Results 36,941-36,960 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Schemes (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and its agencies are actively pursuing opportunities for decarbonisation across the enterprise base. We aim to foster strong, resilient businesses, that are successful and sustainable, while meeting our sector’s climate targets. The Green Transition Fund, which I launched in June 2022, is designed very specifically to reduce manufacturing combustion emissions, a core...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy may be aware, in June 2022 I brought a Memo to Government to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to participating in the Unitary Patent and the Unitary Patent Court (UPC) and to raise awareness of the Government decision of 2014. Subsequently I issued a press release reaffirming the Government’s commitment to participate in both the Unitary Patent and UPC, and to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Official Engagements (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Recently I attended a photocall with President of Huawei Cloud Western Europe, Mr. Tim Tao and CEO of Huawei Ireland, Mr. Tony Yangxu. The purpose of this engagement was to mark the announcement of a €150m investment in a European cloud hub which is to create 200 new jobs over 5 years at Huawei. Over the next two years, 60 technology-focused roles in sales, research and support will be...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland has a number of strategic land holdings within the Strategic Economic Corridor as identified in the Galway County Development Plan. These lands include the Oranmore Strategic Site and the Athenry Strategic Site. IDA Ireland has delivered significant infrastructure upgrades to these lands in recent years in order to ensure the lands are serviced for potential investments of scale....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government contains the commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government”. In January 2021, I requested the Low Pay Commission to report on how best the Government could progress to a living wage. Following commissioned research from Maynooth University and engagement with unions and representative groups, the Commission...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We want to reward work and ensure that work pays more. Minimum wage workers are among the hardest working people in Ireland and deserve to paid more particularly at a time of rising prices. In September, the Government agreed to accept the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation to increase the National Minimum Wage by 80 cent to €11.30 from the 1st of January 2023. At least...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 149 together. When we launched the Economic Recovery Planlast year, we set a goal of achieving 2.5 million people in employment by 2024. The Plan not only aimed to recover employment lost during the pandemic but to promote new employment opportunities through increased labour market activation and by accelerating the provision of training, reskilling...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The (EU) Proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions in platform work was published in December 2021 and is currently being negotiated in the Council of the European Union. The Directive increases transparency in the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms, ensures human monitoring on their respect of working conditions and gives the right to contest automated decisions....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government contains the commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government”. There is currently no statutory living wage in Ireland. In January 2021, I requested the Low Pay Commission to report on how best the Government could progress to a living wage. Following commissioned research from Maynooth University and engagement with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 142 together. The Right to Request Remote Working Bill 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 proposed legislation will provide employees with a right to request remote work and will...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: 2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 29,000 on 2020. Growth in the regions was particularly buoyant, with 53% or 133 projects of the 249 investments won by IDA going to regional locations. Employment growth was recorded in every region of the country. Monaghan is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Human Rights (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, Ireland's first National Plan on Business and Human Rights was launched by the Department of Foreign Affairs towards the end of 2017. The implementation of this whole-of-Government plan was overseen by a multistakeholder implementation group comprised of representatives of Government, civil society and business, including from my own Department. Both the plan...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, in June this year, I issued a press release confirming the Government’s commitment to participate in the Unitary Patent system and the Unitary Patent Court, and to hold the necessary constitutional referendum to enable Ireland to do so. Although the timing for this referendum is a matter for Government to decide, it is anticipated that the referendum will be in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: 2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 29,000 on 2020. The Border Region consists of counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, as well as Cavan, and Monaghan. There are 67 IDA Ireland supported companies in this region which collectively directly employ 8,721 people....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Cost of Living Issues (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139, 147 and 148 together. Price movements are primarily measured through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) published by Ireland’s national statistical office, the Central Statistics Office (CSO). My Department has not undertaken an analysis of price increases which are unrelated to any particular issue, but it actively...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Funding (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with the company in question since 2019 when it was transferred from the Cork LEO which had supported it since its establishment in 2017. The company has received extensive support from Enterprise Ireland Market Advisors in overseas offices including US as well as UK, mainland Europe, Middle East and Australia. Enterprise Ireland has invested a total...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Standards Authority of Ireland (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is an independent agency, under the aegis of my Department. As part of its remit, NSAI carries out a range of operational functions, some of which are in areas which fall within the lead policy responsibility of other Departments. In this context, NSAI carries out activities in relation to construction products, which is an area within the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Economic Growth (27 Oct 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department, in conjunction with other Departments and state bodies, monitors key sectors to anticipate needs and realise emerging opportunities. The latest series of sectoral reports, "Focus on Sectors 2020", was published in August 2020, which presented concise overviews of 16 key sectors of the economy, encompassing both exporting and locally trading activities, and outlined some...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Ukraine War (8 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 78 together. My Department and its Offices are tenants in ten buildings across the country in office accommodation provided to it through the Office of Public Works (OPW) who manage the State's property portfolio on behalf of Government Departments. These buildings are either state owned or leased from private landlords by the OPW. I can...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Data (8 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: There are 92 Enterprise Ireland (EI) supported companies, employing 4,862 people in County Mayo. In 2021, there were 502 jobs created by EI supported clients. Enterprise Ireland (EI) supports companies in every county of Ireland to start and scale, innovate, and remain competitive on international markets, now and in the future. The contribution of EI client companies to the Irish economy...