Results 32,141-32,160 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Government values the role of SMEs and microenterprises in our economy and as creators of employment throughout Ireland. Balancing our enterprise policy between foreign direct investment, FDI, export-only businesses and non-exporting indigenous firms is an important policy consideration and one which was touched upon by the OECD in its 2019 report on entrepreneurship and SME policy in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The idea of a new agency is certainly something I have an open mind on. A lot of business people I talk to say they feel there is a gap. When a business is very small, it can get help from the local enterprise offices and, when it is a bit larger or is an exporter, from Enterprise Ireland, but there is a gap in between. The question is whether we fill that gap by expanding the role of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I do not really have anything to add to what I said earlier but I join the Deputy in acknowledging in particular the work InterTradeIreland does on cross-Border trade. We have provided that agency with extra funding for next year. I am keen to engage and work closely with my counterpart in the North, the Minister for the Economy, Ms Diane Dodds MLA, with whom I have already met, to see what...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am committed to bringing in a statutory sick pay scheme for Ireland as part of my work programme for next year. Such a scheme would improve workers' terms and conditions, particularly low paid workers, but there are various issues to consider before we establish the scheme. As a starting point, I presented a draft issues paper on statutory sick pay to the labour employer economic forum,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will have to defer to the Minister, Deputy McGrath, on the public sector side. What was in the budget was the reduction in the number of days to wait for illness benefit from six days to three days. This benefits employees and employers. If people are sick for any reason other than Covid they will now qualify for illness benefit on the fourth day rather than the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flexible Work Practices (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Having had the experience of being a member of Fingal County Council and being stuck behind a tractor not too far from Skerries I can understand how sometimes it can delay journeys. As our country continues to navigate Covid-19, remote working has become more important than ever before. This is reflected in the programme for government, which contains commitments aimed at facilitating...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flexible Work Practices (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: There are many ways in which the pandemic will change our world. One of these is how it has turned the world on its head when it comes to remote working and home working. What has happened over recent months as a consequence of the pandemic probably would have taken us ten years as a planned strategy. When we were writing the programme for government we were thinking about how we would...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Flexible Work Practices (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is absolutely correct. The kinds of legislative change we need to think about include the right to request remote working or homeworking; the right to disconnect, so that the employee is not always at work when at home, which could be oppressive for people; and the risk to the country of losing people who currently live and work in Ireland to remote working from, perhaps, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmaceutical Sector (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As Tánaiste and Minister with responsibility for enterprise, trade and employment, my focus is to lead our country through the economic crisis that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. My Department and the enterprise agencies under my remit are doing everything possible to sustain businesses and get our people safely back to work in all parts of our country. IDA Ireland has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmaceutical Sector (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. In November 2015, Roche Holding announced it would close the facility in Clarecastle, following a review of its worldwide manufacturing network for small molecules. Since then, IDA Ireland has been actively promoting the site to existing clients and potential investors. As the Deputy knows, the IDA engages regularly with key stakeholders on the ground across County...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pharmaceutical Sector (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: There is great potential in the mid-west for future investment by life science companies, medical technology companies and the pharmaceutical industry. I had the honour of being at Regeneron in Limerick with the Taoiseach only a few weeks ago. A considerable investment is happening there with the creation of nearly 1,000 jobs. I can see more investment like that happening in Limerick and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the Deputy's questions, the restart grant has, in many ways, now been superseded by the budget announcement on Tuesday of the Covid restrictions subsidy scheme, CRSS, which will provide a weekly grant to businesses that are closed as a result of Government orders relating to the pandemic, with the proviso that they may operate at a very reduced turnover, that is, they are down 80%...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I know this is of significant interest to him, in particular given his constituency of Cork South-West which is, was and should again be a great tourism constituency with many hotels and bed and breakfasts which are now really struggling. The restart grant plus is funded through my Department, but we decided when it comes to bed and breakfasts the most sensible thing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will have to double check the figure. Quite a few details will need to be ironed out in respect of this particular scheme. Some 98% of businesses in Ireland have a turnover of less than €1 million. This scheme is very much aimed at the SME sector. As I understand it, it involves 10% of the first €1 million and 5% of the second €1 million up to a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services Provision (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Moynihan for his question and ongoing interest in matters relating to people with disabilities. My Department is committed to inclusion with equality of opportunity for all, regardless of disability, gender, civil or family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, race or membership of the Traveller community. In particular, my Department leads the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services Provision (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Enterprise Ireland and the National Disability Authority, NDA, are currently creating a strategy that promotes and supports entrepreneurship and self-employment for people with a disability. The steps being undertaken are the introduction of a broad-based programme offering basic information and training to a large audience of people with disabilities, the development of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disability Services Provision (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will be happy to follow up on that. My people will be in touch with his people. The pandemic potentially creates an opportunity for people with disabilities, particularly those with a physical disability. The fact that remote working and homeworking have now become normal creates new opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the workplace and to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government commits to the formation of an SME growth task force to design a national SME growth plan that will map out an ambitious long-term strategic blueprint beyond Covid-19 and Brexit. The task force will draw up detailed plans to help SMEs to start up, scale up and access foreign markets. This includes any potential improvements to the scope of firms covered by the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. This has come up in my various conversations with business groups. Responsibility for transport and logistics falls to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. However, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation is across this issue because it is essential for business and employment that we have supply chains....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (15 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The IMDO report is from 2018. The figure of 40% capacity comes from a more up-to-date report the Department of Transport has done since then. It is not our thinking that everyone will stop using the land bridge. Some hauliers will divert from the British land bridge to direct services. For others, it will still be quicker to go through the UK even if they are stuck there for a few hours....