In one fell swoop last week, Drogheda lost 60% of its hotel beds. The D Hotel will now be used exclusively to accommodate families who are IP applicants. Government policy on accommodation serves neither vulnerable children nor families of the local economy well. The Minister will know that extremists organised a protest in Drogheda on Saturday. Some 300 people attended; 40,000 people from Drogheda did not. I have told the Minister, and he knows this, that this is only about losing tourism beds and there is the evi…

-----because we know that Ukrainian families are also hosted in hotels providing accommodation for commercial use as well. Where there is a shortfall in accommodation-----

-----the local authority should be supported to use taxpayers' money to turn around and repurpose local buildings for accommodation and long-term community gain. Will the Minister accept my proposals?

I am pleased to speak on this solutions oriented motion on behalf of the Labour Party. The Labour Party is a party that uniquely values and understands the issue of work, the question of work, the dignity of work, and the value of work that contributes to our society. We cannot have the kind of decent work that we strive to have if we do not understand how business works and if we do not try to create the conditions in which viable businesses thrive. This is the essence of social democracy: good jobs in a regulated…

Will the Minister of State elaborate on comments made last week about the Minister’s decision to pause the increase that was due in minimum salary rates in respect of the general employment permit for healthcare assistants and home care support workers from non-EEA areas? Consequent to that, will he consider the introduction of a joint labour committee or employment regulation order system for those sectors?

I thank the Minister of State very much for his response and he has explained the rationale as to why what I describe as an exemption has been provided to the private nursing home sector for non-EEA healthcare assistants and home support workers. I accept the Minister of State's good faith and bona fides here. We engaged on this in another context in this Chamber last week. From the media coverage surrounding this, it seems to me that Nursing Homes Ireland made the case that private operators simply cannot afford t…

It looks like there is another increase due in January of next year and a subsequent increase is due in January 2026. That will take the threshold to €39,000. That is some leap from €27,000. There is one way to resolve all of this and to obviate the need for deferrals at all. We know the private nursing home sector is simply synonymous with low pay and poor conditions when it comes to healthcare assistants and home care support workers. I made a case for the joint labour committee and the ERO system for a number of…

I am happy to defer to my colleague from Louth. It seems that 60% of the contingent of Louth Deputies are now present in the Chamber. I was not aware that there was that much interest in the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill, but I am pleased to see there is. I am also pleased to have the opportunity to contribute on this Bill. The Labour Party supports this legislation and we may table Committee Stage amendments if required. The FSPO has, in the main, served citizens well. It is important …

The deadline is looming in May 2024 for businesses to make arrangements with the Revenue Commissioners to repay tax debt warehoused during the pandemic. The Minister made comments to the media when he was in Davos that suggested very clearly that he intends to make changes to the operation of that scheme and potentially to the way in which repayments are to be organised. The word he used was that he intended to be "flexible". Could he put on the record of the House what he means by "flexible" and what his plans are…

Time is of the essence in this regard. It is clear from the figures the Minister provided that a very substantial proportion of those who have warehoused tax debt have actually met their liabilities in full and a considerable number of businesses have made arrangements with Revenue. It was a very important scheme and it gave viable companies breathing space during the pandemic and made sure they could get back on their feet once normal trading conditions resumed. However, I get a sense from some businesses across t…

The Minister is very clear on the issues the hospitality sector is experiencing at the moment.

I too urge those companies who have not yet engaged to engage very quickly and not to adopt a wait-and-see approach. Further clarity would be welcome from the Minister in the coming weeks about what it is he intends to do in terms of greater flexibility, as he described it. There is a balancing act here as well. Where liabilities fall due, businesses ought to pay those liabilities to Revenue. It is interesting to note as well – I am sure the Minister will be conscious of this when he considers how he approaches it …

If you could bear with me a moment, Acting Chair, there are many businesses in the hospitality sector-----

-----who for example, in terms of their projections for the wage subsidy scheme-----

-----they are paying a significant debt in that regard.

They made projections in terms of the 30% threshold and they have actually exceeded the thresholds.

Perhaps some pragmatism should be shown to them.

A fictional budget.

In the first instance, I support the remarks made by Deputy Louise O'Reilly. My own concerns and those of the Labour Party are well known and well established and have been articulated on several occasions since the publication of this Bill. While I do not myself have the benefit of being formally a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment I did make a contribution on Committee Stage and introduced a number of amendments that would have sought to firm up the situation, as it were…

I support the position articulated by Deputy Barry. I have come across these situations. The first question the Minister of State needs to answer is what the position is, formally, in that regard. We have been reading reports about it but nothing formal has emerged from the Department at this point. There was a recent adjustment regarding the permits, up from €27,000 to €30,000. The logical next question is this. What about those on existing permits? Will they receive that uplift when the time comes? It is an impor…