Tuesday, 29 Nov 2022

Written Answers Nos. 139-154

Official Engagements

Ceisteanna (139)

Ivana Bacik

Ceist:

139. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagements with church leaders. [58887/22]

Freagraí scríofa

The Taoiseach

The most recent formal meeting took place on 15 April 2021 - when I met with the leaders of the all island Christian Churches including the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches. We discussed the ongoing contribution to peace building, and the work that Churches undertake on an ongoing basis at community level in Northern Ireland.

Both the Church Leaders and I recognise the importance of engagement and respect for all communities and traditions on these islands.

Like public representatives generally, I meet church leaders informally from time to time in the course of attending official or public events.

State Bodies

Ceisteanna (140)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

140. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a schedule of payments made to barristers by the Chief State Solicitors Office in each of the years 2012 to 2021 and to date in 2022. [58994/22]

Freagraí scríofa

The Taoiseach

The information sought is set out in the table below.

Chief State Solicitor's Office Counsel Paid

	Senior		Junior		Total
Year	€m	No of Counsel	€m	No of Counsel	€m	No of Counsel
2012	3.57	121	5.93	265	9.50	386
2013	4.65	107	7.72	282	12.37	389
2014	3.63	103	6.18	251	9.81	354
2015	5.03	104	7.04	238	12.07	342
2016	4.75	102	7.36	231	12.11	333
2017	6.11	110	7.50	259	13.61	369
2018	6.46	97	7.48	232	13.94	329
2019	8.79	116	10.42	266	19.21	382
2020	6.33	114	8.91	249	15.24	363
2021	7.37	116	10.17	257	17.54	373
Oct 2022	4.86	134	7.76	260	12.62	394

Departmental Staff

Ceisteanna (141)

Pauline Tully

Ceist:

141. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Taoiseach the number of access officers who are employed in his Department, responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Department's services, as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; and the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service. [59300/22]

Freagraí scríofa

The Taoiseach

My Department has an appointed Access Officer in accordance with the Disability Act 2005 and publishes details about the Access Officer on the Department’s website (gov.ie). The role of the Access Officer in my Department is to act as a point of contact and is responsible for providing, or arranging, assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities who wish to access services provided by the Department.

Work Permits

Ceisteanna (142)

Pa Daly

Ceist:

142. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on reducing the cost of work permit renewals in view of the cost-of-living crisis. [59359/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The employment permits system is run on the principle of cost recovery. The fee is intended to cover the costs involved in administering the service, which includes enforcement as well as the provision of information.

The application fee for an Employment Permit was last set on 1st October 2014 and has not been increased since for applicants. There are no plans to reduce the application fees for the various permit types which are detailed in the below table for the Deputy.

Employment permit Category	First Application Fee	Renewal Fee
General Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months and€500 for six months or less	€750 for six months or less€1,500 up to 36 months
Critical Skills Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months	N/A
Dependant/Partner/Spouse Employment Permit	No fee	No fee
Intra-Company Transfer Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months and€500 for six months or less	€500 for six months or less€1,000 up to 24 months€1,500 up to 36 months
Contract for Services Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months and€500 for six months or less	€750 for six months or less€1,500 up to 36 months
Reactivation Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months and€500 for six months or less	€750 for six months or less€1,500 up to 36 months
Sport and Cultural Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 24 months and€500 for six months or less	€750 for six months or less€1,500 up to 36 months
Exchange Agreement Employment Permit	No fee	N/A
Internship Employment Permit	€1,000 up to 12 months and€500 for six months or less	N/A

EU Directives

Ceisteanna (143)

Cathal Crowe

Ceist:

143. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Ireland's position on the proposed new EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58692/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

A proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) was published by the European Commission on 23rd February 2022 and addresses corporate behaviour and due diligence processes for the companies within its scope. The proposal focuses on establishing a system within company law and corporate governance to address adverse human rights and environmental impacts arising from companies' own operations, their subsidiaries' operations, and their chain of activities. The proposal will apply to companies across all sectors of the economy, including regulated financial undertakings in the financial sector.

