Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:49. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment what his Department intends to do to increase the number of Irish businesses using big data, the cloud, and AI. [23124/24]
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Departmental Programmes
My question relates to the number of Irish businesses using big data. I want to ask the Minister of State about the digital intensity of Irish businesses, specifically SMEs. While I appreciate some businesses cannot be any more digitally intensified, there is scope there. We know digitisation is one of the twin challenges facing our economy now and into the future. I ask for an update on the number of businesses using big data and engaging with the cloud and artificial intelligence, and how this compares with the targets set in the harnessing digital 2030 document.
I thank the Deputy. Our Department is taking action on three fronts to increase the number of Irish businesses using big data, the cloud and AI. First, we are engaging with experts. I chair the newly refreshed enterprise digital advisory forum, which comprises industry and expert representatives and provides valuable advice and perspectives on how we can best help businesses to digitalise and adopt advanced digital tools, such as AI, data analytics and the cloud.
Second is access to funding and support. Funding for digitalisation is available through the €58 million digital transition fund. To date, almost 300 companies have been approved under this fund. Other digitalisation support, including advice, consultancy and grants, is available through local enterprise offices and the SME support package, which was launched last week. That package expanded eligibility for the trading online voucher to all sectors of up to 50 employees. We also expanded the eligible expenditure to €50,000.
I draw particular attention to CeADAR, Ireland's Centre for Applied AI, which was established by Government to act as the bridge between the worlds of applied research in AI and data and commercial deployment by business. CeADAR is playing a crucial role in helping businesses to adapt AI. We have also established four European digital innovation hubs to help businesses and SMEs, in particular, to adapt digital tools for their use. The hubs are one-stop shops, with research organisations at the core in turn providing access to technical expertise and facilities for experimentation, as well as innovation services and the training and skills development necessary for the successful digital transformation of each business.
We will launch a new digital portal, grow digital, shortly. It will help every business, small, medium and large, to self-assess their digital readiness. It will identify recommendations and supports to facilitate the next step towards their journey to digital transformation.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. In his follow-up response, he might address how we compare with the targets set in harnessing digital 2030. The four Ds of demographics, decarbonisation, digitalisation and de-globalisation are key trends likely to transform our economy over the next decade. Increasing digitisation is foundational in terms of putting the economy on the front foot for the coming decades. As the Minister of State said, this is about future-proofing. Investing in digitisation is key to building a robust economy that is high-wage, high-growth and high-productivity. The State has to accelerate and enhance digital adoption to ensure Ireland becomes an international economic digital leader. To do that, it is not enough to set targets. The Minister of State outlined some of the steps that have been taken. The targets need to be monitored and we need progress reports on how those targets are being met. If they are not being met, we perhaps need an explanation as to why or how the Minister of State intends to meet them into the future.
I agree with the Deputy. We tend to monitor them. We work with the EU so that there is independent monitoring. We are one of the most advanced EU member states in that context. The EU digital economic and society index, known as DESI, published as part of the report on the digital decade, shows that Ireland has a leading position in the EU in terms of SMEs, with a basic level of digital intensity at 85% compared with our target of 90%.
Regarding the digitisation of businesses, 22.7% of businesses with more than ten employees are using big data, which places us fifth in the EU. The EU average is 14.2%. A total of 47.4% of businesses are using cloud, which puts us at eighth in the EU. The EU average is 34%. A total of 7.9% are using AI, which puts us at 13th in the EU and right on the EU average.
I am not happy with any of those figures. I want to see them grow. For them to grow, we have to grow confidence in businesses to adopt the technology. That is why we are enabling the digital portal, which will allow each business to find its own space. The work of CeADAR and the European digital innovation hubs will perhaps simplify the journey and put the language involved in this journey in more accessible terms.
It is a brave Minister who would mention the portal in the current climate, so fair play to you. The Minister referenced 22.7% of business using big data, which is a small figure. I appreciate he said the figures are not where he would like them to be. Of the 75% not using big data, a substantial portion could and should be using it. I would like a bigger focus on encouraging that.
We must invest to grow indigenous digital enterprises and increase the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for leading digital enterprises. This has to be the focus and a growth area for the future. There is no reason we cannot become an international economic leader in cutting-edge digital technologies. We already have a significant strategic advantage due to the network of multinational and indigenous tech companies, as well as third-level research institutions focused on digital tech. With smart and strategic investment, Ireland can leverage these advantages and ensure we become a world leading digital society and economy. That is what the ambition needs to be.
