doctors. Waiting times for employment permit processing have been greatly reduced this year. They are now taking approximately three to eight business days to process, which is well down from where it was in January, when it was taking four or five months. A major change has happened there.
Ireland has a clear division between economic migration and general immigration policies. A recipient of an employment permit undergoes a separate application process with the Department of Justice for a visa to enter the State if they are a citizen of a visa-required country. Over 60 non-European Economic Area countries, such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil, are not in the visa-required category so their citizens do not have to apply for an entry visa from the Department of Justice after they get an employment permit from our Department. In time, we would like to see the development of a single application procedure for work permits and entry visas.
My Department and the Department of Justice are currently establishing an interdepartmental group to examine the legal and operational changes required to deliver a more seamless customer experience for users of the employment permit and entry visa systems. It is expected that recommendations from this group could be made to Government within the next six months. As part of that working arrangement, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Justice, our officials and I had a working session to tease through the options we have in front of us on this to try to align our systems. This would ensure we would be in a position to deliver a faster and more efficient service to those who are applying for visas and permits. My Department is building a new employment permits IT system that will take advantage of the latest technologies to deliver a fast and efficient service. We will ensure that the new system is developed in tandem with the Department of Justice in order that both systems can deliver a more seamless service into the future.
I thank the Minister of State for the work he has done in this area and for improving the service dramatically. We had a huge problem with junior doctors coming in. It has been agreed that 1,000 permits will be issued as general employment permits for those who want to come in as home care workers. How will that be fast-tracked? There is a huge shortage of home care workers. We need to make sure we have the appropriate criteria and training for those who come in.
The second part to that question is as follows. If you have people here who are on stamp 2 visas already, will they be entitled to apply for one of those permits?
If a person has an employer who is prepared to employ them, are they entitled to apply for a permit even though they are already here in Ireland from outside the EU under a stamp 2 visa?
To answer the question in reverse, my understanding is that the answer is "Yes". While every case is slightly different, generally once somebody is legally permitted to be in this State, they can apply for a work permit. I can deal with the Deputy on specific cases.
Regarding home care assistants, thankfully, we have made some progress on this. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, and I, and our Departments, came together with a working arrangement since last March to do some research in this area and engage all the stakeholders and providers of these services to see how we could best respond to a shortage of available talent to work in the home to provide care. The report contained 16 recommendations. If we implement all these recommendations, in the long run, they will be able to deal with a shortage of talent locally through training, initiatives, campaigns and marketing. In the short term, there was a recommendation that our Department would sanction home care assistants and take them off the ineligible occupation list. The ask was for 1,000 permits to be facilitated and that is something we have agreed to fast-track. I hope to be able to make an announcement on that in the next couple of days because it is an important area. I know the Deputy has raised this issue a lot as it is something he is anxious about so I am glad it is finally moving in the right direction.
Regarding the amalgamation of both application processes, the Minister of State is saying it will take six months. Going back to the original question, which is about the amalgamation of the permit application and the visa application, does the Minister of State believe we can have one system in place? I know this will take some time between the Departments to work out.
Farmers are another group that have a huge shortage of available workforce. What are the criteria for issuing permits for people who want to come in and work on farms? What number are we talking about in that case?
The aim is that within the next six months the working group involving both Departments will bring forward some suggestions about how we can align our systems. We will set out a plan for establishing a single application procedure to cover employment permits and entry visas. It is about how we can align our systems. We managed to fast-track and fix the delays in our Department by increasing the number of staff available, changing some of the IT systems and putting long-term changes in place. The Department of Justice is also making changes in respect of staff and trying to match up with us in our decisions so that is one area where we can improve the timelines. Over the next six months, we will look at different mechanisms and systems whereby we can align the application procedures and try to get to a one-stage process if we can. I can report back to the Deputy as that work is carried out over the months ahead.
In respect of the other category, similar to the home care assistants, we have been focusing over the past couple of months on three main categories. One would be around dairy farm assistants, bus drivers and home care assistants. We did make changes for farmers last year in the last review and, hopefully, I will be in a position to inform of changes in the next couple of days. There is an ask based on research for quite a high number of permits to be facilitated for dairy farm assistants and I hope to be able to inform the Deputy of good news in that regard in the next couple of days.
61. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress that has been made to date with the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention on Violence and Harassment, 2019 (No. 190); the next steps envisaged in advance of ratification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57496/22]
I wish to ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to update the House on the progress that has been made to date with the ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention on Violence and Harassment, noting the Cabinet decision at the end of last month to progress that and the next steps in advance of ratification.
Violence and harassment in the workplace are unacceptable and undermine the principles of human rights. We have comprehensive legislation in Ireland to protect against this and the International Labour Organization, ILO, convention sends a clear signal to workers and employers that every workplace must be free from harassment and violence.
I was committed to Ireland being an early ratifier of this convention. I am particularly pleased that we have met the timeline to ratify this convention before the end of 2022 in line with the Minister for Justice's new zero-tolerance action plan on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Since the Government approved its ratification on 29 November 2022, my Department has engaged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the ILO to arrange the signing of the instrument of ratification by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the depositing of the treaty with the ILO in Geneva. We expect to complete the process by the end of 2022.
The ILO is unique in the UN system with governments, workers and employers working together to promote decent work and advance social justice. I thank IBEC and ICTU for their work on this. The strong relationship we have with employer and employee representative bodies is fundamental to our ability to play an active role within the ILO.
The world of work has altered so much since 1923 when Ireland, as a new State, joined the ILO, its first international organisation. I am pleased that Ireland, through ratification of this ILO convention, is taking a strong stand against violence and harassment in the workplace.
