James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with Standing Orders, I wish to make the following declaration:

I do solemnly declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and ability execute the office of Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment without fear or favour, apply the rules as laid down the by the Houses, and in an impartial and fair manner, maintain order and uphold the rights and privileges of members in accordance with the Constitution and Standing Orders.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the place where Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I ask any members participating via Microsoft Teams that, prior to making their contribution to the meeting, they confirm that they are on the grounds of the Leinster House complex. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, I will direct them to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with any such direction.

Good afternoon, members. I am delighted to have been appointed as the Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. I sincerely welcome all of you to the committee. I look forward to working with each of you openly and in a fair and impartial manner. I know from the group we have here that we will have very productive years working together on many issues facing the country and businesses of all sizes and also focusing on the important issues around employment and the tourism sector. I want to work in a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation to address the many key issues and challenges facing the Department which is under our remit. For me, it is an honour to be serving here as Cathaoirleach during my second Dáil term. I thank my constituents for their support and understanding as I take on this role. I thank the members of the committee and I look forward to working with them. I am very open to the different issues and items that members of the committee wish to raise and wish to work with me as Cathaoirleach on. I look forward to the work ahead. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

At this point, I am delighted to open the floor to remarks from our members. To assist the clerk, I think it is best if we go around the room in a clockwise fashion. We will start with Deputy Donnelly.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment. I look forward to working with everyone on the committee. I was previously on the committee on social protection and community development. We did good, collaborative work over the years of the committee. I look forward to the same this year. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh agus comhghairdeas. I am delighted to see the Deputy as Chair. We look forward to working with him in an objective way to get the job done. My colleagues, Deputy Paul Donnelly and Senator Conor Murphy, and I have a good spread all over the island. I look forward to working on an all-island basis. This is particularly important given the geopolitical turbulence we are witnessing at present. It is important that we do everything possible to maintain our competitiveness and to look to the future and future jobs. We must do this in line with workers' rights, environmental protections and our commitments on climate change. I believe we can do so in a responsible and sustainable way. I look forward to us working together on all of those aspects and having a good, robust work plan for the committee for the coming years.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his chairmanship. I wish him every success. I am very excited to be here on this committee. I am a new Senator and a new politician as well. However, I am not new when it comes to working on behalf of small businesses. I have been working since the age of 13. I was born and raised in a small business environment. My mam and dad were in the furniture industry in Navan in County Meath. I am a business owner in the leisure industry. I got involved in politics through an interest in the issue of insurance reform and trying to help businesses to survive that and be able to get insurance. I am all about protecting small businesses, working on their behalf and being their voice in here. I am looking forward to working with everyone here on that.

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I wish the Cathaoirleach the very best of luck. I am a little bit disappointed that I was placed on two committees running at the exact same time. I had to go next door for a vote but I did not want to leave during the Cathaoirleach's opening remarks. I feel that the issue could be looked at. I think there are four committees sitting at 12.30 p.m. today. I say this out of respect. People should not be coming into and going out of important meetings.

I am looking forward to working on this committee. It is historic in the global political and economic situation. It is also very interesting and I hope we can try to play some small role. Our focus previously was very much on America. The world is a big place. I lived in Asia for the past eight years and I hope to bring that experience here. I have been involved in the hospitality industry. I had six hotels, with more than 600 people working for me. It is very important to look after workers' rights but it is also important that we drive the industry on because, at the moment, it is stagnant. I hope we can come together to look after our workers but also to try to improve our trade. We need to get the balance right and learn from others' mistakes and the things they do right.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Brennan. Deputy Gogarty is next.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat agus comhghairdeas leat a Chathaoirligh ar do phost nua. Tá suil agam go mbeimid ag obair go dian le chéile ar feadh ceithre nó cúig bliana. I apologise at the outset as I will be leaving shortly before returning. With the hours of this committee, that is going to happen often. We will try to keep the cohesion of the group going as much as possible, but we will have people coming in and out.

The Chair looks like a very patient man. His patience will be tried from time to time but that is nothing compared to the patience of the country with the changes we are facing from a trade perspective in particular. Looking at it from a macro point of view, we need to be gearing up strategically for potential new types of employment. I am sure that is going to be some of the work discussed.

