Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Information

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is responsible for implementing and developing government policy in the areas of enterprise, employment promotion, trade development, the regulation of business and the protection of workers. These responsibilities include the registration of companies, consumer protection, industrial relations and employment conditions. The Department has seven divisions including Labour Force Development and Employment Rights and Industrial Relations.

Labour Force Development

The Labour Force Development Division’s functions include developing a workforce with the skills that are needed by businesses and working to reduce unemployment through a range of interventions; including those in the Employment Action Plan. The Division includes the Employment Permits Section which issues employment permits

Employment Rights and Industrial Relations

In February 2007 the Employment Rights Information Unit and the Labour Inspectorate were transferred from this division of the Department to the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA).

The Employment Rights Legislation Section is responsible for drafting new employment rights legislation and managing its progress through the Oireachtas. The Section is also concerned as to how existing employment rights legislation is working and carries out reviews of legislation where necessary.

The Redundancy Payments Section processes and pays redundancy claims from employers. It also makes payments to employees who have not been paid their redundancy by their employer. If this occurs, the Redundancy Recoveries Section works to get back this money from the employer who has failed to pay redundancy.  The Insolvency Payments Section administers certain payments owed to employees whose employers have become insolvent.

The work of the Industrial Relations Section includes: developing industrial relations policy, contributing to the National Agreements process and to the development of the partnership approach to industrial relations. It is also responsible for liaising between the Department and the Labour Court and the Labour Relations Commission.

Where to apply