The Tánaiste's response is very welcome, particularly as it is in tandem with the implementation of the third strategy under the Department of Justice. I know the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment conducted a stakeholder consultation on it. I am interested in the tenor of some of the responses that came back and the extent to which they highlighted gender harassment and sexual harassment within the workplace. It is quite striking that the convention leads so strongly with gender-based violence and harassment disproportionately affecting women and girls and how difficult that can make working life for them. We have heard from victims of sexual harassment that when it happens in the workplace, it is so often a surprise and it is so often that the victim simply freezes and cannot believe it has happened in what should be a safe space - the place they go to work. Women in particular face a spectrum of sexual harassment but for that to occur in the workplace where they must go every day, albeit sometimes remotely now, makes life extremely difficult.
The convention is a legal instrument that recognises the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment as well. It acknowledges that gender-based violence and harassment disproportionately affects women and girls. The convention calls for states to recognise and address this as far as is possible and to minimise the effect of domestic violence and harassment at work.
The introduction of domestic violence leave by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth goes beyond what is required by the convention and does represent tangible action by the Government in this regard. Ratification of the convention is listed as a deliverable in the implementation plan for the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Other actions in that strategy provide an excellent response to C190's requirements in respect of victims of gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work.
The timing of this is wonderful because the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, in which the Tánaiste participated at an earlier stage, will publish its report on Thursday, 15 December on ending gender stereotyping, in particular, in Ireland. So much of this, as the convention recognises, comes from what has been an unequal gender-based power relationship for many years. I would suggest that the Department could lean into the Department of Education in respect of its programme on relationships and sex education, which is really the only way to effect long-term inter-generational change - a cultural change - of the kind that is necessary to disrupt those unequal power relationships, which form the basis for so much of gender and other harassment but particularly gender harassment.
We will certainly do that. We are keen to work across government and different Departments to get this right and make some real changes in these areas. One of the things I have been pleased to be involved in in the past number of years is increasing the number of women on State boards and company boards. We have made real progress in that regard. It is more or less 50:50 or 45:55 on State boards and well over 30% on the boards of listed companies. Where it is still pretty weak is at the C suite - CEO, CFO and CPO. Boards are much better while leadership positions are really not great. These things will only fundamentally change in the workplace if there is an equal number of women in those senior positions in the first place. That is not to say men cannot be harassed by women but it is much less likely to occur. Again, it is something that is very much on the agenda.
63. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he intends to support measures to grant greater rights of representation for retired workers groups and specifically proposed measures to give them access to the Workplace Relations Commission and rights to consultation prior to any changes to their pension entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62118/22]
It is now a year and a half since our Bill on provisions in respect of pension entitlements for retired workers passed Second Stage in the Dáil. The Bill states that retired workers cannot be ignored and have their pension pots raided without consultation.
It passed Second Stage, but the Government put a 12-month stay on its progress in order to have a consultation period. We are now 18 months down the line and the Government has proposed nothing, brought forward no alternative, nor signalled whether it will support the substantive aim behind the Bill. My question is to find out if it is going to.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I have discussed on a few occasions with his colleague, Deputy Bríd Smith. As Deputy Murphy is aware, we have difficulties with the Bill. We put that on the record on the first night in the convention centre when we discussed it. During the Second Stage debate on the Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill, I outlined the Department's difficulties and concerns with the Bill, as drafted, and why it could not be supported by the Government.
If a person is in receipt of an occupational pension, his or her relationship is with the trustees of the pension fund. The person no longer has an employment relationship with his or her former employer. As the Deputy will be aware, trustees have statutory and fiduciary duties to act in the best interests of all members of a fund. It is the responsibility of the Office of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman to act as an independent and impartial means of resolving complaints alleging financial loss occasioned by an act of maladministration and disputes of fact or law in respect of occupational pension schemes and personal retirement savings accounts.
It is important to note that access to the industrial relations machinery of the State, which is what the Bill seeks, including access to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, is governed by section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990. This legislation provides that a worker means any person aged 15 years or over who has entered or works under a contract with an employer. A person in receipt of an occupational pension is not a worker and therefore cannot have a complaint dealt with by the WRC. In March of this year, my Department launched a public consultation on the issue of retired workers' access to industrial relations and the submissions received are available to work through.
The reason for the long delay is that 18 months ago I committed to Deputy Bríd Smith, as the sponsor of the Bill, that while I did not think the proposed legislation could address the issue or that it was the right place to do it, we had simply tried to find a solution to give greater access. I met some of the groups involved in devising the legislation with the Deputy and committed to doing a public consultation to see if we could find a way to do this. We are not convinced that the Bill is the answer. I have been honest about that from day one. I am still not convinced. The public consultation is in place, and there have been submissions. It is open to Deputy Murphy to work through them and to see if he wants to make changes to the legislation before he brings it to Committee Stage or to see if we could bring forward other solutions. For our part, we have consulted with other Departments to get their views on the submissions in order to see if we can assist in some way.
There have been campaigns for years by groups that represent more than 500,000 retired workers. It is 18 months since the Bill passed Second Stage in the House, but the Minister of State is just saying that we will have a consultation. Does he accept it is a problem that six months after a person who has paid into an occupational pension scheme for all his or her working life retires, that person has no say in any proposed changes, has no access to an effective mechanism to air issues or seek redress and that, in effect, his or her pension can be raided? It can be negotiated away, and the retired person has no input whatsoever. The person has no right to be consulted before any of those changes are made. One's income can be slashed. Does the Minister of State accept there is a problem in this regard that needs to be addressed? If he does not think our Bill is the way to do it, what is he going to do? Having a consultation is just kicking the can down the road at this point. If he had said this 18 months ago, that would be fine. A year and a half has passed, however, and it is not even clear if the Minister of State accepts that there is a fundamental issue.