Absolutely, but we already are a world-leading digital economy. I want us to stay there and grow that in our indigenous enterprise space. We are there because of policy decisions taken by successive governments to invest in this space. We want to grow it by expanding the confidence of businesses to take the journey. That is why we expanded the trading online voucher and are investing in the portal so that businesses can compare themselves safely to where they need to be on their journey. That is why we are working through the LEO structure throughout the country. Confident and trusted sources will bring businesses on that journey. The most important thing for any business that needs to digitalise is that it has confidence and trust in the person guiding it on that journey. That is why we are putting investment of €58 million into the digital fund.
Small and Medium Enterprises
Matt Shanahan
Ceist:50. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the main supports to the SME sector his Department is proposing, including additions to the increased cost of business scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23223/24]
It is refreshing to see three Ministers from the Department taking questions. It shows the importance of the Department. My question relates to the main supports for the SME sector the Department is proposing, including additions to the increased cost of business scheme.
I thank Deputy Shanahan for posing this important question. The Government has adopted a proactive approach in supporting the Irish SME sector across multiple crises over recent years. Over the two-year period to budget 2024, a total of €12 billion was provided in cost-of-living and doing business supports, comprising a mix of permanent and one-off measures, most significantly the temporary emergency support scheme.
Budget 2024 also continued several measures which will support businesses, like the €257 million in support announced through the increased cost of business grant; the 9% VAT reduction for gas and electricity which was extended for an additional 12 months until 31 October 2024; the temporary excise rate reduction applying to auto diesel, petrol and marked gas oil which was extended until 31 March 2024; and an increase in VAT registration thresholds for the SME sector.
I recognise that costs are impacting firms and this motivated the recent introduction of a range of additional measures aimed at reducing costs for small and medium-sized businesses. These include: ensuring the employer PRSI threshold is explicitly considered as part of the Low Pay Commission deliberations and is reviewed on each occasion that the minimum wage is increased; increasing the employer PRSI threshold from €441 to €496 with effect from 1 October 2024; reopening the increased cost of business scheme for another 14 days and launching a second phase of the scheme targeted at businesses in the retail and hospitality sector; doubling the innovation grant voucher from €5,000 to €10,000; increasing the maximum amount available under the energy efficiency grant scheme to €10,000 and reducing the business contribution rate from 50% to 25%; widening the eligibility for the trading online voucher and doubling the grant to €5,000; increasing the lending limit for Microfinance Ireland loans to €50,000 from €25,000; widening the eligibility for the digital for business consultancy scheme; launching a new Ireland’s best entrepreneur programme to encourage entrepreneurship; and launching a new online national enterprise hub for SMEs to access information on the wide range of Government supports.
I welcome the extension of the increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme and the changes to the PRSI and VAT thresholds, which is something I and my colleagues in the Regional Group brought to Government some weeks back in a Private Member's motion. I wish to ask about the participation rate. How many businesses are accessing ICOB? What consideration has been given to those businesses that are not paying rates because their rates are bundled up with their rent, specifically those whose landlords cannot apply either, which means they cannot access to the scheme? How are those businesses to be supported?
Has the Government looked at other businesses that are very exposed because they are in labour-intensive sectors? These businesses face increases in associated employment costs, particularly in the areas of childcare, grooming, leisure and homes industries. Some of these businesses are really suffering, and while the ICOB scheme and some of the other initiatives the Minister announced are welcome, they are not going to fundamentally change the cost perspective for these businesses.
When the scheme closed a week ago, we had about 76,000 registrations. That was roughly 60% of all businesses that qualified for the increased cost of business grant. A decision was then taken to open the scheme for a further two weeks and to run a very strong and robust advertising campaign, which we hope will encourage additional uptake in the run down to next Wednesday. I appeal to businesses to apply because this money is there for them.
Regarding businesses that do not qualify because they are over the €30,000 threshold, there are other supports contained in my package, working with Ministers of State, Deputies Calleary and Higgins, that will meet their requirements. These include the PRSI change Deputy Shanahan referenced and the supports for energy efficiency, which can reduce their monthly bills by more than €1,000 with simple measures like changing their LED lighting and refrigeration and helping with other capital costs, which will assist businesses into the future. This is a strong package, working under the budgetary framework. I have met with a number of business groups and am working with them to develop a very strong package in the next budget.
