I disagree entirely with the suggestion that Government is not doing anything and is complacent on youth employment. We can see from the CSO's recent data that it has clearly identified a temporary demographic and seasonal effect, while there is also a surge in young people entering the labour force for the very first time. That is not a collapse in youth opportunity; it is, in one sense, supported through the creation by this Government, across many sectors, of job opportunities within engineering, green technolog…

I agree with some of the Deputy's suggestions in regard to continued investment in key actions under Pathways to Work. I know that needs to provide enhanced supports for young people and jobseekers. The establishment of the employment and youth engagement charter is important to bring employers and young people together to tackle the barriers in regard to getting into the workforce. As I said earlier, we need to continue to strengthen the partnership between our further education and private employment sectors and …

The Government fully recognises that small and medium enterprises have faced significant cost pressures in recent years, driven by high energy prices, global supply chain disruptions and international economic developments. Despite these ongoing challenges, progress is being made to support SMEs, with the Government taking proactive steps to implement measures to reduce business costs and ease regulatory pressures. The Government is pleased to note there are emerging signs of improvement, with the CSO's wholesale p…

Delivery and postage costs are primarily a commercial matter for An Post and that is the reality. We are in the Department of enterprise but there is a Minister of State in another Department who actually deals with An Post specifically. We will engage in open dialogue and listen further to business representative groups either through the enterprise forum or the retail forum the Minister, Deputy Burke, and I chair. If it emerges as a key priority, then certainly we will feed it directly into those considerations a…

I acknowledge the points the Deputy has raised. The Minister, Deputy Burke, the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and I are listening to businesses and SMEs. We have established the cost of doing business advisory forum, which is independently chaired. It engages directly with the key SME employer representative bodies, including IBEC, Retail Excellence Ireland, ISME and Chambers Ireland. It is a really important forum where we hear about the issues that matter most to businesses but also design practical policy res…

Ireland’s economic migration policy is designed to address verified and persistent skills shortages across the economy. The system is vacancy-led and managed through the critical skills occupations list and the ineligible occupations list, which the Department reviews on a regular basis. A new review of the occupation lists is under way. This began with an open public consultation, which closed on 19 September and attracted a broad range of submissions including from the construction and built environment sectors. …

Again, I thank the Deputy for the points he has raised. Targeted migration is essential for sectors, such as housing. It does not worsen the housing challenge that we are presented with. Through controlled and skilled-based migration into sectors such as construction, engineering and housing delivery, it directly increases our housing supply. That is reflective of the example where access to qualified tradespeople and technical specialists for housing completion will be a positive. Last year, over 2,000 permits wer…

We look at it through an interdepartmental group. We identify our domestic talent within certain specific areas in terms of where the skills needs are. My Department engages extensively with the Department of further and higher education, the National Skills Council and the skills and labour market research unit. We ensure that every recommendation on the occupations list is paired with where our domestic supply strategies are. That is across construction, ICT, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. We ensure the a…

I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government continues to support workers throughout their careers with initiatives to improve work-life balance and flexible working arrangements, which encourages greater labour market participation including the participation of people with disabilities, resulting in greater diversity and inclusion within our workforce. The Government has a wide range of supports in place to assist people. For example, through the Department of Social Protection's Intreo centres, disabled p…

I thank both Deputies for raising these important matters. I absolutely share the concerns they have raised and about how long change has taken in this area. I want to underline that we are finally moving from language to implementation. Through the reporting and monitoring implementation group chaired by the Taoiseach, he wants to see the pillar around employment progress. As I said earlier, we have an employment gap between those who are disabled in employment and those who are not. At the most recent Fine Gael d…

I thank the Deputies for raising these important matters. The most important lesson we have learned as to why there have been low rates of participation is that employers have not been engaged enough. We need to turn the dial as regards the challenges they may face and the barriers that may present themselves. We must ensure they are supported to have better disability and inclusion policies that are focused on employers. The voices of those within the disability sector also need to be heard at that table. We will …

I acknowledge the Labour Party for bringing forward this Private Members' Bill. Remote working has shaped modern work practices and the labour market. I, for one, take the Bill seriously, as does the Government. For far too long opportunity was centred in major cities and larger urban areas. However, remote working has shifted that balance and today we see flexible and remote working transforming how people build meaningful careers while continuing to live, work, and raise families in the towns and villages they ca…

I am pleased to be back in the Seanad to introduce the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025. The Environmental Protection Agency plays a pivotal role in protecting, improving and restoring our environment through monitoring, regulation and scientific knowledge. There are approximately 900 EPA licences in operation in Ireland, and they regulate large industrial installations in a wide range of sectors, including energy, waste, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, intensive agriculture and food and drink productio…

I thank all the Senators for their valuable contributions. They have been very helpful. It was a good opportunity to discuss this before it moves to Committee Stage. I welcome the broad support I have received on this Bill. As I said earlier, it is important to reflect what we hear on the ground with regard to the time it takes for decisions to be made, not just for large scale developments, but also for minor proposed changes to an installation that currently requires a full licence review. In our current climate,…

I thank the Senator for raising this important topic and for his advocacy for Ireland becoming a signatory to the Antarctic Treaty. In 2021 the Taoiseach requested that the Minister for Foreign Affairs re-examine the merits of accession to the Antarctic Treaty System, ATS, in keeping with Government policy in respect of climate change, biodiversity and multilateralism. On foot of this, the Department of Foreign Affairs commissioned an assessment of the full range of legislative, policy and administrative measures t…

I thank the Senator again for raising these important matters and for all of his previous work as Minister of State in the Department. Given the interconnected nature of the world's oceans in the context of marine environmental policy, we need to continue at a national level to ensure that we develop it as a national priority. It is also important in the context of climate change, ocean currents, migration of species and the broader ocean ecosystem that there be a national, regional and global approach. We must rem…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government is acutely aware of, and concerned about, the impact of rising prices on Irish households, and it is also aware of the high cost of energy prices and the wider impact of the cost of doing business for firms, particularly small firms; — in relation to Irish households, the Government has already taken the following measures; — €28.9 billion will be spent on social protection in 2026, including…

I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. I acknowledge Unite’s concerns and those of the family of the late Matthew Campbell regarding the protection of workers from extreme weather events. These concerns are understandable and the well-being of workers in all conditions must remain a priority. I am satisfied, however, that strong protections already exist in current Irish legislation. Ensuring that Irish workplaces are healthy and safe is a key priority for me and for our Department. A robust occupa…

I reaffirm that worker safety remains a core priority of our Department's ethos. The existing legislative framework I outlined is strong, comprehensive and designed to ensure employers assess risk and take all necessary steps to protect staff from extreme temperatures and other hazards. While there are currently no plans to introduce paid leave for extreme weather events, guidance is available with regard to employers' and employees' rights and responsibilities during severe weather events. The HSA has a key role t…

I thank Senator Eileen Lynch for raising this really important issue in regard to the EU proposal to restrict lead ammunition, mainly in respect of hunting and outdoor sports shooting. I also thank the National Parks and Wildlife Service for its excellent work to date in formulating Ireland's position on this. I want to make some initial points of clarification. While the EU proposal to restrict lead ammunition is not within the policy remit of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, my Department has…