Perhaps the Deputy did not listen to my answer-----
I definitely did listen.
-----or maybe it was the case that he came in with preprepared ideas in the context of what he was going to say. I very clearly said that following on from the commitment given to his colleague on the floor of the convention centre, we would explore the issue to see if we could help. We fundamentally disagree with the Bill because it would change the relationship of industrial relations discussions and negotiations and bring in a third party that is not still working for an employer. We disagree on that, and it will not change because, to be honest, I cannot see how we could facilitate it. I informed the Deputy's colleague that I would engage with her. On foot of the Bill and the arguments she made in respect of it, we met some of the groups involved and we said we would have a public consultation. That is now over, and the submissions have come in. They are available to Deputy Murphy and anybody else to look at and tease through.
We have engaged with other Departments, which are also looking at those submissions to see if any change could be made to strengthen the position of retirees and pensioners. It might not be for my Department to take the lead because it does not fall to us to do this. While I understand what is required to be addressed, we might not be able to solve it within the Department and we might have to work with other Departments as well. In the context of any changes to pension benefits payable from a scheme, the trustees of that scheme are required to notify members, beneficiaries and authorised trade unions. Changes made to the occupational pension scheme regulations 2015 require trustees to also notify groups representing the interests of pensioners and deferred scheme members of these situations. That gives them the opportunity to have their say at that stage but I understand from the groups that they do not feel that is enough. I am sorry, but this is a complicated matter.
I heard exactly what the Minister of State said earlier. He just repeated it. The essence of it is that the Department is going to explore the matter to see if we can help. That is great. Some 18 months after this was brought very firmly to his attention, the Minister of State has indicated that the Department must see if there is anything it can do. The Minister of State indicated that the consultation process has taken place. Does he accept that there is a fundamental problem here, and that it is fundamentally unjust that workers have had their pension schemes raided, both by the Government and by private sector employers and that deals done have had profound impacts on retired workers at a vulnerable stage of their lives, on which they had no prior consultation and no ability to impact? Does he accept that that is a fundamental problem?
The Minister of State makes the point that, as the law stands, retired workers cannot go to the WRC, but we get to make the law in this place. It is not a defence to use the phrase "as the law stands". That is precisely the point of amending the law, to say that retired workers should have access. Pensions are deferred wages and retired workers should have access to the industrial relations machinery in terms of being able to go to the WRC. It does not affect other industrial relations machinery; it simply says that they should have a voice in any proposed change that impacts on them.
Just in case there is any doubt, it is Deputy Murphy's legislation: I am not stopping him bringing it back through the committee and following the usual channels.
It is coming.
Nobody is blocking the Deputy from doing so. He is totally free to argue his case and bring the Bill through the system. What the Government is stating is that it does not agree with the Bill. We think it is a flawed Bill that will not solve the problem the Deputy wants to solve. It will also complicate the industrial relations machinery we have that operates extremely well because it brings in people who have left the workforce to have a say on existing situations within the workforce. We do not believe that will help.
In regard to the law, the role of the pensions ombudsman already exists in Part XI of the Pensions Act to act as an independent and impartial means of resolving complaints alleging financial loss occasioned by an act of maladministration and disputes of fact or law in respect of occupational pension schemes and personal retirement saving schemes. There is legislation in place. We are not the line Department in respect of that legislation. When I met the groups, I understood that their particular concern is that they feel they are left out and not consulted at various stages. My interpretation of the law is that they are consulted, but they feel they cannot put an agenda on it; they are consulted but they are not listened to. It may be possible to strengthen the legislation but Deputy Murphy's Bill is not the answer. I do not think he wants to hear that, but if he believes it is the answer, I am not stopping him from pushing it.
I want the Minister of State to have an answer. The problem is he does not even intend to have an answer.
64. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps that he is taking to support job creation in regional towns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58142/22]
The Government has set out a target of having 50% of jobs outside Dublin. While it is achieving that, the difficulty is that the vast majority of jobs are still located in cities and that the provincial towns are losing out, in particular on foreign direct investment. What are we going to do to address that?
There are a couple of questions in this space, so the answers are pretty similar. I know the Deputy has already had a discussion with the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, but I will try to add to that. Delivering balanced regional growth and job creation is a core objective of this Government and the Deputy is aware that it is something we are committed to. We want to try to help as best we possibly can. It is a key component in the recently published White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030, which sets out enterprise policy and high-end thinking for the next five or six years out to 2030 and beyond.
The White Paper emphasises the role my Department and its agencies continue to play in achieving this objective through direct assistance to businesses as well as promotion and enhancement of the regional enterprise ecosystem to encourage businesses to invest and create jobs. For example, it includes a target of unemployment not exceeding one percentage point of the national unemployment rate in any region.
Enterprise Ireland has a continued focus on supporting enterprise in all regions to adapt to a challenging market environment, and on maximising job retention and creation. Enterprise Ireland's strategy has set targets of creating 45,000 new jobs by 2024 and that over two thirds of new jobs will be created outside Dublin.
Regional development is at the centre of IDA Ireland's strategy. IDA Ireland is also committed to more balanced compact regional development and will target half of all its investments from 2021 to 2024 to regional locations. The results out this week will show success in achieving that regional balance, albeit not into every town and village that you would ask, but there is regional balance.
Local enterprise offices are a key part of achieving what we all want to achieve. At the heart of this is development and entrepreneurship in our towns and communities throughout the country. The LEOs will continue to enhance their advisory services with locally trading firms to improve productivity particularly around digitisation and reducing energy and carbon emissions, as well as supports.