Our tourism offering, how we attract and who we attract might have to change as well. From an enterprise perspective, the area I am most interested in is developing our own innovation skills rather than just trying to bring in others with those skills. We are the same size as Finland but we never developed our own Nokia. Maybe there has been something on the agribusiness side of things, but with tech innovation I can only think of the likes of Stripe. I cannot think of too many companies where we have created lots of jobs from our own innovation. Maybe we can look at that area down the line. I wish everyone the best and I am sure we will all be collegiate and co-operative.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. We move to Deputy Lawlor.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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Thank you, a Chathaoirligh. I congratulate you also on your elevation to the office of Cathaoirleach of this committee. I have been involved in politics for over 20 years. I was a county councillor for 20 years in Wexford but I am a newly elected Deputy. That was one of the joys of having a long-standing TD from my own party living a few hundred yards away from me. As a Deputy in his first term, the committee structures are new to me and I, too, would like to express some frustration with the timing of committees. I will be leaving to propose a motion in the Dáil this afternoon, so like Deputy Gogarty and I presume everybody else, I will be coming and going, but our hearts and minds will be here also.

I look forward to working on this committee, especially on the development of indigenous industry. As has been stated, the geopolitical difficulties we now face are probably a wake-up call for us in the context of the way we have been operating for the past number of decades, so I am interested in greater investment in and development of our indigenous industries, as well as the development of our wonderful tourism product. The tourism sector is going through challenging times also. We have seen figures showing drops of more than 30% in foreign visitors in certain parts of the year and that is something we must focus on. I also look forward to doing all we can to enhance the terms and conditions of workers on this island. If we enhance the position of workers, we enhance everybody through the macro economy. I look forward to working with everybody in a very collegial way.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Lawlor. Deputy Dolan is next.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I congratulate you on your election to Cathaoirleach and sincerely wish you the best of luck. I thank our clerk and our staff who are here helping us out.

The importance of this committee cannot be underestimated, especially in a time of serious global turbulence. The Irish economy remains strong and we intend to see it continue in that fashion. It is important, though, that we encourage a larger Irish impact globally. Right now, Irish firms are innovating and trying to succeed in international markets. We have a framework in place to help them do that, but this committee has a vital role to play in ensuring they are facilitated. We need to support our SMEs and be conscious of the regulatory burdens on them. I come from a small family accounting firm where we deal with a wide variety of SMEs and the sort of environment they are operating in is one in which revenues remain strong but margins have never been so razor-thin, so we need to support them in every way we can.

I look forward to working with everyone on this committee to be as productive as possible and ensure we create that environment for success in Ireland.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Dolan and call Deputy McCormack.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. I wish you well in your stewardship of this important committee. I was delighted to be nominated by our party to be on it. It fits in very well with my position as spokesperson for small- and medium-sized enterprises and retail. As my colleague Deputy Dolan said, it is very important we look at small- and medium-sized enterprises and at ways to help them not only survive, but thrive. The profit margins have got very tight and we need to look at different ways to try to help.

Enterprise, tourism and employment are important aspects of our economy and the fabric of our communities. We must look at each of those. One cannot survive without the others, so we have to look at them individually, but also collectively. We are heading for interesting times, as others said. There is the tariff situation with Trump and the geopolitical situation with wars in the likes of Gaza and Ukraine.

While I will be working here very strongly for my county of Offaly, I understand this is a national committee and I will be putting on the Irish hat as opposed to the county hat. I look forward to working with everyone else on the committee. We have huge work to do in the term of this Government.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you very much. We now go to Senator Murphy.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus comhghairdeas leat. Like others I am very much looking forward to the work of the committee. In my previous post before I became a Senator, I was economy minister north of the Border. I had a very good working relationship with the Minister, Deputy Burke, in that regard and look forward to continuing to work with him. As others have pointed out, this is an interesting time for this committee and for a broader look at economic policy.

The developments due to the approach of the United States Administration probably expose to a greater extent the vulnerability that has always been in the economic model here, in the sense of an overreliance on American investment and the jobs that flow from that. There is the opportunity for the committee to go into more of a deep dive as to how the economy should protect itself into the future, given that we have, as others have outlined, been in very turbulent times going back to the pandemic right through to the present. It is a good opportunity to look at the economic model and how we get more diversity, more indigenous businesses up to the level they need to be and less reliance on US investment in particular and the tax revenue it generates. It is obviously very welcome but it is also very vulnerable.

