Negotiations regarding the draft EU Business to Business UTP Directive in the Food Supply Chain will resume tomorrow (Wednesday 19 December) as the Commission and the MEPs continue to wrangle over the scope of the Directive.

Originally, the Directive was to apply to protect companies with a maximum €50 million turnover. Parliament wanted to apply it to companies with a turnover up to €1.25 billion.  Tomorrow’s negotiations are expected to focus on bringing that figure to companies with a turnover of up to €250 - €300 million or less.

There are three statutory Public Holidays during the Christmas period.

Christmas Day, Tueday 25 December, 2018
St. Stephens Day, Wednesday 26 December, 2018
New Year's Day, Tuesday 1 January, 2019

Entitlement to benefit from these public holidays is governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997.  All full-time employees are automatically entitled to the public holiday benefits and all part time employees, who have worked at least 40 hours in the five weeks ending on the day before the public holiday are also entitled to benefit for the public holiday.  Click here for more information.

The Minimum Wage in Ireland will be increased from January 1st 2019. It will rise by 25 cent per hour, from €9.55 to €9.80.  Click here for details

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty T.D., anounced that the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill will commence in the first week of March 2019 once enacted. Click here to read the press release.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform, of which RGDATA is a member, welcomes the Amendment of Section 8 of the Civil Liability Act 2004.  The amendment reduces the period for reporting personal injury accidents to 1 month. This will bring an end to a loophole which has seen many businesses lack vital CCTV evidence for defending claims.
The Bill will also provide a much-needed claims database but the Alliance is disappointed that control of the database will sit with the Central Bank and not the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
The Alliance for Insurance Reform, of which RGDATA is a member, welcomes the Amendment of Section 8 of the Civil Liability Act 2004.  The amendment reduces the period for reporting personal injury accidents to 1 month. This will bring an end to a loophole which has seen many businesses lack vital CCTV evidence for defending claims.
The Bill will also provide a much-needed claims database but the Alliance is disappointed that control of the database will sit with the Central Bank and not the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).

RGDATA strongly rejects spurious claims made by Lidl about the Association engaging in ‘vexatious’ planning appeals. RGDATA has a policy of upholding the Retail Planning Guidelines which promote sustainable retail planning and vibrant towns and villages.
Click here to read article and here to read RGDATA press release.

RGDATA Director General told the Retail Consultation Forum that the Government’s actions to date on insurance were not having the impact on premiums that shopkeepers desperately needed. The Forum heard an update on the Government’s actions on insurance reform. Buckley told the Forum that independent shops need to see results in the 2019 premium quotes.

If you have not already done so, please take 5 minutes to complete our short survey.  Thank you to all who have already done so.

RGDATA and our members have highlighted ongoing frustrations and concerns about the lack of high speed internet connections in many areas throughout the country. “This is an extremely frustrating issue for members in rural areas where broadband speed is slow or non-existant,” says RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley. Click here to read the Shelflife feature.

The closing date for applications for this sheme is Wednesday 5 December.  Click here for full details