Results 39,841-39,860 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

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

Simon Coveney: In response to Senator Ahearn, the jobs growth numbers have been phenomenal. As Deputy Bruton pointed out earlier, we deliberately have not set a definitive number for job growth for the next two years because Ireland is at full employment right now. We are seeing really strong jobs growth. We have also got to bed down the employment we currently have and support adding value in terms of...

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

Simon Coveney: It will because it means spending money on companies that have already made the change when perhaps we should focus that money on the companies that need to change but cannot afford to do so. I take the point that any policy must be fair. On the queries by Senator Lombard, I am former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine so I understand only too well the pressures on primary...

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is right that people doing their shopping every week do not want to hear comparisons with what is happening to prices in France and Spain. I only raised that issue because we asked the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to look at this and come back to us with recommendations as to suggestions that have been made on price caps, the State fixing prices and so on....

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 on that point. However, we are legislators and policymakers and we have to go a little deeper into the argument, while recognising the frustration of consumers.

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

Simon Coveney: Of course. On research, development and innovation, the European innovation scoreboard put Ireland in sixth place overall last year. We were considered a strong innovator, with our position improving from 11th the previous year. We are moving in the right direction. In 2021, gross expenditure on research, development and innovation increased to an estimated €4.686 billion, which is...

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

Simon Coveney: On the corporate sustainability directive, I mentioned earlier that we have bought into it. There is a big communications job for us to do with companies.

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy might send me a note with her question.

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

Simon Coveney: On the grocery prices issue, there has been a change of tone from Government. We want a response from the retail sector to the reality that price inflation is reducing across the economy but price inflation within the food retail sector is not. One is running at double the other. We need to understand, from a retail perspective, why that is. We want consumers protected in terms of retail...

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

Simon Coveney: No.

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

Simon Coveney: This is an issue that many families are discussing. They want to understand why the State would not intervene to set prices. There are potentially significant negative consequences by making that kind of intervention, which the Government has been warned against by the expert body that has examined this issue. That is why we are not going down that road for now, and that is not a road that...

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

Simon Coveney: To date.

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

Simon Coveney: The National Training Fund is predominantly the responsibility of other Departments, to be fair. The Minister for Justice and Education are both involved with it. There is a big emphasis on apprenticeships and on the upskilling and training that is needed. We will continue to invest heavily in that space, which is badly needed. To make offshore wind infrastructure happen in our ports,...

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy was very involved in the Balance for Better Business initiative. Ireland is now among the top ten countries in the EU for female board representation, in figures released by the Balance for Better Business group. This is an independent, industry-led, and Government-supported group with a secretariat provided by my Department. It is encouraging to see steady progress when it...

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

Simon Coveney: That is fine. It is a big sector. I know I have mentioned a number of ports in the context of offshore wind because of the natural depth of space that is there. There are obviously others too, including Waterford, Bantry, Arklow, Killybegs, Galway and Rossaveel. There are many strategic ports around the country that we need to focus on. If an appropriate case is being made for...

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

Simon Coveney: I will give the official position on that. Ireland has been more ambitious for the proposal in a number of areas, including favouring a value chain-based approach, in recognition of the fact that adverse human rights and environmental impacts can occur throughout the value chain. We are seeking a greater focus on the gender aspects of the proposal, as women can suffer disproportionately...

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

Simon Coveney: I am glad the Deputy supports us on it.

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

Simon Coveney: I do not know if I can publish it because it may be advice specifically for the Department but I will find out if I can. We can share it with the committee. It is essentially the CCPC giving us preliminary views on price controls in the retail grocery sector. We asked for some advice on that. It has effectively looked at what is happening in other countries and how that compares 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 asked me to go through the CCPC response. It goes on to look at price controls, and gives its preliminary views on that: The CCPC recognises that recent price increases have had a significant impact on consumers, and many governments have decided to respond with targeted income supports for those hardest hit [which clearly we have done here]. However, the CCPC has not seen any...

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

Simon Coveney: I do not want to read the whole thing to the Deputy. I will have to enlarge it, because my eyesight is not great.

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

Simon Coveney: The clear advice here is that the State intervening in the market by setting a maximum price can have serious and negative impacts, including reputational damage, impact on supply and supply chains, potentially reducing competition, and impacting on jobs. In other words, there are, or may be, significant unintended consequences of intervening in the market which operates on the basis of...