As the Minister knows, some of the burden in costs is due to the environment of increased costs inflation, but a large part has been brought about by the progressive costs introduced by the Government. I have advocated for quite some time to Deputy Varadkar, when he was Taoiseach, and to Deputy Coveney, when he was Minister, and now I am saying it to Deputy Burke as Minister, as I have said it to the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, about the importance of having a proper consultation on the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF. I ask the Minister to assist in bringing ISME onto the Labour Employer Economic Forum so that we have a proper discussion on costs and we do not go off on a solo run, as we did the last time, in terms of adding costs of employment onto businesses. The SME sector has to be considered in those negotiations.
The most obvious thing in terms of the food and hospitality sector is a return to the 9% VAT rate. It is absolutely critical in that sector. The Minister has outlined that some costs are going to be deferred for a number of months, such as excise and so on, but does he have any concerns about the four months of declining consumer confidence? This is being seen in footfall, especially in the food and hospitality sector and most notably in small café sector. The Minister is going to have to look again and I ask him again for a return to the 9% VAT rate.
Again, I thank the Deputy for his question. We have worked with all sectors. I met ISME yesterday, along with another number of business sectoral groups. We are working with them to progressively keep improving the business environment in which they operate. I point out that inflation has halved since November 2022. That demonstrates that Government policies are working. We really did tackle it in the best way we could by mitigating the pressure on vulnerable people and by introducing strong business packages of €12 billion over the previous two budgets. We will continue to work closely with businesses. I also point out that other robust evidence we have seen is that we have approximately 2.8 million people employed and that, for every ten businesses opening in our economy, only one is closing. It is very important to look at the evidence.
However, I am absolutely aware there are pressure points. We are very much aware that 60% of our national minimum wage workers rely on the retail and hospitality sectors for their employment. We will be working closely with those sectors in the horizon up to the next budget. That will give us a chance, as three Ministers, to put down a strong mark that we are really listening to businesses. We have done it with the package we introduced in the past week and I am happy to say it has received a good welcome from businesses, notwithstanding it is modest, and we have to be honest about that. It shows, however, that we as a Government are listening and are doing our very best to support businesses at a time when consumer and discretionary incomes are under pressure, and we accept that.
Employment Rights
Louise O'Reilly
Ceist:51. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he will have conducted his review of the ESRI research on the impact of statutory sick leave; the reasons he has taken this approach; and the reason he is deviating from the Government's initial timeline. [23125/24]
My question relates to the review of the ESRI research into the impact of statutory sick leave. I want to understand why the Government is taking its current approach and why it is deviating from its own initial timeline. When will the review be concluded?
As the Deputy is aware, the Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced employer-paid, medically certified, statutory sick leave for the first time in Ireland. From 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was up to three days' sick leave, which increased to five days on 1 January 2024.
As the Deputy will be aware, statutory sick leave, and its phased roll-out, was designed in consultation with the Minister for Social Protection and the social partners. A ministerial decision will be required by the end of this year on the third phase of this plan, including whether to increase the entitlement to seven days next year. To make this decision and in line with section 6 of the Sick Leave Act, the Minister must have regard to several key factors, including:
the state of the economy generally, the business environment and national competitiveness ... the state of society generally, the public interest and employee well-being ... the potential impact [of] ... making an order [to vary the number of days] ... data on earnings and labour costs as published by the ... [CSO] ... the views of [employee and] employer representative bodies ... [and any] other matters ... consider[ed] relevant.
I am aware that members of the business community have raised concerns about the overall impact of increased labour regulation on the cost of doing business. Therefore, to consider the impact of any potential further increases to sick leave, my departmental officials are currently exploring with the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, the possibility of capturing more detail on the impact of the changes to statutory sick leave, which, I understand, could include further analysis of existing CSO data sets, as well as potentially gathering new data. As this work is at an early stage, it would not be appropriate to speculate on potential outcomes at this point. However, it is important to note that a decision on this will be required by the end of the year.
Is the Minister of State saying the report will be published before the end of the year? Will we have a chance to debate it here on the floor of the Dáil? I hope we will and I can tell the Minister of State that I will definitely be looking for that debate if it is not offered by the Government because it is important. I saw the Minister of State's little video. I do not follow her party on social media but it was sent to me by several workers who are very concerned because they see what the Government is doing, which is pitting workers against business. It is a fairly brazen and blatant attempt to do so. I saw her colleague write "Stick Sick Pay" onto her little flip chart and then say that some measures would have to be paused.
Just so that the Minister of State knows, workers got that message. They see what she is doing; I see it as well. What the Minister of State can do is help businesses and support workers at the same time. It is entirely possible to do that.