The key strategy by which we can make progress is on the regional enterprise plans. We are now into their third iteration. Deputy Naughten is involved with counties Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. Thankfully there are nine regional plans in place. They are locally driven by local entrepreneurs involved with the State agencies locally across all the education, social protection, Enterprise Ireland, EI, LEOs, local authorities and so on. They are in charge of bringing forward their own plans. Money has been secured to drive those ideas and concepts such as hubs or other situations also in the sum of €145 million to drive that agenda. I am happy to work with Deputy Naughten on some initiatives, as the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, also said, to bring forward job opportunities in his town.
In Project Ireland 2040, we set out a hub and spoke strategy. Athlone was one of the towns designated for growth to become a potential new city and to help attract IDA Ireland and FDI jobs into the region. That is happening successfully in Athlone, which is fast becoming the silicon heartland. It now has more tech jobs per capita than anywhere in northern Europe. However the difficulty is that the other towns in the area, namely, Longford, Roscommon, Ballinasloe, Mullingar and Tullamore are not benefiting. The spoke is not working. What are we doing to deliver on that objective?
I was involved in setting up the growth centres. Athlone was a regional one, Sligo was another. We know our cities, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin and Cork, are already thriving. In the growth centres of Athlone, Dundalk, Drogheda and Sligo, we try to target the infrastructure in order that those areas are ready to create jobs and can win jobs. We have seen the success of that in Athlone. Stage 2 is that the region then benefits from that success and when companies make second-stage or third-stage investment, they often look beyond that regional centre they are in and pick the next one. When we sit down with IDA Ireland clients, we cannot drag them into an area, we must attract them through all the mechanisms that are there, to push them into a region. They then get familiar with a region and make decisions beyond that.
What is more important in the other towns Deputy Naughten referenced is that locally grown Irish companies must be the best chance that we can win here and we want to support them. I believe the regional enterprise plans are a key area to identify what works for each individual town and village into which you want to drive jobs. You have to put in place the ecosystem to make it happen, the supports and the opportunity to invest in buildings or hubs and all that infrastructure. However, there have to be some suggestions locally as to how to make that happen. That includes the key sites, which the Deputy flagged before in his area, that could be looked at to develop into enterprise facilities. That is what the €145 million can make happen over the next two or three years if the right ideas come forward.
I am glad the Minister of State mentioned that because as I have said to the Tánaiste over the past two years, 15 minutes up the road from Athlone is the town of Ballinasloe. As we know there is a limited ability to expand or bring a large investment into Athlone either on the Roscommon side or the Westmeath side because the industrial lands are not there. There is a 50-acre land bank available in the town of Ballinasloe that is in public ownership. IDA Ireland has point-blank refused to acquire those lands where the infrastructure is in place. The water, wastewater and fibre optic cable, all the infrastructure, is there and yet IDA Ireland has refused to acquire those additional lands and to market that particular campus to investors in the midland region.
I recently met many residents and business owners in Ballinasloe with some of the Deputy's colleagues and with Senator Dolan to do just that, namely, to focus on what we can do for that particular town. IDA Ireland owns other land in Ballinasloe and surrounding areas that is being marketed with some success over the years. In regard to that 50-acre site, I am quite interested in it. We looked at it before with a view to housing and so on. That, to me, is a perfect site that could be developed under the regional enterprise plan in conjunction with the local authorities putting that forward as a key action to grow an enterprise unit or enterprise centre and the opportunity to create jobs and the blend with education and skills. I do not think IDA Ireland has to be involved on that site at all. It has other land that it should prioritise but that is an opportunity. I agree with the Deputy that there is infrastructure in place. It is a perfect site, looked at through the eyes of the local authority with which the Deputy should work and bring forward a plan. There are mechanisms and funding opportunities in the regional enterprise plan to fund something like that and certainly to kick it off. There is a perfect opportunity to have an enterprise and education combination on that site to create local jobs and give an opportunity to Irish entrepreneurs who need access to a property solution in that area and to bring them back to create jobs in their own county. They are well capable of doing it with the right co-ordination.
65. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new IDA Ireland- and Enterprise Ireland-supported jobs in Longford to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62102/22]
On the back of very strong FDI news in County Longford recently with jobs investment from Technimark and an ambitious new planning application for expansion at the Abbott Ireland plant, the Minister of State on a recent visit saw at first hand the excellent work under way in a number of Enterprise Ireland companies. Will the Minister of State update the House on year-to-date job creation progress from both Enterprise Ireland- and IDA Ireland-supported businesses in County Longford?
I thank Deputy Flaherty for raising this. As he acknowledged, the Tánaiste was able to announce very strong annual results for IDA Ireland in 2022 yesterday which showed a substantial increase in growth in FDI employment on the 2021 figures. The growth in employment in 2022 brought the number of people employed in the FDI sector in Ireland to more than 300,000, which is the highest FDI employment level ever. The results showed continued substantial growth in FDI over 2022 despite the difficult global economic environment with 33,000 new jobs created. Job losses, which were at historically low levels in recent years, increased in the latter half of 2022 as some tech companies sought to reduce costs and employee numbers in line with reduced revenue forecasts and weakening company valuations. These lay-offs, proportionate to the size of the overall portfolio, resulted in less net employment growth this year giving a net increase of just above 24,000 jobs year on year. The strongest regional performance among IDA Ireland clients in 2022 was in the mid-east region, which saw a net change of 13.6%, followed by Dublin at 10.8% and the Deputy's own region in the midlands of 9.7%, which he has just acknowledged.