Discussions have been ongoing since March at EU Working Party level. Following on from intensive negotiations over the last number of weeks, culminating in a COREPER meeting of EU ambassadors on Friday 25th November, the Czech Presidency has indicated the intention to bring the file to the forthcoming Competitiveness Council on 1st December in order to agree on a general approach.

Ireland has been supportive of the objective of the proposed Directive. An EU-wide framework is best placed to both support the functioning of the single market and to influence respect for human rights and the environment beyond the EU. Ireland has been working to ensure that the proposal has ambition while striking the right balance of providing effective protections for stakeholders whilst ensuring that the measures to be implemented by companies are clear, proportionate, and enforceable.

The proposal will promote responsible business conduct by companies and has the potential to be far-reaching and could be built upon over time. Subject to agreement on a general approach at the Competitiveness Council, the proposal will then move to trilogue discussions involving the Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament. I look forward to a successful conclusion to this process and a final Directive being agreed at an early date.

EU Directives

Ceisteanna (144, 146)

Patrick Costello

Ceist:

144. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of negotiations in relation to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive; if he plans to ensure, as part of the Directive, that companies and financial institutions, including asset managers and institutional investors, will be held responsible for violations of human rights and environmental standards along their entire value chain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58696/22]

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

146. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if Ireland voted to exclude financial institutions, investments and funds from the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive; the reason for supporting their exclusion from the EU directive; and his views on whether such a move further damages EU efforts to clean up its value chains from environmental and human rights abuses. [58780/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 146 together.

A proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) was published by the European Commission on 23rd February 2022 and addresses corporate behaviour and due diligence processes for the companies within its scope. The proposal focuses on establishing a system within company law and corporate governance to address adverse human rights and environmental impacts arising from companies' own operations, their subsidiaries' operations and their chain of activities. The proposal will apply to companies across all sectors of the economy, including regulated financial undertakings in the financial sector.

Discussions have been taking place at the level of officials and there has been no vote on the proposal. Following on from intensive negotiations over the last number of weeks, culminating in a COREPER meeting of EU ambassadors on Friday 25th November, the Czech Presidency has indicated the intention to bring the file to the forthcoming Competitiveness Council on 1st December in order to agree on a general approach.

Ireland has been supportive of the objective of the proposed Directive. An EU-wide framework is best placed to both support the functioning of the single market and to influence respect for human rights and the environment beyond the EU. Ireland has been working to ensure that the proposal has ambition while striking the right balance of providing effective protections for stakeholders and ensuring that the measures to be implemented by companies are clear, proportionate, and enforceable.

I am aware of some media reports which suggested Ireland wanted the financial sector to be excluded. Ireland did not seek the exclusion of the financial sector from the proposal. However, during the discussions at EU Working Party meetings a number of practical issues were raised regarding the inclusion within scope of financial products, namely Alternative Investment Finds (AIFs) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferrable Securities (UCITS). This contrasts with the approach taken in the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR), which covers financial market participants rather than financial products. In the interests of policy coherence and effective implementation, a similar approach was sought in relation to the CSDD. These financial products are no longer within scope but financial market participants remain within scope. An issue was also raised regarding the applicability of the proposal to pension institutions operating national social security schemes as their purpose in this instance is to carry out a primary social function rather than investment. The current proposal now provides discretion to Member States in this regard.

The proposal will promote responsible business conduct by companies and has the potential to be far-reaching and could be built upon over time. Subject to agreement on a general approach at the Competitiveness Council, the proposal will then move to trilogue discussions involving the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. I look forward to a successful conclusion to this process and a final Directive being agreed at an early date.

Foreign Direct Investment

Ceisteanna (145)

Denis Naughten

Ceist:

145. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is concerned by the planned departure of an organisation (details supplied) from Ireland; if he has assessed, along with the IDA, the impact that the organisation’s planned departure will have on the perception of Ireland’s attractiveness for regulated entities seeking to establish a presence in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58751/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The proposed departure of Zurich Insurance Plc (ZIP) from Ireland comes following a review of the company structure in Europe, resulting in the commercial decision to re-locate ZIP’s European Headquarters to Germany, which is closer to its key markets.

