Results 32,781-32,800 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Trade Agreements (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: In January 2020, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, commissioned independent consultancy firm, Implement Consulting, to undertake an Economic and Sustainability Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the EU-Mercosur Agreement following a competitive tender process. The ESIA will consist of two equally important and complementary components, namely a...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Tribunals of Inquiry (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: No tribunals, inquiries or investigations are currently being undertaken by my Department, and none are in the process of being set up. No costs associated with setting up tribunals, inquiries or investigations have been incurred by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Company Registration (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The onus rests with a company and its officers when completing a statutory submission to ensure that documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) pursuant to the Companies Act 2014 are fully, accurately and properly completed. Section 898(1) of the 2014 Act, empowers the Registrar of Companies to serve a notice on a company rejecting non-complying documents that are...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I understand this is a difficult time for many businesses, including commercial landlords, and that many companies have had to close their businesses or curtail their activities due to COVID-19 restrictions. I am aware that these closures can have secondary effects impacting landlords and I recognise that many landlords have debt repayment obligations as well as other ongoing costs. The...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and its agencies have been focused on coming up with solutions to help businesses overcome the difficulties caused by COVID-19. In the wider context, the operation and reopening of Ireland's economy and society will be guided by the need to manage risk and repair the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on society. The Plan for Living with COVID-19 specifically recognises the...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Company Law (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: My responsibilities are in respect of statutory audit as required by EU law or national law in respect of small companies. A statutory audit is a legally required review of a company’s financial statements. A statutory audit provides stakeholders such as creditors, investors and employees, with an independent opinion on the accuracy of the company’s accounts. Under the Companies...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Employment Rights (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: On 6th November 2019, the employer (details supplied) e-mailed my officials querying if different restaurants [owned by different companies] could be brought under the one "umbrella" to allow for movement of staff between the different employers. On 11th November 2019, my officials responded requesting further information from the employer on their proposal in order to be in a position to...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Since his appointment, the current Director of Corporate Enforcement has undertaken a significant restructuring of the Office to better reflect the organisation’s needs in the context of both its strategic shift towards deploying resources towards more serious indications of wrongdoing and the increasingly complex environment within which the ODCE operates. Establishing the ODCE as the...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Since his appointment, the current Director has undertaken a significant restructuring of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) to better reflect the organisation’s needs in the context of both its strategic shift towards deploying resources towards more serious indications of wrongdoing and the increasingly complex environment within which the ODCE operates....

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The issue of resourcing of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement is kept under review on a regular basis by the Department and the ODCE as part of the ongoing work in operationalising the transition of the ODCE to a stand-alone agency and also as part of the normal liaison on operational matters relating to the Office. Funding The distribution of the funding allocations for...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: With respect to Garda resources, while the Companies Act 2014 provides for the secondment of Gardaí to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), the Director and the Garda Commissioner are independent in their functions and the assignment of Gardaí to the ODCE is an operational matter for both the Director and the Commissioner. There are currently 8 members of An...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Any requests made by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to companies are operational matters for the ODCE. Section 949(3) of the Companies Act 2014 provides that the Director of Corporate Enforcement shall be independent in the performance of his statutory functions. I, as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Innovation have no direct function in such matters. ...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (25 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19, only essential retail outlets will remain open. S.I. No. 448 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 8) Regulations 2020 clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5 of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID. A list of essential services can be found at and the...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I announced the introduction of the Micro Enterprise Assistance Fund scheme on the 14thof September. The scheme is aimed at Micro-Enterprises who are not eligible for the COVID-19 Restart/Restart Plus Grant or similar COVID-19 business restart grants. The Micro Enterprise Assistance Fund provided eligible businesses with a voucher of between €500 and €1,000 in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The range of policy areas which come under the heading of social considerations is very broad and includes, for example, environmental sustainability, disability access, training for young or disadvantaged people and labour standards amongst a host of other areas. Bearing in mind the broad scope of the question and its reference to any State bodies who are provided with public funding under...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The eligibility criteria set out by my Department determine how Restart Grant Plus applications are processed by the Local Authorities on its behalf. In this context it is important to note that for the purposes of the Restart Grant and Restart Grant Plus Schemes, each Local Authority is the decision maker in relation to initial applications and appeals. The Department has no role in...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Labour Market (25 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Economic or labour migration policy is essentially the framework within which the State's employment permit system operates. It is designed to supplement Ireland's skills and labour supply over the short to medium term by allowing enterprises to recruit nationals from outside the EEA, where such skills or expertise cannot be sourced from within the EEA at that time. The system is not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. I was very saddened to hear of the deaths of those two men in recent days. At any time of year, although particularly in the run-up to Christmas, the deaths of people who are homeless fills us all with sorrow. As I understand it, there have been media reports concerning the deaths of two individuals in Dublin between the evening...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly raise the issue at Cabinet. It is discussed in Cabinet meetings in the ordinary course of events but I will raise it again when Cabinet meets on Friday or Tuesday. As we know, the number of people who are homeless has fallen by approximately 20% in the past year. Now, that is only 20%. It means for every five people who were homeless there are now four. It is going in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. This is something that has been on the minds of many people in our country in recent weeks and months, including parents who are worried about their children and individuals who are worried about their reputations. It is true that social media has been a great innovation. Like all technologies, it comes with positives and negatives....