In addition to the high-level results announced yesterday, a more detailed analytical report with results split by ownership, region, county and sector will follow next month. In regard to the most recent figures I have available, I can advise that in 2021, there were 13,010 IDA Ireland-supported jobs in Longford, of which 186 were new jobs. Enterprise Ireland is currently surveying its clients to collect employment data so it is not yet possible to give employment gains for 2022. However the 2021 figures was 2,262 EI-supported jobs in Longford. In January 2023, we will have the employment survey from EI which will update us with the 2022 figures.
In regard to the property issue raised by Deputy Flaherty, IDA Ireland has prioritised Longford for development in its 2021 to 2024 property programme. I plan to deliver advanced building solutions in that period within Longford town. As the Deputy said we had a successful visit recently. I commend the team behind the co:worx hub space in Edgeworthstown. I recommend that Deputy Naughten call into it on his way home some day to see what can be done with a very successful hub.
We have plenty of very successful hubs in Roscommon.
We also met some very successful and hungry companies in the Deputy's area. I look forward to working with the Deputy. As the Minister of State, Deputy English, said, there is potentially space within the regional plan to assist them in acquiring space and in growing their operations.
I thank the Minister of State for that extensive response. It was great to have him in Longford recently. He saw first-hand the excellent work that is under way at Lir Analytical, where Michael Savage and the team are leading in the area of biosecurity in animal feed production and healthcare. The one deficiency that was pointed out related to a site for an advanced factory and also for Enterprise Ireland-supported and LEO-supported businesses. This is critically important. The Minister of State's colleague alluded to the regional enterprise plans and how local councils can use them to identify and develop sites. We have a see-saw situation whereby IDA Ireland is saying that there needs to be an onus on the local authority to drive this and the local authorities are sitting back and saying that IDA Ireland needs to come and provide advanced building solutions. Much like the rest of the country, we cannot wait. We need to see something happen in respect of this matter. I need to see what the Department can do to impress on the council the need to move forward with this.
I commend Lir Analytical. It is a really exciting home-grown company. I certainly look forward to working with the Deputy assisting its work. The Deputy and I had the pleasure of joining the midlands regional enterprise oversight group, which is chaired by Dr. Anne Cusack, along with programme manager Sarah Morgan. There was massive energy in the room where we met, with massive commitment from both the agencies and the various educational institutions. Given that some of the objectives in the plan involve capitalising on the existing strengths of the midlands in respect of smart specialisation, we will definitely be able to work with the local authority and its excellent chief executive, Paddy Mahon, on those building solutions. As the Deputy said, it cannot always fall on IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland to provide that. If Longford County Council is willing to step forward, as I absolutely know it is, we will certainly find a way to work with it.
I thank the Minister of State and welcome his commitment to work with Longford County Council. We have an excellent case study in Longford in a triangle on the Ballinalee Road between Abbott Ireland, Avery Dennison and Technimark. We have in the region of 2,500 jobs in IDA Ireland-assisted and -supported companies. That is a real template for how regional development and job creation can be a success. I am delighted to hear that the Minister of State will put his strength and knowledge behind efforts by Longford County Council to identify and secure that land. It is good to know the money is there in terms of the regional growth plans. We need to put the emphasis and responsibility very much on the local authority. It needs to be a tandem arrangement between it and IDA Ireland. The Minister of State will have seen from his visits to Longford that we have exhausted any land that is there and urgently need to identify new land. There is a significant onus on the county council to drive this and drive the next generation of job creation in the county.
66. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the forthcoming increase to the national minimum wage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62068/22]
This is to ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he would update the House on the forthcoming increase to the national minimum wage and make a statement on the matter.
We want to reward work and ensure that work pays more. Minimum wage workers are among the hardest working people in Ireland and deserve to be paid appropriately, particularly at a time of rising prices. In September, the Government agreed to accept the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation to increase the national minimum wage by 80 cent to €11.30 from 1 January 2023. At least 164,000 people will benefit, but we think many hundreds of thousands more will benefit from the knock-on increases that those on slightly higher pay will get. It works out at roughly €30 per week, €120 a month or €1,664 a year for a person in full-time employment.
Ireland has a well-established system for setting the minimum wage based on the Low Pay Commission and it is a system that works well. As the Deputy is aware, I want to move from a national minimum wage to a national living wage. Following Government approval in November, I announced the introduction of a national living wage for employees. This will be benchmarked at 60% of hourly median wages in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. It will be phased in over a four-year period running to 2026. The new agreed national minimum wage of €11.30 per hour from 1 January 2023 is in line with this transition and therefore next year can be considered the first year of a proposed four-year path towards reaching a living wage of 60% of median wages. The introduction of the living wage is the latest in a series of improvements to workers' rights over the past two years, including statutory sick pay, protection of tips and service charges, a new public holiday and the work-life balance legislation currently going through the Dáil.
I congratulate the Tánaiste on his period in the office he is holding at the moment and on the substantial increases he has made to the rights and conditions of workers. We have all been informed so much by Covid and the opportunities to work differently and in better ways. This is a really significant part of that. As the Tánaiste says, it is essential that work does pay and that we are incentivising work at every turn for everybody in the labour market, irrespective of what they are earning.
I visited Dublin Chamber recently. We have unemployment at historically low figures, but the single biggest issue for them is labour market shortages and trying to encourage more people to work in this market. I also spoke with representatives of the Family Business Network in Kilkenny. They informed me that approximately 173,000 family businesses employ more than 1 million people in the State, which is more than the State and foreign businesses put together. They are uniquely focused on the cost of jobs and the cost of creating jobs. I might come back to that issue in a supplementary question.