My first thoughts are with the staff affected by this announcement. I understand that a consultation period is underway, and I expect to hear from the company after its initial consultation meeting with staff. I am advised that affected staff will be offered other opportunities within the Zurich Group and that no redundancies are expected to take effect before 2024.While ZIP’s departure is disappointing, what is welcome is Zurich’s continued commitment to its wider operations here in Ireland. Zurich Group employs approximately 1,400 other people across its domestic operations and in its other IDA-support client, Zurich Incorporated, which provides technology services to the wider Zurich group. It is also welcome that the separate entity Zurich Ireland remains committed to the Irish market with plans to continue to grow and invest in here, and that domestic policyholders will be unaffected by ZIP's announcement.

This Government remains committed to promoting Ireland as a financial services hub, under the updated Ireland for Finance strategy, which was launched in October. Its vision is for Ireland to continue to be a premier location of choice for specialist international financial services.

Ireland is one of the most important insurance centres in the European Union, and many of the largest insurance companies in the world use Ireland as their European Headquarters from which to write insurance across the region and beyond.

Direct employment in the sector is at its highest levels with over 52,000 people working in a diverse array of firms in insurance, banking and investment management, as well as the many thousands working in the provision of highly skilled services that support the sector in legal, audit and accounting firms.

Notwithstanding this announcement, the factors that have supported the growth of this industry in Ireland prevail, namely an educated workforce with a large number of skilled insurance professionals; access to the EU market for the cross-border selling of insurance; a stable business environment; a track record of success; and the necessary support infrastructure to enable the sector to thrive.

IDA Ireland works tirelessly to win new investments into Ireland from insurers and from other sectors, and it continues to engage with companies once established to support them to evolve and to thrive in Ireland. The agency continues to be very successful in these efforts with year-on-year employment growth recorded in the insurance sector, alongside the wider IFS industry.

Question No. 146 answered with Question No. 144.

Employment Rights

Ceisteanna (147)

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

147. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the implementation of an employment regulation order for security workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58831/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

On 24 August 2022, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was informed that the High Court had granted an Injunction prohibiting the commencement of the proposed Statutory Instrument giving effect to the new Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Industry.

As a result of the Injunction, I cannot at this moment in time proceed with the Order. To this end, my officials are actively engaged with counsel in obtaining legal advice on the matter. As the matter remains before the courts, no date can be provided for implementation of the ERO.

Departmental Staff

Ceisteanna (148)

Pauline Tully

Ceist:

148. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of access officers responsible for providing or arranging for and co-ordinating assistance and guidance to people with disabilities accessing his Departments’ services who are employed in his Department as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005; the way that his Department makes its customers aware of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59289/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

My Department, and its Offices, which includes the Companies Registration Office, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland, the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission, currently has six staff whose roles include functional responsibilities as access officers as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005. These are set out on the Department’s website at www.enterprise.gov.ie and if further information is required, via email to [e-mail] or to [e-mail].

Similarly access officer information for each of the Offices is set out at their respective websites at www.cro.ie, www.ipoi.gov.ie, www.labourcourt.ie and www.workplacerelations.ie.

Departmental Data

Ceisteanna (149, 150, 151)

Maurice Quinlivan

Ceist:

149. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employers who have received a fine not exceeding €5,000 as per the Protection of Employment Act 1977 for failing to consult with employees’ representatives or for failing to provide certain information to employees’ representatives when proposing collective redundancy in each of the years 2011 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59345/22]

Maurice Quinlivan

Ceist:

150. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employers who have received a fine not exceeding €5,000 as per the Protection of Employment Act 1977 for failing to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of their intention to create collective redundancies in each of the years 2011 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59346/22]

Maurice Quinlivan

Ceist:

151. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employers who have received a fine not exceeding €250,000 as per the Protection of Employment Act 1977 for affecting a collective redundancy prior to the expiry of the 30-day period following notification to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in each of the years 2011 to 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59347/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 149, 150 and 151 together.

