Results 3,301-3,320 of 3,425 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Bodies (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Retail Forum, chaired by my colleague, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Ms Emer Higgins, TD, was established in June 2014 to allow key issues of relevance to the retail sector to be discussed. The Forum supports the identification of practical actions which could be taken by Government, or by industry itself, to support the sector with particular emphasis on...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: The National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital, led by the Department of the Taoiseach, sets out this Governments commitment to Digital Transformation. This commitment is reflected in the White Paper on Enterprise which includes Placing Digital Transformation at the Heart of Enterprise Policy as one of the 7 key policy objectives. My Department and our enterprise agencies continue to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: My Department, in partnership with the enterprise agencies, provides a comprehensive range of supports for job creation and sustainable economic growth in County Kildare. Enterprise Ireland offers financial support and grant aid to high-potential companies in Kildare that demonstrate the capacity for rapid growth and entry into export markets. This support is crucial for stimulating...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Public Sector Staff (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: Enterprise Ireland does not employ any forensic accountants.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: While the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is not responsible for direct support schemes for people with a disability, the Department is focused on ensuring that supports for entrepreneurs and enterprise are accessible to all, including people with disabilities. Enterprise Ireland continues to invest in additional content available on the eiLearn platform and is working in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (22 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that they have checked the new Employment Permit applications received, and that the Employment Permit application in respect of the person concerned in the details supplied was submitted to them on the 7th of October 2024 and was placed in the processing queue on the 8th of October 2024. All applications for employment permits...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (23 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: Ireland’s system of industrial relations is essentially voluntary in nature and responsibility for the resolution of industrial disputes between employers and employees’ rests in the first instance with the employer, the employees, and their representatives. For its part, the State provides the industrial relations dispute settlement mechanisms through the Workplace Relations...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I recognise that businesses operating in the retail and hospitality sectors continue to face higher costs with running their business, that is why I announced the Power Up Grant as part of Budget 2025. The Power Up grant has a budget of €170m. This grant builds on the success of the Increased Cost of Business Scheme which has delivered €244m to date to businesses to 75,000...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Enterprise Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: As the Deputy said, social enterprises are an important and growing part of Ireland's entrepreneurship ecosystem. They create jobs and stimulate local economic activity and they are recognised as an integral part of Ireland's broad enterprise policy landscape. My colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, launched Trading for Impact 2024-2027 -...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Enterprise Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Deputy very much. I add my congratulations to the winners. I met with SERI in July. I received a briefing from it on the survey it commissioned, in which 66 of the social enterprises across Ireland participated. SERI made it very clear that it has had very positive engagement with the Department, Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise office staff. This led to the roll-out...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Enterprise Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank everybody for their contributions and for all the support they give to social enterprises, both within their communities and throughout the country. I acknowledge the huge role SERI plays in doing exactly that and driving this important element of our community. The suggestion of awareness campaigns is really positive and is something we can look at. That said, I point to what...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge and recognise the role he played in setting up so many LEOs for success up and down the country. As he will be aware, there are 31 LEOs and they play an important role at local level as part of a supportive ecosystem that provides services directly to small businesses and promotes entrepreneurship in towns and communities across the country. They are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: To reiterate, it is our intention to make sure that decarbonisation grants and initiatives are easy to access and draw down. We have a €300 million decarbonisation fund, through Enterprise Ireland. Over the first two years, there has been a good and strong take-up of that. At a more local level, over the past three weeks we have made a big effort to reduce the complexity around...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: We aim for consistency across our 31 local enterprise offices. One of the reasons we have models through our local enterprise offices in every local authority is because decarbonisation is as important in Donegal as it is in Dublin, Cork or Clare. I fully agree with what Deputy Bruton said about the success of group schemes. We need to learn from that. We as a Department are very much...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 76 together. Balanced regional enterprise development remains a key focus for me and for the Government, as affirmed in the White Paper on enterprise. I very much appreciate the contribution made by enterprise and remote working hubs throughout the country. These facilities allow people to live and work in their local communities and provide vital...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: Absolutely we will. I appreciate what he is saying, that up until now it has been the Cavan or Monaghan local authority that has been buying sites and developing those services. To reiterate, now that we have the smart regions scheme, it is there to support that dynamic of industry, academia and enterprise. Stream 1 of that is designed to support the major local investment and capital...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I hear what the Deputy is saying, and absolutely we need to do more in this area. Part of the smart regions enterprise innovation scheme also looks at clustering. Perhaps that is something that might be relevant to the Deputy's constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, if, for example, there are manufacturing companies he feels could benefit from that. I hear what he is saying, that we need...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: Calm down, Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: I do not, in fact. Calm down.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (24 Oct 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was published on 19th October 2022 and must be transposed by 15th November 2024. The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work. My Department has received legal advice on minimum wage and collective bargaining elements...