I thank Senators for their contributions. I thank everyone for their involvement in and support for the SME community and the agricultural and food-producing community. We are all aware of all the jobs both those sectors create and want them to get back to employing and also to growing their businesses as well. I will go through some of the comments. Earlier, I reflected on how urgent this Bill was and I thank both Houses for their co-operation in not availing of pre-legislative scrutiny and dealing with it directl…

I thank Deputy Barry for his Bill and the conversation we can have about this and amendments needed in legislation to strengthen the rights of workers, which the Government is prepared to do. I have listened to the speeches and, like everybody else here, I sympathise with the workers in Debenhams and other workers facing redundancy in other situations because workers are the big losers in a redundancy. They lose their jobs, their careers of 20 or 30 years, their families are affected and there is an immense knock-o…

Sorry, I did not interrupt anyone else. Beyond that, we stand behind that with statutory payments and we pay out. In the Debenhams case, €13 million has been paid out for all their entitlements. I know it does not completely deal with their further collective entitlements but on the statutory rights around holiday pay, workers pay, time in lieu it is all there, whatever their entitlements are, it is dealt with. Wages and salaries of employees are protected, holiday pay owed to employees and compensation and damages…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I apologise for being delayed. I cannot up run up the steps in this Chamber as quickly as I can those in the other Chamber. I welcome the opportunity to present the Loan Guarantee Schemes Arrangements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021 to the House. This short, technical Bill will enable the Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Agriculture, Food and the Marine to enter into agreements with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland…

It was remiss of me at the outset not to thank the Ceann Comhairle and all of the Deputies, mainly from the Opposition to be fair, who agreed to facilitate the quick progress of this legislation through the Houses. The legislation did not have to go through the full committee procedure and that has assisted in its speedy progress. I thank everyone for their assistance in that regard. I accept that it is not something that we should do too often. We have tried to limit it, although I did write to the Ceann Comhairle…

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for her support for the Bill in general and I accept the reason for the amendment. It is a valid point that we engage with businesses. I assure the House, if anyone wants to check my diary as proof, that is what we do and have been doing practically every day since I took up this position in the Department last July. I am happy to engage with businesses of all sizes throughout the country and the representative bodies through the various forums in which we are involved. We try to give as muc…

I assure the Deputy that we do have one-on-one engagements. I have an interest in finance due to my background and I often engage with companies on a one-on-one basis to assess their figures. A question was asked earlier about companies that do not pay rates and are missing out on supports. While they do receive the wage subsidy payments and can access finance and some of the schemes, they are not getting access to all of them. We have engaged with that sector and I have engaged with quite a few of the different bu…

The Ceann Comhairle will be glad to hear that I am in agreement with the Deputy on this issue. We have found some common ground and we both recognise the great and important work these inspectors, and the WRC in general, are doing. They are there to make sure employees are secure in their employment and that their conditions are being met satisfactorily. That is why we value the work of the WRC and its inspectors. We are absolutely committed to increasing their numbers. To give some context, the WRC is an independe…

I am glad to be able to confirm for the Deputy that the recruitment process for inspectors is under way. I am sure she is aware of that. That is why the extra funding was provided, in order that we could reach those numbers. Through the Public Appointments Service, a recruitment campaign is in train in conjunction with the WRC for an increase in the numbers of both EO and HEO inspectors. I was not in the Department at the time but it is my understanding that, after the need was identified in 2006 or 2007, the budge…

I thank Deputy O'Dea for raising this issue and for giving me the opportunity, on behalf of the Department, to outline the position. The Deputy's question relates specifically to Raheen in Limerick but is also concerned with the WSS in general so I will try to address both the national and local aspects of this. The WSS is an employment support to private sector employers, the aim of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and so increase the number of people with disabilities obtaining a…

I understand why Deputy O'Dea has brought this to the floor of the House and I know it is not a political issue for him at all. Deputy O'Dea and other Deputies and Senators from the area have raised this matter directly with Ministers because they genuinely care. This employment opportunity has been very beneficial for those who avail of the scheme and the support. To be clear, the approach to this is not in any way a cost saving exercise from the Department or the Government. The design of the wage subsidy scheme …

There were in excess of 13,000 applications last year and we hope to build on that this year. The funding is allocated through our Department as the Department has responsibility for the policy. There is also another round of the online retail scheme that is operated by Enterprise Ireland. It is hoped that will be announced during February or early in March.

We will manage. The Leas-Chathaoirleach can give me a kick to remind me when we are nearer the time. I thank all the contributors to this debate and Senator Currie for bringing forward the motion to give us the opportunity to have this conversation.

Could we not push it to 7 p.m.? No, there is no problem with that. I am conscious of the rules in having to finish by 6.30 p.m. I compliment Senator Currie on bringing forward the motion. This is a conversation that we need to have as a country. It is one we have been having over the past 12 months, but it had started before that. We need to build on what has gone before. Senators raised various issues which need to be addressed. The Tánaiste launched the strategy a few weeks ago. It is an action plan but it also g…

We had concerns about it. It is not opposed. It was a letter in which concerns were raised, which is part of the conversations we have on the way to a directive. I sat here politely while the Senator misled the House earlier. I ask him not interrupt me when I am trying to make a point.

The House was misled earlier when the impression was given that the Government imposed a directive. We, along with many other countries – I understand 12 or 13 were included - wrote to the EU to raise some concerns regarding a directive relating to the process to get there. That is the way we have always done our business and the Tánaiste has been very clear on this. The Department has responsibility for employment rights and creating jobs. We are committed to employment rights, and our record shows that.

Senator Gavan should not try to mislead the House. It does not help politics.

I have said repeatedly in these Houses that I have no issue with debating facts and having factual conversations. I do not like people who mislead, tell lies or exaggerate positions. It does not help any debate. I will park that now. In those situations in Europe, we are very much involved in progressive legislation and employment rights. The illusion that there is no collective bargaining in this country is wrong. We have collective bargaining, and our unions are very strong on and involved with that. Legislation …

-----in 2015. We are very committed to upgrading that. On the subject of this debate, remote working, everyone touched on its benefits, how important it is for family and community life and the opportunities it provides. Over the past year many people were sent home to work remotely in an unplanned way and this has had various consequences. Many difficulties have been worked out over the past year and conversations became more planned and organised. We can see the benefits of working from home. If it is planned, it…

My thanks to Deputy Cronin for raising the issue. She has touched on several cases. I probably cannot comment on all of them because they are simply examples the Deputy is picking out. I am not familiar with the various stories but I will try to talk in general about the issue. Certainly, we can follow up on specific cases if the Deputy wishes. There are protocols in place and methods to deal with this. The Deputy has raised an array of situations. I am unsure what part of the country the Deputy is referring to so …