I thank the Deputy for her remarks. I hope that in times to come people will look back on this Government as one that has made a lot of strides forward in improving terms and conditions for workers. At a time when employers find it hard to recruit and retain staff, I believe that better terms and conditions and better pay must be part of the solution. We are moving towards a living wage. Auto-enrolment, which has been spoken about for a very long time, will become a reality in 2024. People in the private sector in particular will now have an occupational pension to top up their State pension in the way those in the public sector and the big companies do. Sick pay is a reality from 1 January. There is a new public holiday in February and the legislation that is being brought through on work-life balance and remote working is a good step forward, too. This builds on reforms like paternity benefit, enhanced maternity benefit and the restoration of treatment benefit which we have seen in previous years. It is all about making work pay and rewarding people for the work they do, which we believe will help to build a better society.
I thank the Tánaiste. A key part of that better society is continued low unemployment, continued employment opportunities and the opportunity to derive Exchequer returns from PAYE and people paying tax. One of the key parts around incentivising people into the labour market and addressing the cost of creating jobs is looking at taxation. I would reject any attempt to increase employer's PRSI by any political party in this House. We should look at measures around temporary reductions in PRSI if that were suitable, to support businesses as they try to continue to create jobs to support the Irish economy and people in it. We should also look again at the marginal rates of personal taxation. The OECD said recently that high marginal rates of personal taxation may continue to constrain entrepreneurship as well as attracting entrepreneurial labour from abroad. We have very high personal tax rates and marginal tax rates relative to other jurisdictions. The Family Business Network, whose members employ so many people in this State and who contribute €19 billion to the Exchequer, has asked that we look again at marginal tax rates and try to push out the point at which people hit the marginal rate to €50,000.
I thank the Deputy. I think the fact that people pay the highest marginal tax rate at such modest incomes is very unfair. That improves next year when people will be able to earn up to €40,000 without paying that highest rate of income tax and will only pay the highest rate on income earned above €40,000. If we look across the OECD and across Europe, Irish workers pay much the same amount of income tax as other workers do but the distribution is different. People on relatively modest incomes pay the highest rate and that is very unfair. One would have to earn £120,000 in Britain before paying the highest rate of 45% there. Somebody on €40,000 would pay that here. I know it is not an exact comparison but I think the House will get the point. We want to increase that threshold. Like the Deputy, I would be reluctant to increase employer's PRSI but there are circumstances under which we would consider it, particularly if it meant the introduction of new benefits.
One of the things the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is working on at the moment is the possibility of pay-related benefits, which may include things like subsidised childcare and healthcare. I would not like to see it happen unless it was linked to real benefits for workers and even benefits for employers as well.
68. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the Government will seek to exclude banks and investment funds from the scope of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62115/22]
This question is about the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. It is potentially very important European legislation that would make corporations responsible for human rights abuses, labour rights abuses, environmental abuses and consumer rights abuses throughout their supply chain. Unfortunately, it is being subject to intense lobbying by big corporations to try to water it down and make it ineffective. Most recently, they have succeeded in a serious watering-down of the negotiating position of the European Council in the form of the partial exclusion of the financial sector, which means its effective exclusion.
I thank the Deputy. As he knows, Ireland has been supportive of the objective of the proposed directive on corporate sustainability due diligence, which will play a significant role in promoting responsible business conduct. This is a complex proposal with far-reaching implications for companies and stakeholders concerning the prevention of adverse human rights and environment impacts. An EU-wide framework is best placed to both support the functioning of the Single Market and influence respect for human rights and the environment beyond the EU.
While I welcome the progress made and the speed at which this has been accomplished, I had greater ambition for the proposal in a number of areas, including favouring a value chain-based approach, in recognition of the fact adverse human rights and environmental impacts can occur throughout the value chain, and a greater focus within the directive on the gender aspects of the proposal, as women can suffer disproportionately from the consequences of adverse impacts. I raised these at the Competitiveness Council meeting on 1 December.
On the Deputy's specific query, a particular issue arose in the final text that came before Council proposing discretion be provided to member states regarding the directive's applicability to the financial sector. Ireland considers that it should apply to relevant companies across all sectors of the economy, including regulated financial undertakings. Furthermore, Ireland wants a harmonised approach on this issue to ensure policy coherence and avoid the risk of fragmentation within the general market. Accordingly, Ireland did not support the adoption of a general approach on the proposal. However, a general approach is now being adopted and the process now moves to the trilogue negotiations between the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
I understand a final directive may not emerge until the latter part of 2023 following the conclusion of the trilogue process. Therefore, it is still premature to focus on implementation of the proposal, including any policy choices that might arise for member states, in advance of the Parliament's trilogue with the Council and Commission, during which further debate will no doubt be had on such matters. I assure the Deputy I will be keeping a close eye on the trilogue process.
I thank the Minister of State. It is good to hear the Government opposed the watering-down that happened at the latest European Council meeting. Reuters reported that at an earlier stage in the negotiations the Government indicated it wanted to exclude asset managers and institutional investors from the scope and that it said in a submission it could not signal its agreement to including financial undertakings. Was that accurate?
Oxfam's lead on this has commented about the effective exclusion of the financial sector, in that whether to include that sector is left up to the member states. The consequence will be the financial sector can continue to bankroll human rights violations and damage to the planet without being held accountable as it remains up to each European country to decide whether it wants to make banks and other financial players clean up business. We could have huge investment in fossil fuels by private investors, the destruction of indigenous peoples' living conditions and environment and these private entities can now be excluded by member states.
