Results 39,761-39,780 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Promotion (3 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: The 2023 St Patrick's Day programme saw the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Government Ministers take part in an extensive international programme to promote Ireland and Irish interests around the world. These visits provided an opportunity for Ministers to promote Irish trade and meet business leaders, to engage with political counterparts and to meet the Irish diaspora in different locations....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reports (3 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together. The information requested is currently being compiled by my Department and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy as soon as it is finalised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: Good morning, members. I am grateful for the opportunity to brief the committee today. I look forward to updating members on the work of my Department in the first quarter of this year. At the outset, it is worth noting that more people are employed in Ireland today than ever before. Central Statistics Office, CSO, data published last week show the unemployment rate for April 2023 was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: This is easier said than done.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: That is one of the reasons Revenue has not implemented a kerosene support scheme. We will do it. Our team has been working on it for the past few weeks. We are close to finalising a scheme that I hope to bring to the Government in the next few weeks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: I cannot brief the committee on the detail of that until I brief the Government on it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: To give some reassurance, this has been quite tricky to get right. We do not want to have a significant bureaucratic burden on businesses in order to get support. We want it to be as simple as possible. Filling a tank of kerosene is not the same as paying monthly electricity bills that can be easily calculated. We have looked to significantly simplify the approach to have a scheme to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will see progress on this in the next fortnight.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: The economy is more balanced than it has ever been before, but we still have work to do. There is still significant reliance on about ten large multinationals for a huge amount of our corporate tax revenue in Ireland. They are global players and they make an extraordinary contribution to the Irish economy through employment and corporate tax receipts, but they are such huge players in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: I hear the Deputy's point. I do not think we should downplay the importance of multinationals in Ireland. We are a globalised economy and the multinational sector makes a phenomenal contribution to both our tax take and employment opportunities in Ireland. My priority is and will continue to be building Irish companies, SMEs and family businesses and helping them and supporting them to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Inflation Rate (11 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: We had some discussion of this issue yesterday in a committee. I am aware, of course, of views expressed by European agencies and organisations that corporate profits are a contributing factor to inflation. The European Central Bank, ECB, examined the degree to which inflation is being driven by increases in wages compared with profits. It established there has been a significant increase...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Inflation Rate (11 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: I acknowledge the ECB reports that have come out. The Government, of course, acknowledges the pressures families are under. This is why we have been proactive in limiting the fallout from higher rates of inflation. A total of €12 billion, some 4.5% of national income, has now been provided in direct relief to absorb some of the impacts and ease the burden of inflation on households...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Inflation Rate (11 May 2023)

Simon Coveney: That is exactly why we held the meeting of the retail forum yesterday and it is also why I took advice from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, regarding options. I would like to get more advice from it concerning the options available to us in the context of delivering more transparency in the food supply chain to ensure consumers are paying reasonable prices. I hope...