Archive for October 2020

RTÉ is to make immediate arrangements to reinstate previously frozen incremental wage increases to affected staff, after accepting a recommendation of its internal Industrial Relations Tribunal. Earlier today, the IRT ruled that the broadcaster had been wrong to impose a unilateral freeze on increments, which unions argued was unfair as it had a disproportionate impact…

Britain has sovereign choices to make on Brexit and they will determine its future access to the EU’s internal market, European Council President Charles Michel has said. He suggested it was now up to the British government to break an impasse on negotiations. “The UK now has an important choice to make on its own future,”…

Senior European Union officials have said the EU is ready to intensify talks towards a deal on future trade ties with the UK after a meeting to discuss the existing Brexit agreement. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that Britain had much work to do to honour commitments on the island of Ireland. He said…

The Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has warned that another full-blown lockdown is “not inconceivable”, and that allocating further supports for the aviation sector will involve hard choices about priorities. Mr Ryan was addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications Networks which was hearing submissions on the challenges facing the aviation sector. Representatives…

The Government has admitted that its supply of social housing is only 35% of target due to the reduction in construction during Covid-19 restrictions. Opposition parties have described the figures as worse than expected with Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin saying they are “deeply disturbing”. Mr Ó Broin said, “The dramatic fall in output…

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar is writing to every business in Ireland urging them to prepare for the change in relationship between Britain and the EU.  The letter has been sent to the roughly 225,000 businesses registered with the Companies Registration Office. In it, Leo Varadkar advises companies to get to…

The Government has approved an increase in the National Minimum Wage of 10 cent an hour, which will bring  it to €10.20 per hour from 1 January.  The move is set to benefit over 122,000 minimum wage workers, though unions have dismissed the increase of less than 1% as inadequate. Some weeks ago, Irish Congress of Trade Unions…

Revenue has brought forward the date of payment for Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme supports to eligible employers.  EWSS payments in respect of September payroll submissions, which were due to be made as soon as possible after October 14, will now be paid into the designated bank accounts of eligible employers by this Friday morning, October…

The Tourism Recovery Taskforce has called for radical steps to sustain and revive the industry post-Covid 19 including €120m in grant aid, a loan scheme and staggered school holidays. The Tourism Recovery Taskforce published its Tourism Recovery Plan 2020-2023 yesterday. Chair of the Tourism Recovery Taskforce and CEO of the Incoming Tour Operators Association Ruth Andrews said any longer-term…

The euro zone’s economic recovery faltered in September with growing evidence sectors and countries in the bloc are diverging as a resurgence of Covid-19 forces the reimposition of restrictions on activity.  A rise in infection rates in Europe will concern policymakers who had hoped the euro zone economy was healing after contracting an historic 11.8% in the…