I have no doubt that Finglas should get the respect it deserves. I am glad that the Deputy recognises that funding has been secured. I did not realise that earlier. Some €115,000 was allocated over the past two years to recognise the importance of the monument on which I have no doubt the Deputy wants to build. The CMF helps to progress heritage projects throughout the country to ensure that heritage is protected as a community asset and made more accessible to complement the work happening in the community. Locals…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am delighted to bring this Bill before the House today. It has been a long road to get it here and there has been much work involved with the committee, colleagues and with public consultation too. As Deputies are aware, the past year has seen a surge in applications for employment permits. That has put much more pressure on the system and shown the need to have legislation to modernise the system. My Department has deployed massive resources to ensuring that per…

That was not me.

The Deputy did not write to me.

I will check that.

The Deputy might correct that.

I have no problem checking, but could the Deputy please correct the record? She did not write to me. I will check the issue for her.

I will check the matter for the Deputy in any event.

I will try to deal with some of the questions that were raised. I welcome the interest in this Bill and the discussion and debate around it. I thank my colleagues who have stayed for a long time. I recognise there is great interest in this legislation and I look forward to working with Deputies on Committee Stage to bring through the Bill. I acknowledge there is annoyance that we did not take on board all the matters raised during pre-legislative scrutiny. It is not possible to always take everything from pre-legis…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment pursuant to Standing Orders 95(3)( a ) and 181(1).

I thank Senator Keogan for raising this issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, who could not make it to the debate. I acknowledge the excellent work that is done on the full range of schemes supported by the Department, including community employment schemes, Tús and the rural social scheme, and the contribution these schemes and their workers make to communities throughout the county. We see in every county, and the Senator and I certainly see it in our county of …

They can-----

I thank the Senator for raising this matter for discussion. I necessarily agree that we should encourage everybody who is able to work to do so if at all possible. That is why every effort is made by the Government, including the Tánaiste and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to make the case that work always pays and should always pay. That is why much of the work of the Government in the past two and a half years has been on strengthening pay and conditions and the work environment. The protecti…

I welcome budget 2023 as one designed across the Government to help individuals, workers and their families, as well as the business community in Ireland, with the rising cost of living and of doing business, mainly because of Ukraine's war with Russia. This budget also future-proofs our country by investing in our young people, education, science and innovation. We are investing in innovation through all our business development agencies, such as IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and our …

I thank Deputy O'Reilly for the question. The Government and we as a Department recognise that domestically traded sectors account for a significant number of firms in Ireland and, more importantly, for a high proportion of employment across retail, construction, accommodation and food, play and leisure and many other sectors also. They contribute to the economic and social fabric of towns and villages across Ireland and every region and help us create jobs in all of these areas. As highlighted during the pandemic,…

We are trying to reach all of these companies through our various agencies. A lot of effort has gone in but our focus through the Department in the past couple of years is how we can fix relationships with Enterprise Ireland and the local enterprise offices to capture all of those companies. Very often, the gap that is presented to us and, no doubt, to the Deputy, is that when companies go beyond that ten mark, they can fall between the two agencies. The Deputy will see in the Enterprise Ireland strategy that was p…

Again, the ambition and the focus has to be to work with companies and to encourage more and more companies to take on international markets. That is the win-win for Ireland and that is where we can create more sustainable jobs. In any of our policy interventions, and I think most businesses get this, we have to also recognise there is a displacement issue. If there are four or five businesses trading domestically, all beside one another, grant-aiding one with direct financial grants can displace jobs in the other,…

From the outset I would like to inform the House that I am restricted on what I can say on this particular matter at this moment. This is because on 24 August I received notification that the High Court had granted a stay and an injunction expressly prohibiting me from signing the statutory instrument on 29 August, as announced. This injunction has not been lifted. Proposals for an ERO are formulated in the first instance by a joint labour committee, JLC, where it is satisfied that such proposals would promote harm…

Again I will make it clear to this House when I am in a position to do so and I have no problem with returning here for a second part to this debate at a later date. I re-emphasise that in our view the JLC process sits within the context of Ireland's volunteerism system of industrial relations and has worked extremely well for very important sectors. The advantage of the JLCs is that they see fair terms and conditions, such as wage rates and sick pay, agreed and given effect by an employment regulation order. For s…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which is at the forefront of our minds as Deputies in each area trying to support those who need care in the home. Ireland's employment permits system is managed through the operation of the critical skills and ineligible occupations lists, which determine roles that are either in critically short supply or are ineligible for an employment permit. These lists undergo regular, evidence-based review, guided by relevant research, public and stakeholder consultation and the vi…