Results 34,741-34,760 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The right to request remote working is part of a broader Government vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland's workforce in a way that can be to the benefit of everyone - economically, socially and environmentally. The commitment to introduce legislation to underpin an employee's right to request remote work was made in the national remote work strategy published last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The legislation is still in development, so we do not even have the heads at this stage. There are many aspects that might end up in it and I am certainly open to suggestions. As for the right to switch off or disconnect, we dealt with that through a code of practice, which was published a few months ago. It is not a statutory code of practice but it is admissible in evidence where...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy raises an important issue and it is something to which I will have to give some thought with my officials. There are different scenarios. Somebody who applies for a job in an office and gets it might then request the option of working from home one or two days a week. In that case, the employee is making the request and there is more of an obligation on him or her to provide the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: From the outset of Covid-19, many employers have taken the initiative, in line with subsequent requests from the Government, to be as flexible as possible in allowing staff to take time off to look after their children who are not attending school or crèche. Employers have a general duty of care towards their workers and that care is often expressed in the form of negotiation,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As is always the case in these scenarios, you have to look at it from the point of view of the parent and of the employer. Particularly where the parent is a lone parent, their having to take time off work could be very injurious. There would be lost income and they do not have somebody else co-parenting with them to help out. Therefore, all the income in the household is lost, not just...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It probably has. We have to give some consideration to that.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Redundancy Payments (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Reckonable service is service that is taken into account when calculating a redundancy lump sum payment. The current situation is that the law provides that a period of lay-off within the final three years of service before redundancy is not allowable as reckonable service and is not included as service for the purposes of the calculation of the redundancy lump sum...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Redundancy Payments (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I hope to be in a position to bring a proposal to Government either next Tuesday or the Tuesday after. Obviously, I will have to do so before 30 September, so that people who are triggering their redundancy claims will know where they stand on that. We have had some consultations with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, Irish Business and Employers Confederation, IBEC, and others, as...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Universal and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is crucial in the global fight against COVID-19. International Trade is a competence of the EU under the Treaties and in exercising that competence, the European Commission engages fully with the Member States, including Ireland, through a variety of Committees and Working Parties/Groups,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Missions (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60, 67 and 129 together. Last week I led a three-day Enterprise Ireland and IDA trade mission to the UK, France and Germany to  support the accelerated export-led recovery of Irish businesses in the UK and Eurozone. This was the first in-person trade mission undertaken following the EU-UK Trade Agreement and following the onset of Covid-19. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The right to request remote work is part of a broader Government vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland’s workforce in a way that can benefit all – economically, socially and environmentally.  The commitment to introduce legislation to underpin employees' right to request remote work was made in the national Remote Work Strategy published last...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IDA actively promotes available buildings and land in IDA Business Parks and high-quality buildings in private ownership through their network of overseas offices. IDA Ireland owns approximately 10.6 hectares of industrial zoned land on the Sligo Road in Quignashee, Ballina.   As the Deputy is aware, planning permission was previously obtained for infrastructural development,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Mid-West has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies. There are 143 IDA client companies in the Mid-West Region (Clare, Limerick and Tipperary) employing 24,169 people. The FDI performance in the region has been consistent over the past five years with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am keenly aware of the critical role that the retail sector plays in contributing to the Irish economy. As the largest private sector employer, and a key element in providing for the needs of society and indeed other sectors of the economy, it is vital that retail continues to develop capability and remains competitive. The past year has been a difficult year for most businesses, including...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is just over one year since the Covid-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme (CCGS) was launched. During this time the scheme has provided vital access to finance to 6,592 SME businesses in all parts of the country. The scheme has provided loans of over €431 million to these businesses, many of which are those sectors most impacted by the pandemic such as the wholesale and retail sector,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment I can assure the Deputy of the value that this Government and my Department places on helping entrepreneurs, indigenous SMEs and micro-enterprises  as creators of employment all over Ireland to grow and thrive in our economy. Ensuring we have the best business environment for all businesses to grow and proposer requires a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: On 31 August 2021, the Government published Reframing the Challenge: Continuing our Recovery and Reconnecting,setting out the proposed process for the further gradual of society and the economy. From the 20September onwards, attendance at the workplace for specific business requirements may commence on a phased and staggered basis. In this regard employers should plan and prepare for this...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Brexit Supports (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Brexit Impact Loan Scheme will make up to €330m in lending available to SMEs and small mid-caps impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. This scheme is a successor to the Brexit Loan Scheme, which will close to new applications as the new scheme opens. The Brexit Impact Loan Scheme has been developed in cooperation between my Department and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Regional development is at the centre of IDA Ireland's new strategy. The national context for IDA’s approach to winning investment for the regions is set by Project Ireland 2040 and the associated National Planning Framework (NPF), National Development Plan and Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies. The IDA’s Regions pillar also aligns with the objectives of the Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The current Programme for Government makes the commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government”. Earlier this year I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine this commitment and to make recommendations on the best approach to achieving it within the lifetime of the Government. The Low Pay Commission has commissioned supporting research on the living...