We absolutely recognise that there is a cost of doing business crisis, but that is not the fault of workers, many of whom are on very low wages. The Government's sick pay scheme was already structured in a way that made it very difficult and tough for people to access it as they have to have a doctor's certificate, which will cost people €65 to €70, which is a phenomenal amount of money if you are a low-income worker. Will the Minister of State give me something about the timeline and confirmation that we will have a chance to debate that report on the floor of the Dáil?
I thank the Deputy. Her suggestion of supporting workers and businesses at the same time is actually something we are already doing in this Government. Only last week, the Minister, Peter Burke, and our team announced additional measures to support businesses, and under this Government, we placed significant emphasis on workers' rights. We put sick pay on a statutory footing for the first time ever. We substantially increased the national minimum wage in January. We introduced the right to request to work from home, the right to disconnect and legislation on tips and we have brought in record investment when it comes to supporting workers. Last week, as I said, the Minister, Peter Burke, brought in additional supports for businesses. That is exactly what the Government wants to do. We want to support both businesses and workers. In the past two years in particular, the Government has been highly productive and proactive when it comes to enhancing employment rights, offering additional protections, creating better employment conditions and continuing to foster entrepreneurship.
What it looks like to me is that the Government is punishing workers to compensate for another one of its failed business support schemes. When the ICOB scheme first closed, less than half of qualifying businesses had applied. I appreciate that figure is slightly higher now, but as of last Wednesday, only 10.7% of applicants have had grant money paid to them. This is a shocking situation. The scheme was announced six months ago, so a little bit more should have been paid out. If the Government is serious about doing both, and the Minister of State says it is, that means delivering for businesses as well as not threatening to punish workers.
Sick pay is a very important instrument of public health. We saw this during the pandemic. There was broad agreement that sick pay during a pandemic, or indeed outside that time, is a very important instrument of public health and is very important for workers, especially those on low incomes. I will say again, because nothing in the Minister of State's answer convinced me otherwise, that the Government is trying to pit workers against small businesses and it is disgraceful.
Absolutely not. We are supporting both workers and businesses. We have a legal requirement to have regard to the potential impact of making an order to vary the number of sick days. For that reason, the Minister, Peter Burke, the Minister of State, Dara Calleary, and I have asked the ESRI to provide data so we can make an evidence-based, informed decision because that is what responsible decision-making looks like.
We know businesses are struggling and that is why last week we announced a new package of measures. Grants are being paid out, and they are being paid out even today as we sit here. As I already outlined, we have invested hugely in workers' rights, especially in the past two years, by introducing statutory sick pay, increasing the national minimum wage and introducing the right to request to work from home, which is only possible because of the broadband plan Sinn Féin voted against, and the right to disconnect. We have invested hugely in employers because we know they are the people who provide jobs for workers and we need workers to have good, fair, transparent working conditions. That is what we are delivering.
Business Supports
Mattie McGrath
Ceist:53. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will reconsider the qualifying criteria of the ICOB grant to allow tenants qualify as it is tenants who are struggling with the increased cost of business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23168/24]
I thank Deputy Verona Murphy for allowing me to go first as I have a Business Committee meeting. I congratulate the Minister and Minister of State on their new roles.
I appeal to the Minister to re-examine the ICOB supports. It is a good scheme. Council officials and everyone worked hard on it, but it disqualifies people who rent a business premises. The owner pays the rates and therefore the businesspeople operating their businesses from there cannot apply to the scheme. It needs to be tweaked badly. Will the Minister please elaborate?
As the Deputy will be aware, I announced the reopening of the ICOB grant scheme from 15 May to 29 May. This is to ensure those business owners who missed the deadline can now register. They should do so without delay, and the sooner they register, the sooner the local authority can verify the information and make a payment to the businesses. I have also made a change to the scheme that allows for a second payment to be made to businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors or a double payment for businesses in those sectors that are now registering.
An important aspect of the increased cost of business grant scheme has been to directly involve the local authorities in the authorisation and payment processes, as they are closest to the commercial life in their cities and counties and work in the provision of supports to smaller enterprises via the local enterprise offices. This is the one reason eligibility is, in part, determined by the rates system, which is a good proxy for determining the scale and size of a business.