Again, we do not support the overall adoption and we raised concerns about the financial sector. There was an issue during the early stages of the negotiation that there were different treatments in this directive from other directives. We wanted to support consistency in various directives around that. We also had concern about the inclusion within the scope of national social security schemes and institutions for occupational retirement provisions. Those concerns were superseded by our overall concerns about the ability of member states to exclude financial institutions, as highlighted by the remarks from Oxfam.
I hope the Parliament will adopt a strong position and that in trilogue this will be strengthened again and the financial sector brought back in. If not, that creates a danger, as the Minister of State pointed out, of a patchwork of different regulations in different countries. That is against the whole purpose of the EU and also creates pressure for a race to the bottom because investors may locate in countries where they are not going to be held responsible for what is happening lower down the value chain. Let us say that does not happen and the Council's position on the financial sector is ultimately adopted. In that case, will the Government give a commitment it will include the financial sector and that it will not take the option that may be open to it of not including the sector? Ireland could create a good example by saying it is going for a high level of responsibility and that finance will be included in this country.
The trilogue process is going to be quite challenging and Barry Andrews MEP is working very hard on this within the Parliament. He has kept in close contact with me and my officials on this. I do not want to comment on what the potential outcome of that process may be. I am not going to speculate on that, but we have laid our cards very strongly on the table at Council level around this issue.
I have 11 and a half minutes left on the clock and two Deputies who have waited very long and very late. If we can be a little economical with our time, we will see if we can reach both of those questions.
71. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the efforts to assist businesses with the rising energy prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62069/22]
This question will be introduced by Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
I ask the Tánaiste to report on the efforts to assist businesses with the rising energy prices.
I am very conscious business owners and managers are worried heading into the new year. The invasion of Ukraine has had massive consequences for the whole of Europe and not just Ireland. Indeed, we are now facing a global inflation crisis exacerbated by the war. Energy and other input costs have risen considerably. Interest rates are rising and consumer confidence is waning.
It is fair to say the Government has not been found wanting when it has come to helping businesses get through difficult periods and saving the jobs of the people who work there. That was particularly evident with the employment wage subsidy scheme during the pandemic. My message to small and medium-sized enterprises, professionals and farmers is help is available. The temporary business energy support scheme will provide qualifying businesses with relief on 40% of the increase in their electricity or gas bills up to a maximum of €10,000 per month and €30,000 in some cases. It is important businesses get their paperwork and bills in order, register and make a claim on revenue.ie.
Along with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, I launched the Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme for manufacturing and internationally traded firms in October. It is assisting firms suffering liquidity problems and those impacted by severe rises in energy costs. I anticipate further modifications to the scheme will be announced shortly. We are also complementing financial grants with State-backed, low-cost loans. The State-backed Ukraine credit guarantee scheme will be open within weeks and will assist the wider business sector with liquidity, investment in energy efficiency and working capital for the next few months and years. Furthermore, a new State-backed growth and sustainability loan scheme will open for applications early next year. This is a successor to the popular future growth loan scheme.
In the medium to long term, we will help businesses invest in energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. There are about 20 energy efficiency schemes already available but take-up is not what it should be. That is perhaps because people do not know about them or may not perceive a return on investment. We will work to ensure the right incentives and information are in place to improve take-up.
I thank the Tánaiste. There is a huge opportunity with that. I would like to know what level of interest has been expressed to him on the State-backed guarantee scheme. I recall during Covid there was scepticism about a previous iteration of that but the number of companies taking up the opportunity of those loans was actually very high. It is something that could be kept in perpetuity as a model for financing corporates that are trying to get through difficult periods or trying to expand in particular ways. The Family Business Network highlighted to me that energy is a major element in manufacturing.
Among its members, on average, fuel costs have gone up 80%, freight costs are up 20% and chemical, steel and similar input costs have gone up between 15% and 25%. These are major additional costs for any business. I will address energy prices in my next contribution.
Roughly 10,000 businesses availed of the Covid loan scheme and the Brexit loan scheme. The Ukraine loan scheme is essentially-----
-----the same thing.
-----a version of those for the current challenge. We do not know yet what the take-up will be like. The first of the main banks will be offering it in the next few weeks. We will have a better idea in six weeks or six months. What I can say for sure, though, is that the growth and stability loan scheme will be very popular. It is the follow-up to the future growth loan scheme, which was fully subscribed. This is for businesses that are expanding and want to invest in energy efficiency. We think that scheme will be very popular.
I tend to agree. As the Tánaiste becomes Taoiseach this weekend, I make one request of him in relation to the opportunity he identified on wind energy. I met representatives of a group of wind companies form Denmark, Norway and Ireland, which have European- and Irish-backed funds. They spoke to me about the opportunity in Ireland and said we are possibly missing the chance to realise it quickly enough because of the gaps in planning, grid and demand certainty. Even if the first round of auctions goes through and that becomes operational, we will have much more capacity than demand on the island. These companies are making the point that without data centres running as a constant, they cannot be sure there will be sufficient use. There is so more use needed - I am sorry, it is 1 a.m. and I am not saying this well – to be able to sustain the amount of energy produced. They have to build into the risk profile the possibility of turning off turbines in the absence of demand certainty.
EirGrid told me, and this is important to highlight, that it has missed target after target in relation to grid certainty. While the company needs more resources, it also needs to deliver the grid development target set for it. I know there is a big change on the way in planning. There is no point in talking about 800,000 sq. km of opportunity. It simply has to get done on a practical basis now before the financing investment moves elsewhere in Europe or to the United States and we lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
On the planning certainty, the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority will be up and running very soon. We need to make sure we do the seabed mapping as well because it will not be possible to grant consents unless that is done. If we need to find innovative ways to do that, we should.
With the exception of Dún Laoghaire.
That is true.
