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; an…

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 i…

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 Justi…

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 supp…

Perhaps the Deputy did not listen to my answer-----

-----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 wil…

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.

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 …

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 enterpris…

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, …

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 ent…

I thank the House for facilitating the Bill this week, which I am pleased to bring forward. It was something that we discussed quite a lot here individually with Senators as well, who were asking for a scheme such as this in response to what happening with Ukraine and the pressure it is putting on businesses here as well. The scheme has worked quite well through the past couple of years in other forms as well. The Bill will facilitate the creation of the Ukraine credit guarantee scheme. The scheme will make low-cos…

I thank Members for their support for the Bill. We tried to have this debate last week. I get a sense from the majority of Senators that they want to support businesses through this scheme. I recognise the support and co-operation I have had in bringing the Bill through quickly and without pre-legislative scrutiny. That was important, as I mentioned in the other House. The Bill seeks to assist businesses, in conjunction with other schemes, at a difficult time. The temporary business energy support scheme probably i…

I confirm that we will be opposing the amendment. I can see the argument for wanting a longer period, and it is not that we disagree. The state aid basis for the Ukraine credit guarantee scheme is the European Commission's state aid temporary crisis scheme. The relevant section of the framework puts the maximum term of loan at six years. My Department is required to notify the Commission of the terms of the scheme, and this is already under way. By keeping within the standard terms of the framework as suggested or …

I again thank the Deputy for her co-operation. As I said at the start, I recognise the support of the House to try to fast-track this legislation.

I again thank the Deputy for the amendment which again we cannot take on board. I hate saying we will oppose it when we are explaining why we cannot take it on board under the existing rules. It is a formality that we have to oppose it, I am afraid. We oppose this amendment. The aforementioned notification of the scheme to the European Commission is based on a state-guaranteed loan scheme. Interest-free coverage is a different type of scheme under the framework and not permitted under this scheme. It would require …

The amendment is two-pronged. It seeks to have 12 months interest free, which we cannot do as an interest-free payment is not permitted under the rules. It also seeks to apply a cap. I do not have the breakdown on the number of lenders that participated in schemes previously. I can certainly get that for the Deputy. The intention of having these credit guarantees is to do two things. It is to make credit available quicker and cheaper with less collateral required by the businesses which are under immense pressure. …

I thank the House for facilitating the Bill's speedy passage.

I thank Senator Gavan for raising this matter. We discussed this issue in 2021 as well. I again extend my sympathies to the workers in Rehab Enterprises who have been made redundant. I fully appreciate how difficult the situation is for those involved and for their families. By law it is an employer's responsibility to pay statutory redundancy to eligible workers. In situations where an employer is genuinely unable to pay statutory redundancy entitlements due to financial difficulties or insolvency, the State provi…

The Government agrees the workers involved are a vulnerable cohort of the workforce. That is why every effort was made to work with them as far as possible from our end of it, in terms of the industrial relations agencies. Apart from that, as the Deputy is aware, the Department of Social Protection and the Intreo office had intensive engagement at local level with all the workers to assist them on their journey and ensure they got all their statutory entitlements. They also gave the workers advice and direction reg…