Businesses that are tenants can register as long as they are ratepayers. It has been brought to my attention that some businesses have entered into arrangements with their landlords whereby the rent payable includes an amount towards rates and their rates bill is in turn satisfied by the landlord. The legal position under section 4 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 as well as the amendments introduced through the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 is that tenants whose rent incorporates their rates obligation, which is remitted by the landlord, cannot be deemed to be ratepayers. The Deputy will appreciate that it would be inappropriate and possibly counterproductive for me to attempt to interfere with existing commercial arrangements between small businesses and their landlords in the context of the increased cost of business scheme.
The priority has been to ensure that as many businesses as possible receive the funding as quickly as possible. For those who cannot access the scheme, if there is an issue with the landlord or the way they have structured the payment of rates, there are other parts of the scheme they can access. When the scheme has concluded, we will look at what money is left over or has not been drawn down from the quarter of a billion euro. My job now is speed, to get as much money out to the SME sector as quickly as possible and not get dragged into putting additional conditions on those paying the money.
I thank the Minister for his reply and the officials in Tipperary County Council and the Department who are dealing with the scheme. The Minister gave the reasons he cannot. He wants to spend the money and get it into the pockets of businesspeople who are struggling to keep the doors open. However, there is a considerable cohort that have an arrangement to pay rates as part of their rent. I do not know how we will tweak it, but it needs to be tweaked in some way because those people are very valuable in our towns and villages where they are paying for rateable premises. They need the supports and they are not getting them. The premises owners cannot get them either because they are not operating the businesses. It needs to be tweaked. Leaving it to the leftover fund before sharing or devising some scheme is not good enough. The scheme is more than a year old. I welcome the extension to 29 May and encourage all businesses to apply or to try to in any case. However, we must sort out this anomaly. We cannot leave it to the chance that money will be left over and we might tweak it then. It has to be tweaked. As the Minister will be aware, there are numerous businesses in his constituency and mine that rent premises, operate their businesses on that basis and the owners pay the rates. We need to tweak it immediately.
We all know commercial arrangements in how businesses operate with their landlords are different from business to business. It is difficult to put conditions in place to assess every single one. The best metric I have at the moment to get money out to vulnerable businesses as quickly as possible is linked directly to their rates. If I put more conditions in place right now or try to pave the way for opening the scheme to wider priorities, it will be difficult to get the money out quickly. I will assess it when the scheme concludes. Businesses benefit from a number of the other measures we have brought in, such as the accelerated grant for capital expenditure and the changes to PRSI and Microfinance Ireland. There have been a number of changes that benefit them.
The critical point is that this scheme is not a year old. People need to realise that after a measure is announced in the budget, legislation is needed, it has to be designed and it takes time for a scheme to be operational. We have been clear with businesses. We are marketing strongly now and asking them to please register for the scheme. It is a key cash injection into their bank accounts to recognise there are increased costs to doing business. We will continue to support businesses in the next budget, which will be important to demonstrate clearly that we are listening to the SME sector and we value the employment they provide, which accounts for 70% of all jobs.
I do not know if the Minister does value them. He says that, but the scheme has to be tweaked because there is a big cohort of people in this situation.
The Minister said it takes time from an announcement made in the budget. The budget speech is hardly over before his colleagues go around the country saying this or that scheme has been announced before any legislation is in place to deal with it. The Government cannot have it every way. It cannot advertise that everything is rosy. Everything is not rosy in business. The Government has added a huge cost to that with the carbon and fuel taxes, putting back in place the rebates that had been given back, as well as the additional sick days, bank holidays and parental leave days. It is not that they are not lovely announcements but they are crippling small businesses.
The Minister knows that better than I do. He is living in the real world. I appreciate he is a man on the ground. It is fine to make these announcements on the minimum wage but it all adds to the pressure at a time of severe crisis in business. There are severe issues with costs, including injury costs, electricity and everything else. We need to be more understanding with a scheme like this. There will always be issues that need to be tweaked. There should be a review after three months, rather than waiting a year or a year and a month or two months to look back on it. We need to look at these schemes and have some sort of a review after three months to see how they are bedding in and whether there are too many roadblocks for the small businesses that need the supports.
I would robustly point out that the Government is listening to the SME sector. That is demonstrated by our warehousing of debt at 0% for those who experienced difficulties over the Covid period. Some €20 billion has been put in towards Covid and Brexit, with €12 billion put in through the past two budgets. We have halved inflation, which is a key metric of business. Energy costs are coming down substantially. We want to see that being passed on to businesses, and indeed consumers. The 9% VAT rate relating to the energy sector is hitting businesses right now and there are 15 interventions that we have done through the SME package which was brought forward and approved by the Government last week. It clearly demonstrates that this Government, through every step of uncertainty in the past four years, has been front and centre in supporting businesses. In some cases, we put them on life support and ensured they were able to survive and, when restrictions were lifted, we took out the jump leads to restart them. Our economy took off like a rocket. We have 2.8 million people employed in this economy. We are here to protect and grow that and to ensure that businesses can survive, grow and prosper into the future.
