Chambers Ireland Weekly Digest – 28 January 2019

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Chambers Ireland Weekly Digest                           28 January 2019

 

National Minimum Wage Consultation

The Low Pay Commission is inviting submissions from interested parties in relation to the National Minimum Wage; these submissions will inform the Commission in its consideration of the appropriate rate for 2020.

The Commission welcomes your observations, comments and submissions which can be sent, preferably by email, to: secretarylpc@welfare.ie or by post to:

The Low Pay Commission Secretariat, 1st Floor, Aras Mhic Diarmada, Store Street, Dublin 1

The closing date for submissions is 9th February 2019. Click here for more info.

 

Department of Rural & Community Development – Call for Input for the National Volunteering Strategy

The Department of Rural & Community Development has launched a Call for Input (CFI) to inform and seek views from stakeholders on key topics under consideration to develop a National Strategy on Volunteering.

The CFI aims to:

  • Inform stakeholders of the proposed volunteering strategy;
  • Seek views from stakeholders on what constitutes volunteering;
  • Invite comments and proposals on the CFI including additional and emerging considerations which may further inform the Strategy

The deadline for submissions is 3PM on Thursday 14 February 2019 – to make a submission and for more details, click here.

 

Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment – Call for Input for the Draft National Energy and Climate Plan

Ireland’s final version of its National Energy & Climate Plan (NECP) 2021-2030 is to be submitted to the European Commission by 31/12/2019.

The Department has a consultation open for the final version of the NECP until 22 February 2019.

Responses to the consultation should be sent by email to energy.consultation@dccae.gov.ie

For further info on the consultation, click here.

 

Brexit and Certs of Origin- Chamber Update

No Deal Scenario

  • We recently received an update from colleagues in the UK regarding a meeting held with HMRC on Wednesday. We are informed that at present UK HMRC do not require Certs of Origin for goods arriving in the UK coming from third countries and are therefore not likely to require Irish goods arriving in the UK post Brexit/no-deal to be accompanied by a Cert of Origin.
  • We are informed also that in the event of a no-deal, client companies in the UK may request a Cert depending on their individual needs (re-exporting etc). This applies vice versa. Irish companies whose supply chain contains UK components may also need to apply for a Certs- this will depend on the needs of and requirements in the country of destination. In addition, companies using a Documentary Letter of Credit to finance shipments may be requested by the relevant bank to obtain a Certificate of Origin too. Should your members have questions about whether or not they will need a Cert of Origin, we advise that they examine their supply chain, check the requirements of destination third countries and also speak to their client/importer as to their own requirements.

Withdrawal Agreement Scenario

  • The status quo will continue as normal for the duration of the transition agreement

Future Trade Deal

  • In the event of a trade agreement between the UK and EU in the future, preferential movement certificates will likely be required but in Ireland, these documents are issued by Revenue, not Chambers.
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Brexit Resources

 

Update for Members- Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act

Chambers may remember that throughout the course of 2018 we were closely engaging with the Department of Employment and Social Affairs and the Oireachtas on a proposed piece of employment legislation. That legislation is now law and contains several changes and new sanctions that may impact employers found not to be compliant. Peninsula Ireland have compiled an update for Chamber Members (see attached) on the new Act. Please circulate to members.

In brief there are four new provisions (see below) and employers should review policies and practices to ensure they are compliant with the new law.

  1. Early issuing of five core terms of employment
  2. Zero-hour contracts abolished
  3. Banded hours:
  4. Minimum payments if there’s no work

 

Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) – Future-Proof your Business through the Circular Economy!

SEAI are supporting a new initiative from Dublin City Council, an innovative opportunity to future-proof your business by attending the first Circular Economy Training tailored specifically to SMEs – this is the ‘MODOS Circular Economy Workshop’. Find out more about #MODOS by clicking here

 

M1 Skillnets Training – Illuminate Female Entrepreneurial Programme

M1 Skillnets will be running a new training programme, ‘Illuminate Female Entrepreneurial Programme, with DCU Ryan Academy’, beginning 18 February 2019.

This is a Business Management and Leadership Programme which is accredited by QQI (Quality & Qualifications Ireland) at Level 6, Minor Award. 16 participants will be selected for this programme, which will fast track female led businesses, to develop their business and leadership skills, achieve scale and create employment.

For more information, click here.

 

Save the Date – Upcoming Brexit Seminars – Revenue Office

The Revenue office is holding another series of seminars to engage with businesses to help identify and understand the potential customs implications of Brexit.

Please find below the links, dates & locations of the forthcoming seminars:

 

*UPDATED* Chambers Ireland Website Brexit Section – ‘No Deal’ Contingency Action Plans, Brexit Preparedness notices & More

The Brexit Section of the Chambers Ireland website has been updated with the key publications and notices in relation to Brexit Preparedness and the ‘No Deal’ Contingency Action Plans from the European Commission as well as the ‘No Deal’ Contingency Action Plan from the Irish Government.

We’ve recently updated the Resources page of the Brexit Section to include a Brexit Factsheet from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) – please find it attached to this email.

Please visit the dedicated page on Brexit Preparedness and resources for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario on our website by clicking here.

 

Save the Date – Enterprise Ireland – Eurozone Summit

Join Irish business leaders and professionals at the Eurozone Summit, where you can participate in discussions on how Ireland can take advantage of the trade opportunities that the single, shared currency market was designed to create.

The summit will take place Thursday, 21st February 2019 at the National Convention Centre, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 from 8.30am to 2.00pm – click here to register.

 

Chamber Events

All upcoming Chamber events can be viewed on the Chamber Ireland website at: http://www.chambers.ie/events/events/

Upcoming events include:

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