David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Will the witnesses comment on the current situation regarding trade with the UK in respect of Brexit? I understand there have been some big changes. How do these impact on our enterprise policy? Page 34 of the White Paper mentions competition in banking and insurance. Today we have seen another increase in interest rates in some of our banks. The European Central Bank is expected to increase rates shortly. Will the witnesses comment on the impact of this on business and policy here? What is the likely impact?

I have not seen any mention of lean management or lean thinking in the White Paper. Perhaps the witnesses will comment on what the Department is doing in this respect to encourage it.

I also ask them to comment on remote working and its impact on the policy. A small but growing number of people are working remotely outside the jurisdiction. Is this something that has come onto the radar of the Department? One of the big issues we come across again and again is getting workers and employees. Almost every company we meet tells us that filling vacancies is a big issue.

Will the witnesses comment on sites for industry? There is a change happening. With more people working from home, offices are becoming vacant. At the same time I am told there is a shortage of sites for foreign direct investment. If a large multinational wants to come into Cork, for instance, there is one site available, which is the Amgen site in Ballyadam. It is locked up because the road infrastructure is not up to standard. If foreign direct investment companies want to come in, are we satisfied we have the sites available for them, including for them to build if it is for something specialised? There is great work going on with IDA Ireland throughout the country and I acknowledge this but I am told there is a squeeze with respect to sites.

Will the witnesses comment on employment black spots? There are many towns, such as Youghal in my constituency, where people leave every morning because there is no employment and they travel long distances to work. Have we given any thought to enabling people who could work remotely to do so and stay closer to their homes? This would cut down on emissions from having to travel. It would improve their quality of life and well-being. This is probably something we should consider.

Recently the committee received a very good submission on people with disabilities working. I am involved in the open door initiative, which does good work in this respect. It looks at people on the margins and brings them into work. These are people with disabilities, migrants, people from other jurisdictions and people whom the education system failed. Will the Department work on this cohort of people who are in our 4% or 5% unemployment rate?

A number of years ago, work was done on small business and casual trading. Senator Garvey reminded me of it. A review of the casual and occasional trading licensing legislation commenced. How has this progressed? I asked a parliamentary question on it in 2021 and I was told it was put in abeyance. A lot of people with micro-businesses depend on it. The witnesses may not have the answers to all of these questions but they might be able to send them in writing afterwards. I am told the Casual Trading Act 1995 is operated by the local authorities. It needs to be updated and I would like to know where it is at. I have asked a lot of questions.