On tourism, I look forward to working with Tourism Ireland. It has been doing tremendous work across the island, but there are a number of challenges. One is the branding exercise, which we would love to see some advance on in terms of the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East, Ireland's Hidden Heartlands and the programme of work going on there. There are also the challenges presented by the British Government's approach post Brexit of introducing an electronic travel authorisation, which has an impact on tourism on the island.

We will want to keep an eye on workers and workers' rights. Productivity and good jobs go hand in hand and if we want to improve productivity ,we must ensure that is done in collaboration with workers and not at their expense.

Those are a few things that will be of interest. I very much look forward to working with colleagues on the committee.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Murphy and call Senator Fitzpatrick.

Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, and comhghairdeas on your appointment as Chair of this important committee. I thank the secretariat in advance. I look forward to working with them.

I am a second-term Senator and previously served on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the drugs committee and the children and disabilities committee. I was nominated to this Seanad by RGDATA, which represents more than 3,500 indigenous independent Irish food retailers, so I obviously look forward to being a voice for them on these subjects.

As party spokesperson on Dublin and the Dublin city task force, I hope this committee will be able to address many of the opportunities and challenges the capital and the rest of the country is facing.

My previous background, outside of politics and public service, was in the tech sector, going back 20 years, working internationally, so I come with a perspective of international trade and business as well. It is often said that Ireland is an open enterprise economy. Those words can easily trip off our tongues, but we need to be careful not to forget that. This committee will have a very significant role in undertaking work that can help inform policy that can ensure we have an enterprise, tourism and employment environment that is sustainable and innovative and will serve our country into the future.

I look forward to working with all members.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Chair, I wish you well in your role and congratulate you. I have no doubt that you will be fair and impartial and work for the collective good of the committee and our remit in representing as best we can the needs of enterprise, tourism and employment and working with stakeholders outside of this room.

I grew up in a family business, a pub, and later added accommodation after returning to it in more recent years. I have also gained a lot of international and large multinational experience across a wide range of sectors, from sales and marketing to technology and financial services. I have also served in the past as president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, representing all publicans outside of the greater Dublin area. I therefore bring a good understanding and knowledge and have exposure to not only the challenges out there but also the opportunities. One thing we need to do is ensure we highlight the positivity around doing business in Ireland today, attracting investment and ensuring that it is a great place to work.

I look forward to working with you, a Chathaoirligh, and all our colleagues on the committee to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure competitiveness and investment and that we are putting our best foot forward for the future.

Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)
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A Chathaoirligh, I also congratulate you on your role. I am new, like Senator Nelson Murray, to the Oireachtas committees. I come from a business background. I am in business not only in the transport sector but also in the hospitality sector, so I know how tariffs and the VAT rate can affect the hospitality sector. Another role I have played is learning how to use enterprise to fund charities, so social enterprise has been a key aspect of what I do.

I look forward to being part of the committee and to you chairing it, a Chathaoirligh.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you. We are also joined by Deputy Eoin Hayes, who is not a member of the committee but is very welcome. Deputy, I offer you the opportunity to contribute if you wish, and thank you for coming.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, and thank you for your good graces in allowing me to join this session. As the Cathaoirleach said, I am not a member of this committee but I hope to be here fairly regularly to make contributions to the discussions. I am a fairly new TD - new to this Dáil term, at least - but I was in the private sector for 15 years previous to this. I worked domestically and internationally. I worked for multinationals and startups. I started my own businesses. I was on the senior management teams of three companies and I worked with many of their shareholders.

For me, the core priority is cultivating and supporting indigenous exporting enterprise. That is the core challenge that is unique to us economically. Nokia in Finland was mentioned earlier. If you think about Škoda in Czechia, there are lots of different companies across the European Union and industries that we do not have. The solution to that is a new industrial strategy, thinking very clearly about what that means and making sure that it drives wage growth and productivity in tandem over the course of this Dáil term.

I am very happy to be here, and thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing me to be here.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I think that is everybody covered.

I move on to the discussion on the issue of the nomination of a Leas-Chathaoirleach. This is a major item of discussion for us and is required. The precedent is that we have a notice of motion. I hope this is something we could decide next Wednesday, 28 May, which is the date of our next meeting. Any interested party is very welcome to step forward to discuss the matter with the clerk to the committee. I understand, Deputy Brennan, that you have an interest in the position. Anyone else considering may put their name forward to the clerk to the committee. Is it agreeable to the committee that we decide that on 28 May? Agreed.

We proceed to the next item on the agenda, which is that we go into private session to deal with housekeeping matters. Is that agreed? Agreed.