I again thank the Senator for raising the issue. I assure him that we recognise it is extremely important. An efficient and responsive employment permit system is a critical lever in addressing the economy’s skills needs and in ensuring that talent is attracted to Ireland from non-EEA sources. Its success in this regard is reflected in the flow of skilled non-EEA professionals to the country and the critical role they play in the continued growth of the economy. The reviews to which I referred are guided by researc…

I thank the Deputy for the question. On 31 August 2021, the Government published Reframing the Challenge: Continuing our Recovery and Reconnecting, containing updated guidance to take effect from 20 September 2021, as part of a gradual and careful reopening process in advance of the further planned relaxation of restrictions on 22 October. A sub-group of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, which is the forum for high-level dialogue between Government, trade union and employer representatives on matters relate…

Again, I thank the Deputy for raising the question. He had not flagged any particular area in his question but I am happy to take on board his advice, guidance and suggestions. They will be passed on. When any advice is updated on movement restrictions, the work safely protocol in place at the time is the one to be followed. The new version that will be published in the next couple of days will be about the sixth or seventh version. Workers going back to work at that stage will follow that protocol. The protocol ha…

On the matter of people going back to work in schools, they have been at work in schools since last autumn and have been teaching consistently throughout the period. They went back to school under the various protocols. The return to work safely protocol is the standard across all sectors. Naturally, each area — schools are a prime example — go further than that. Schools do so under the direction of the Department of Education. That is what has happened. We have had quite a good success story over the past 12 month…

To be very clear, we have had great engagement with all employers on the wage levels set in this country. The majority of employers go well above what is required. We have protections in place in regard to employee pay and conditions, and we have rules and regulations that have to be enforced. I cannot comment on any-----

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this question. We would see encouraging people to go online as a very important response to the current sutuation in retail. As the largest private sector employer, retail is a key element in providing for the needs of society and other sectors of the economy and it is vital that it continues to develop capability and remain competitive both on the high street and online to avail of all of those other customers that it can reach. Trading online is a very important route for retail…

The Deputy has raised an important point in that this is something we are trying to get the balance right on. We believe that the success and the future growth of the retail sector is to develop a sustainable online retail business as well as to continue with the high street presence. As a Government, under the programme for Government, our intention is to support both elements of that. The online trading vouchers are to enable those who already have a digital presence to expand that and to increase their sales and…

I do not have those figures on me but I will certainly get them for Deputy Stanton. What we generally see is that any business that invests in the digitalisation agenda increases its sales as well as driving its innovation or its business. To allay concerns about online versus high street, the town centre first principal and approach is highly recommended in the programme for Government, and the framework to enable that work, which involves our Department, under the guidance of the Tánaiste, along with the Departme…

I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this question. If it is okay, I might answer it because the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and I chair the regional enterprise strategies, on behalf of the Tánaiste. Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of the Government. Our Department is overseeing the development of nine new regional enterprise plans which will bring us out to 2024. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, and I chair eight of them and the Tánaiste chairs the Du…

I took time when I was in Tipperary last week to drive up and down nearly every street and every part of Tipperary town and I could see exactly what the Deputy is saying. It is an area that, in my view, has been suffering decline for a long number of years, not just in the past three or four years but possibly for even 20 or 30 years, and not because of Covid or Brexit or anything else. It is fair to say the bypass will make a big difference and is important. The message I got from all the groups I met in Tipperary…

Sorry, Chair. I will make one last point. The main request I got from the briefing was for land for light industrial use. I think that is what the Deputy is looking for, and that is something on which I am committed to working with them.

Again, I would be very happy to engage with Deputy Cahill on that because we are very clear and I know from talking to the local authorities that Joe McGrath, Anthony Fitzgerald and the other team involved in the hub there are very anxious that solutions are found in conjunction with all our Departments and agencies. Under the direction of the regional plans we are asking the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and local authorities to work together. There is a very strong relationship there, so I am of the view that a solutio…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. This is a common theme that we have dealt with over the last couple of months. We have engaged with many sectors that are having difficulty filling job vacancies. As the Deputy mentioned, food processing is one of those. I have engaged with these sectors and they clearly show me where they are missing out on opportunities to expand and grow. They cannot reach their customers. It is an issue in many sectors. To be clear, the policy responsibility for each of the individu…

The current waiting time is about 11 weeks for trusted partners, people with regular engagement permits, and 17 weeks for those who are not, which is extremely long. Waiting times were considerably less than that up to a couple of months ago. It is still better than most countries we compete with. Along with the Tánaiste, I met the Secretary General and officials from the section to discuss having additional staff resources to process those applications. Those staff are now working extremely hard and taking on over…

I am trying to have a useful discussion.

That is fine.

However, the Deputy was not complaining.

I think he wants the answer I am going to give him.

Fine.

I understand the procedures but I had understood there is an allocation to discuss the overall topic and I am trying to get the full answer in. The difficulty we have is that many employers are now contacting us looking for permits. They are asking us to go beyond the European labour market to find resources. That is a difficult piece to address when more than 100,000 people are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment and more than 100,000 people are deemed to be long-term unemployed as well. We are trying …