We have had a huge increase in the number of applications for work permits and work visas and, in response, we have trebled the number of staff working on issuing work permits and work visas and are automating some processes. We are starting to see improvements in waiting times. For critical skills permits, the waiting time is now back to six or seven weeks, which is pretty good. For the general employment permit, it is still about 20 weeks, but we expect that to fall in the next few weeks. It is something we are g…

The short answer is "Yes". I think there is a role for Enterprise Ireland in that regard, and for IDA Ireland because sometimes, when new companies invest in Ireland for the first time, they want to set up in an available premises with a small number of staff before they develop their headquarters. There is definitely a role for both agencies in that regard and that will form part of my discussions with them.

The promotion and protection of human rights is a foreign policy priority for the Government. We consistently raise our concerns on human rights through the most effective and appropriate channels, including bilaterally, particularly through our mission network. The Deputy will be aware that international trade is a competence vested in the European Commission under the EU treaties, whereby the Union's negotiating strength is as a bloc of 27 member states representing some 450 million citizens. This ensures that ac…

The way we structure free trade and our trade relations is on a number of tiers. We have the European Union, which is a free trade area of which we are part. It is a single market with unrestricted trade. There is a series of countries with which we have free trade agreements. Very often in these agreements there are chapters on human rights, trade and labour rights. There are the countries that fall under the WTO rules with most favoured nation status. Then there are countries against which there are sanctions. Th…

Of course we do not pursue a trade-at-any-cost policy. Part of my job and the job of the Minister for Finance is to sign off on sanctions. Regularly on my desk are statutory instruments that impose trade sanctions and investment sanctions on various countries. The Deputy would not always have been the most supportive of them, quite frankly, such as those we introduced against Russia in 2014 after its illegal invasion and occupation of Crimea. The Deputy would not be particularly supportive of the trade sanctions ag…

The invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the inflationary pressures that Ireland and other economies were already experiencing in the wake of the supply chain disruptions brought about as a result of the pandemic. The war and the necessary introduction of sanctions against Russia is also disrupting supply chains and leading to large rises in international prices for energy, food and other commodities. The Government recognises the additional challenge these rising prices represent for households and businesses as ma…

It is true that energy costs have greater impacts on business in Ireland. That is partly as a result of our geography. We are an island on the edge of Europe and things have to be brought here by boat and by plane before being put on trucks and trains to be transported further. It is also partly down to the way our population is distributed. Responsibility for the area of data centres falls to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I could be wrong but my understanding is that the decision in question has been implemente…

My understanding of the operation of the PSO levy is that it is there to subsidise renewable energy and energy produced from peat. Given that the price of producing energy is now so high, it is no longer necessary. That is why it will be got rid of or become a negative levy towards the end of the year. I do not know how the timing of that works. I would have to talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about that. With regard to the data centre report, the Deputy is absolutely correct. I stand corrected on that. We …

I thank the Deputy. I have a very clear view on this. I believe there should be pay rises. I do not say that lightly. I say that as somebody who signed off on a 3% increase in the minimum wage only a few months ago. The Minister of State, Deputy English, has also signed off on pay increases in various different sectors. Indeed, the Government has a pay deal with our own employees, public servants, to increase pay. There are two modest pay increases this year and there may well be more. However, I also believe, as d…

The Deputy is referring to a particular EU directive relating to both the minimum wage and collective bargaining. She was a bit selective in the countries she mentioned. The Deputy is correct to state that Austria and Hungary signed it, but so did most of the Nordic countries. Those countries are, in many ways, the exemplars in terms of labour rights, at least for people on the left, but the Deputy conveniently left them off her list. We are now happy with what is proposed by the European Union in that regard, beca…

If we can get agreement on the report and its recommendations from the unions and the major employers, I would not feel the need to wait for the directive. If we cannot get agreement, it probably makes sense to wait on the directive. I should say that we are introducing five new workers' rights this year, including the new public holiday which has now been passed into law. We are going to introduce legislation on statutory sick pay in the Dáil today. We are still working on the right to request remote working, whic…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The circular economy has never been more relevant as we deal with the consequences of a war in Ukraine that is giving rise to uncertainty in respect of energy supplies and prices, food supplies, inflation and the cost of living. It has also highlighted the inherent vulnerability of allowing our economies to become dependent on fossil fuels, especially when limited supplies are controlled by a small number of states. In future, consumers and businesses may not be…

The Deputy makes a very good suggestion. I, along with my Secretary General and officials, will certainly take it on board. We are trying to develop sectoral plans in respect of the climate action plan in order to bring down our emissions. We have responsibility to bring down emissions from industry by approximately 50% between now and 2031, especially in areas such as cement. Perhaps, it would make sense to roll the two together; what we are trying to do on climate, as well as what we are trying to do on circular …

I am certainly happy to consider the amendment, if the Deputy has a draft in mind and wishes to pass it on to me later. I would be happy to take a look at it, run it past my officials and to talk to the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about it. As is always the case with such an amendment, there is a desire to avoid creating additional obligations for Departments to produce more reports. I certainly feel some Government Departments are almost operating as factorie…

I thank Deputy O'Dowd for raising this question and his ongoing advocacy for the town of Drogheda. As he is aware, it and Dundalk have been designated as growth centres on the Dublin-Belfast corridor in Project Ireland 2040. The IDA is targeting 40 investments for the mid-east region from 2021 to 2024. Louth is already home to 35 IDA Ireland client companies directly employing more than 4,500 people in technology, life sciences, international financial services and engineering and industrial technologies. In Septem…

I thank the Deputy. There are quite a lot of data centres in my constituency too. They are a very important part of the modern economy but in reality the amount of employment they produce is quite small. The number of people actually working in them is quite low. There are a lot of people working on them during construction, but not when they are actually up and running. The spin-off from them, realistically, is quite limited. Probably the best thing we can do for Drogheda is make use of that new IDA Ireland land b…

I hear the demands and I hear the call for increased investment in Drogheda and more good job opportunities in the town in addition to the ones that are there already. That is why IDA Ireland has secured that 40-acre site. We need to get it serviced and get it ready and promote it to potential investors. These things can have a long pipeline. IDA Ireland bought that site because it and Government believe this is a really good town to invest in as a result of the quality of people who live there but due to its locat…

The right to request remote working Bill is part of a broader Government programme to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland's workforce in a way that can benefit all - economically, socially and environmentally. Throughout the pandemic, many employers went to great lengths to give their employees as much flexibility around where they work as possible. The world of work has changed before our eyes and we want to retain some amount of remote working once Covid is firmly behind us. In practice, employers …

The legislation is just in draft form, as the Deputy knows. There are heads of Bill. The general scheme is currently with the committee. It is carried out hearings involving the relevant stakeholders and its members will meet my officials again on 4 May. I will make a decision once I get the report back from the committee on what it recommends by way of improvements or changes. I am a big supporter of remote working; I am an advocate for it. It should be encouraged so long as the services provided to the public are…

Currently, there is no legal right to request remote working. Somebody can request it, of course, but there is no legal mechanism by which it can be done. That is what the legislation tries to achieve. I am open to strengthening it. There are already some guidelines on remote working. I believe they were published a year or so ago. The new public sector policy on remote working was agreed just in the past week or so and published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath. It sets out…