Questions

144. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the action his Department is taking together with the Department of Social Protection to address the barriers to participation in employment faced by disabled persons, given that Ireland has one of the lowest rates of employment among disabled people in Europe standing at 32.6% in comparison with the EU average of 51.3%; and if he will m…

179. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if an application for a general employment permit for a dairy farm assistant has been refused on the basis that the quota has been filled, if the application be treated as an existing application when the quota system has been reviewed and a new quota limit set, in view of the lengthy nature of the application process; and if he will mak…

369. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if consideration can be given to increasing the quota for dairy farm assistants under the general employment permits scheme, in view of the quota being reached and all subsequent applications being rejected, taking into account that many employers urgently require dairy farm assistants for the upcoming spring calving season; and if he wi…

371. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if consideration can be given to increasing the quota for dairy farm assistants under the general employment permits scheme in view of the high demand for skilled workers in agriculture, in particular during the spring calving season, taking into account that labour shortages are a major challenge for dairy farms; and if he will make a s…