When it comes to grid certainty, the Deputy is absolutely right. We need to invest a lot in the grid in the year ahead. I had not heard the point about demand certainty before.
It is very interesting.
Even though it is 1 a.m., it was interesting to hear something new of that nature. At the moment, we have so much demand and not enough generation. I can see how that could flip very quickly and we would then be wondering why we did not see it coming. We cannot say that now because the Deputy raised it in the Dáil. We have to be prepared for demand certainty. The best way we can mitigate that is through interconnection, so that if there is excess energy being produced, it can be exported. I do not think the connection to France will be enough.
It is not.
We will need a supergrid. I have heard some interesting ideas around the supergrid and how it could be done. We will also need battery storage, for example, so that we can store energy and then use it at other times.
Proving that patience is a virtue, Deputy Leddin has been reached for Question No. 72.
72. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the initiatives that he has facilitated, or plans to facilitate, to encourage the engagement of IDA Ireland with Irish Rail and the National Transport Agency to provide public transport services to IDA Ireland parks, such as Raheen industrial estate, Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62128/22]
I ask the Minister if he will report on the initiatives he has facilitated or plans to facilitate to encourage the engagement of IDA Ireland with Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority to provide public transport services to IDA Ireland parks, such as Raheen industrial estate in my constituency of Limerick city, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As the Deputy may be aware, IDA Ireland released annual results yesterday. More than 24,000 net new jobs were created – the highest year on record. More than half of new investments went to locations outside of Dublin. Employment was up in every part of the country, including the mid-west, where it grew by 3.6%. Total employment in IDA Ireland client companies now stands at more than 300,000 for the first time.
IDA Ireland is placing an increased focus on sustainability and its current strategy targets 60 sustainability investments, that is, investments by client companies that contribute towards decarbonisation and the green transition. We secured 21 of these in 2022.
It is essential that there are serviceable sites with appropriate zoning, planning and the required infrastructure in all parts of Ireland to attract FDI. IDA Ireland's regional property programme uses leadership in energy and environmental design accreditation to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency in its building programme. Successful initiatives to date include simple yet impactful steps, such as the installation of more efficient public lighting and an enhanced focus on sustainable models of transport, for example, public transport links to business parks. It has invested in and installed bus and cycle infrastructure, where possible, in flagship parks.
I am advised that IDA Ireland's property division is working with Limerick City and County Council in designing a new cycle lane along the banks of the River Shannon and River Mulcair to the north and east of the national technology park in Castletroy. In addition, I am informed that IDA Ireland made a written submission to the draft Limerick Shannon metropolitan area transport study in relation to transport links in the city. The submission advocated for high-quality, connected and accessible transport infrastructure, be that through active travel facilities, public transport or road infrastructure.
I thank the Tánaiste for his answer. He will be pleased to know that the draft strategy is no longer a draft but has been across the line as of last week. It is a very good strategy. As the Tánaiste will know, there is a very ambitious plan for development of bus and rail networks in Limerick city as well as active travel networks. He will also know that the Government is reopening the Limerick to Foynes railway line.
One of the major industrial estates in the country, not only in the mid-west, is the Raheen industrial estate. I have met IDA Ireland, the chief executives of some major companies located in the industrial estate and companies such as Eli Lilly, which has a very exciting plan to set up in it. It has secured planning permission and will commence development of its plant in the next few weeks. There is a fantastic opportunity to develop rail, particularly around this industrial estate. As I mentioned previously to the Minister, we could build a train station in it and I encourage him to keep that in mind as he takes up his new role. This is a matter we will come to in the years ahead.
I am glad to hear the draft strategy is now a strategy. I know the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is very enthusiastic about metropolitan rail, particularly around Limerick and Cork. I have been to Raheen industrial park through Regeneron. I hope to see the Eli Lilly plant under way very soon now that the planning permission has been secured. I do not know the exact geography but I understand it would be possible to provide a railway station there as part of the Limerick-Foynes line. That would be a huge boost to have Limerick metropolitan rail serving Ennis in County Clare all the way to Adare and Foynes. Having stations along the way makes a lot of sense and would allow us to have much more sustainable and centralised development rather than the sprawl we have seen in pretty much all of the other cities.
I agree and a train station in Raheen is in phase 2 of the plan. The question is when phase 2 will happen. We can make a case for it to begin sooner rather than later. There is a role for IDA Ireland to be proactive and work with the NTA and the local authority to make that happen. It is genuinely a very exciting plan for Limerick and the whole mid-west region. It will also help rebalance investment towards the west and mid-west, which is critically important and is supported by the Government.
I realise I am the last Deputy to ask the Tánaiste an oral parliamentary question in his tenure as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. He has had a very successful few years in the Department. I wish him the best in his new role as Taoiseach, which I think will be a very successful one.
I appreciate the Deputy’s kind words. I have enjoyed being the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the past two and a half years and working with IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs to create jobs around the country and improve workers' rights. I have enjoyed working with the three Ministers of State who have served with me in introducing some major legislative reforms in the areas of competition, company law and consumer law, establishing the Corporate Enforcement Authority, reforming the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and doing many others things in that period, which has really flown.
I will be around tomorrow and will be taking Leaders' Questions on Thursday so I have a number of Dáil appearances before Saturday.
To answer the question, which is the most important thing, IDA Ireland has a role to play when it comes to promoting better rail access and better public transport to industrial parks. IDA Ireland gets very involved in air connectivity, which we all know is very important. Perhaps it needs to get a little more involved in thinking about how people get in and out of industrial sites because they do not always travel by car. There is definitely an opportunity in that regard and I will make sure it is on my agenda for future discussions with the agency.