The Protection of Employment Acts 1977 makes it mandatory for employers proposing a collective redundancy:

a. to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives for at least 30 days before notice of redundancy is given, and

b. to notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposed collective redundancy at least 30 days before they take effect.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent statutory office under the aegis of my Department. The prosecutorial function in relation to the relevant sections of the 1977 Act rests with the WRC.

This prosecutorial function is initiated on the notification of either a failure to consult with the Minister or the initiation of collective redundancies in the 30-day period prescribed by the Act.

Within the period specified, no such fines have been imposed.

WRC Inspectors are appointed by the Minister to be authorised officers under this Act and have powers to interview persons and examine records. Failure to co-operate with an authorised officer, or to obstruct or mislead them, is a criminal offence, incurring a fine of up to €5,000. In addition, employers are required to keep relevant employment records for 3 years to ascertain whether or not the provisions of the Act are being and have been complied with, failure to do this is also a criminal offence and can also result in a fine of up to €5,000.

In cases where collective redundancies are announced or notified to the Minister, the WRC is available to and does engage with employees with regard to providing information on their employment and redundancy rights.

Whilst redundancy policy is a matter for my Department and the WRC is tasked with carrying out prosecutions on behalf of the Minister, the outcome of any prosecution is a matter for the courts.

Question No. 150 answered with Question No. 149.

Question No. 151 answered with Question No. 149.

State Bodies

Ceisteanna (152)

Louise O'Reilly

Ceist:

152. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current staffing levels at Enterprise Ireland; and the offices, either head office or regional offices, where these staff are located in tabular form. [59548/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The current staffing levels at Enterprise Ireland and their offices, either head office or regional offices where these staff are located are indicated in the Table below. The figures provided do not include staff based in Enterprise Ireland’s global network of overseas offices.

Location	Current Staffing Levels – Ireland (Headcount)
East Point, Dublin (Head Office)	471
Shannon	46
Cork	22
Galway	15
Athlone	13
Sligo	6
Dundalk	6
Waterford	6
Tralee	2
Letterkenny	2

Departmental Contracts

Ceisteanna (153)

Jackie Cahill

Ceist:

153. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the names of all companies supplying private security and cleaning services in his Department, including the cost of private cleaning in his Department, the cost of private security in his Department; the number of private cleaners supplied to his Department to provide these duties as part of these contracts, and the number of private security personnel supplied to his Department on foot of these contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59730/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

My Department and its Offices, which includes the Companies Registration Office (CRO), the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI), the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), are tenants in ten buildings across the country provided by the Office of Public Works who manage the public property portfolio on behalf of Departments.

Currently the Department directly employs 29 Service staff across these buildings whose facilities management responsibilities include security related functions in the areas occupied by the Department and its Offices. The Service staff grades cover Head Service Officer, Deputy Head Service Officer, Service Officer and Service Attendant.

The Department currently directly employs 11 Cleaning staff to undertake cleaning duties across the buildings at 23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2; Block C, Earlsfort Centre, Dublin 2 and 59 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

The Department does not have any contracts in place with any external private security or cleaning companies. The Department does liaise closely with An Garda Síochána on security related matters on a regular basis.

In the other seven locations occupied by the Offices, each shares buildings and office accommodation with other tenants. These include other Departments, public bodies and private sector companies. The local facilities management arrangements, including cleaning and any additional security arrangements beyond those provided by our Service staff, are undertaken on a shared basis in conjunction with the other tenants and in some cases with local building maintenance companies and relevant landlord(s).

In the short time available to answer the Deputy's question it has not been possible to collate all of the relevant information from the Offices given the different variables involved across the various locations. I will arrange for the provision of this information to the Deputy as soon as possible over the coming days.

Ministerial Staff

Ceisteanna (154)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

154. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide a schedule of the employment status in the civil service of each civilian driver who has been replaced by an official Garda driver in his Ministerial driver corps; if VER payments have issued; and if any cases have been presented to the WRC to date on foot of the changes. [59765/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

In relation to my current corps of drivers, this information resides with the Department of An Taoiseach and An Garda Síochána. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is not responsible for employment records of my corps of drivers.