Results 39,561-39,580 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: It might be helpful to the committee members to note a directive is currently being worked on by the commission, apparently empowering consumers regarding greenwashing. Our Department and the CCPC are involved in this space. I had not realised that until now. Maybe I can give the committee a note on it when we get a bit more detail from the commission. It is an important area if we are to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure what the question is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I am not aware of a conversation on district heating in my Department. To be fair, it would pertain to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications rather than the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I have certainly heard the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, talk about the energy efficiency of district heating, if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: That is true, but while a significant amount of physical infrastructure required for district heating systems can be installed on day one, it is pretty expensive to retrofit. I am effectively talking off the top of my head on this. The straight answer to the Deputy's question is that we have not had a discussion on the issue. Ultimately, we are working with the Department of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I am not trying to be evasive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: Remote working is now a major consideration for most companies. I have been speaking to tech companies in the US, and it is a huge part of their business models. A number of companies had a management team for their headquarters in, say, San Francisco, management teams for other parts of the world and a management team for remote working across the US and in other parts of the world. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I thought the Deputy might say that. There are things we do successfully on a cross-Border basis to facilitate an all-island economy, but tax and residency rules around tax are a matter for the Department of Finance and would require both states to agree some form of facilitation. This would not be straightforward because it would be residency outside of the EU, even though technically in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: Apparently, we have done a research paper on that issue of environmental benefits of remote working. I might take a look at it first, but we will happily share it with the committee. We passed legislation in this area regarding the obligation on employers to take seriously the request for remote working. It is not passed yet but we are progressing legislation in that area. I am happy to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I am afraid it is not as easy as that. Even within the EU, you cannot work out of Lisbon without a residency and tax issue after a certain period. That is my understanding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: You can travel to any part of the Single Market to work but if you are working as an Irish resident paying Irish taxes but not living in Ireland, there is an issue. It is primarily an issue for the Department of Finance but it is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: Yes, there is a range of issues around working outside of the jurisdiction: workers’ rights issues, workplace relations issues, employment law. It is not as simple as just working out of an apartment in the south of Spain. That can work for short periods but the residency, tax and employment rights implications are not straightforward.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: We are looking at it. We have not drawn conclusions yet from the process, as far as I know. First of all, many people work a four-day week but they are just not paid for a five-day week.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: I did not mean to give a flippant answer. This is something we are taking seriously, both in terms of remote working and the four-day week. This will be very difficult for some sectors but it may well be possible for other sectors. I am conscious we have done a lot over recent years to improve working conditions, including employment rights for employees and so on, in respect of a range of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: One of the things we are facilitating research on is, effectively, off-site building and assembly of product-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: -----before it comes onto site. It is modular but it also impacts on how things are designed and the methods with which that is done and the materials used. Ultimately, this is about building more sustainable homes that are much more efficient in terms of energy and heat, and building them faster and at lower cost in a way that perhaps does not need as many people on site as the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: On that, if the Department agrees to progress a new industrial enterprise strategy around offshore wind, for example, it would be very good to get a written submission from the committee to make sure we are not missing elements. That would be very useful from our perspective. I am sure there is now quite a lot of experience on the committee, given the number of people who have appeared...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (21 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme (UCGS) is now available to businesses through Bank of Ireland (BOI). The Scheme will see up to €1.2 billion in lending to assist the liquidity needs of SMEs, farmers, fishers and small mid-caps. Increased energy costs are driving increased costs in every area of business operations. Viable businesses need access to cashflow funding to ensure they can...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Irish Sign Language (21 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: My Department is fully committed to making services accessible to all, including ensuring that customers who wish to conduct their business using Irish Sign Language can do so. In this regard, the National Sign Language Interpreting Service for Ireland provides customers free access to an interpreter using a live video-link. My Department is committed to monitoring the level of demand for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Advertising (21 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: Details of costs incurred by my Department on advertising and promotion in 2022 and in January 2023 are set out below. This includes expenditure on a number of awareness raising campaigns around Remote Working, the National Minimum Wage and the Small Companies Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP). Year Spend on Advertising and Promotion 2022 ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Staff (21 Feb 2023)

Simon Coveney: My Department’s Communications Unit is led by a Head of Communications at Principal Officer level. There are five press office staff, including one vacancy, five staff working on campaigns and digital communications, and four staff who work on internal communications. A breakdown by grade, number in the grade, the start and end points of the appropriate pay-scales at October 2022,...