Results 241-260 of 260 for speaker:Tony McCormack

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Briefing on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: Can I just come in there? I understand there are 220 properties. That is a lot of accommodation but unfortunately we have a very low hotel rate in County Offaly so they would be a huge part of our accommodation. While in other areas it might only be 3% to 34%, in County Offaly there might be a significant percentage of those being occupied a lot of the time. That is why I am wary of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Briefing on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: I know. I understand where Ms McGuire is coming from but sometimes we throw the child out with the dishwater, unfortunately, when we quote figures like that. However, it must be remembered that weekends are the busiest periods where we have weddings and people coming for events. The weekdays are not so busy, so we cannot have a situation where we cut those off as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Briefing on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: I know, but sometimes we can get lost in figures that do not show the true picture.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Briefing on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: It is rural areas where we need those units, so we need to reflect on that more before we come in with a broad brush and a broad stroke. I thank Ms McGuire and I appreciate that. I will move on to the representatives from Fáilte Ireland and give them a chance to come in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Briefing on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: Will the registration and compliance system Fáilte Ireland will have be user friendly? Ms De Saulles spoke about it being digitally integrated but how will the data be securely shared with Departments?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 4. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [46858/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 141. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps his Department and the diplomatic network are taking to support Irish small and medium enterprises seeking to enter new export markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57060/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 172. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the expansion of Ireland’s diplomatic and consular network globally under the Global Ireland strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57061/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cybersecurity Policy (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 199. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with EU counterparts in regard to Russian cyberattacks, disinformation, and political subversion aimed at weakening democracies and dividing societies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56958/25]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Relations (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 200. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has considered appointing a trade envoy to Ukraine to build relationships for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56959/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Small and Medium Enterprises (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 510. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the assistance or guidance his Department or agencies under the remit of his Department is providing to small business owners in relation to the introduction of auto-enrolment in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57424/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Appointments Status (21 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 799. To ask the Minister for Health when an appointment will be made for a person (details supplied). [56824/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: 98. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will report on his Department’s engagement with employers and the SME sector in relation to the introduction of auto-enrolment in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57552/25]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: I thank everybody for coming in today and for their opening statements. I look around the room and ask when we as a Government are going to listen. We have had organisations and groups coming in time after time saying insurance costs and the minimum wage are too high. Let us take the minimum wage, for instance. I am a big believer in paying people a fair wage for a fair job, but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: The other issue is that because of Internet shopping, we have lost many high-street shops across the country. Our town centres do not have the mix we would like. We have many vape shops, betting shops and coffeeshops, which are great at bringing footfall, but we would like a better mix, with bakers, butchers, newsagents, and men's and women's clothes shops. I am referring to the shops we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: Sorry to interrupt, but my time is up. I am looking for ideas to bring the town back to life. Killarney is a beautiful, fantastic and thriving town. It probably bucks the trend of provincial towns around the country. It has a fantastic mix. I am my party's spokesperson for SMEs and retail and one of my passions is to try to find a solution for, or at least do something to improve the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: It is not like a Kerry woman to talk.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: You are all right.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: Would it be an idea to link the minimum wage to inflation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment: Competitiveness and the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Tony McCormack: First, I thank the witnesses for being forthright and honest with their feedback to us. I thank them for telling us the current situation. Ms McCabe and Mr. Jennings have put the whole wage argument into a different perspective because I never really thought about the whole Dublin, Cork and rest-of-the-country scenario. It certainly puts a different complexion on this that we have to be...