Work Permits
Verona Murphy
Ceist:52. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of employment work permits that have been applied for to date in 2024; the number of permits that have been granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23462/24]
I am asking about the number of employment permits that have been applied for to date in 2024 and the number that have been granted.
Ireland operates a managed employment permits system which maximises the benefits of economic migration and minimises disruption to Ireland’s labour market. The State's employment permit system is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the European Economic Area, EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time.
There has been a significant increase in demand for employment permits in recent years. Some 38,469 employment permit applications were received in 2023. That was an increase of 8% on the previous year. The employment permits section of my Department informs me that for the period from January 2024 to date in May, a total of 19,324 employment permits have been applied for and a total of 15,124 employment permits have been granted.
My Department has allocated additional resources to manage increased demand and ensure processing times remain stable. My officials have also undertaken a range of activities to improve efficiency of the permits system. Processing times for new permits are currently at 11 business days for trusted partner firms, and 21 days for others. These employment permits processing times are updated weekly and are publicly available on my Department's website.
I know the Minister of State recently had a meeting with the Irish Road Haulage Association on the new pay scales that were introduced last year for the work permits and the general work permit. As an island nation, we must understand that there are certain sectors that require a different train of thought to keep us competitive, if nothing else. We have a HGV sector that primarily deals with taking goods from Ireland to continental Europe. For that, there is a subsistence arrangement in place for drivers. We are now at a base level, with a huge increase on what it previously was, but those roles are more of a critical skills nature than general work permits. If we cannot get our produce out of the country, we cannot trade. If we cannot do so competitively, nobody will trade with us because we will be too expensive. That is something the Minister of State has to consider along with her colleagues in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is not just a work permit issue; it is about keeping us competitive.
In the past year, following a review, my Department has implemented changes to the critical skills occupation list, ineligible list of occupants and current salary thresholds for both the general employment permits and the critical skills employment permits. The employment permit section of my Department is also undertaking a range of activities to improve efficiency. That includes the introduction of pre-screening for the general employment permit applications across a small number of key mandatory criteria to ensure compliance with the requirements. The introduction of video guides for applicants and a new system to refund fees electronically are among the measures introduced. The Department will soon introduce a new online employment permit system with the aim of delivering further efficiencies and an improved customer experience. This will benefit hauliers and the people about whom the Deputy is speaking today.
I did meet with the Irish Road Haulage Association last week or the week before. We had a very constructive engagement. I have asked it to follow up in detail in writing to me.
I probably should have said at the outset that I wish the Minister of State well in her position. I understand those answers were prepared for her but what I really need an answer on is the competitive nature by which the work permit is structured. It is not competitive. It is anything but that. It is anti-competitive. We need to address this in the context of the particular sector we are discussing. We are probably the only island nation that is affected in this way. We are not connected to mainland Europe other than through a very expensive shipping route. This is as much about Ireland Inc. as it is about its workforce. Nobody is taking advantage and nobody wants to pay less but the unfortunate reality is that because we are that step away from mainland Europe we have significant issues to consider in the competitive sphere. I know that both of the Minister of State’s colleagues will have addressed this before but really serious consideration needs to be given to that meeting and what was brought to her at it. From our perspective, it is more difficult to recruit work permit drivers simply because of the countries we were given, including South Africa, Japan and Korea. None of them are advantageous. Another thing that needs to be addressed is that people who come here on a work permit should not be able to swap and change companies. The time they are here should be spent with the company that they are recruited for. There must be some structure to prevent that practice.
The Deputy is right. Competitiveness is a key issue here. It is important from a business perspective and, in the context of the labour market, it is important that we are paying competitive rates to employees. The Deputy will be aware that one of the things we are piloting is a new seasonal employment permit. That pilot programme was announced and will be happening and we will look at following it through for different sectors. I am aware of issues with the countries which the Deputy named, as well as with Georgia. I think there will be movement on that shortly. I had a very constructive engagement with the Irish Road Haulage Association. It has a particular viewpoint. I have asked it to provide information, case studies and data to back it up. Once I have that information, I can then make an informed decision on what it is putting forward.