Results 7,081-7,100 of 7,268 for speaker:Rose Conway-Walsh

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I will move to Senator Craughwell's point next, so he can continue with his question, as I thought it was relevant. If somebody in Belmullet or any other area wanted to join the Defence Forces, there are the practicalities for people who live far away from the bases joining.

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: That is significant. I will go back to Mr. Richardson. Did he make a point of any of Senator Craughwell's points or questions?

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Is there an upper age limit for people, for example if we are talking about retired experts? Is there room there?

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I might say even beyond that where we have people who have retired, who may be in a certain financial position and who want to give something back. To me it would seem like an ideal opportunity for a person to give something back and to then share his or her expertise for the good of the State.

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I want to go on to Senator Kyne, if Mr. Gargan does not mind. The Senator has been waiting for a while.

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Does Deputy Ó Laoghaire want to ask a question?

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Are there any closing remarks before I conclude?

Committee on Defence and National Security: Update on Issues in the Reserve Defence Force: Discussion (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I want to thank you very much for being with us this morning, Mr. Gargan, Mr. Richardson and Ms McCarthy. This was a very informative session. We have some actions coming out of this in writing to the Department of public expenditure and the Tánaiste. We hear the concerns that you have raised this morning. I just want to thank you as a representative organisation and to thank the RDF...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the measures he is taking to ensure that small- and medium-sized businesses can access affordable credit and avoid being burdened with high borrowing costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51024/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Will the Minister outline the measures he is taking to ensure small- and medium-sized businesses can access affordable credit and avoid being burdened with high borrowing costs? Access to affordable credit is a significant barrier to our SMEs that want to expand and grow their market share. As they try to navigate their way around all of the challenges they face, they need access to credit.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I welcome these initiatives but last year, in 2024, we saw no real growth in Ireland's SME bank debt, with continued low demand from applicants and an overly cautious approach to risk from the banks. SMEs with any form of credit challenge find it difficult to access credit from the traditional financial institutions, even more so since the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC from the market....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: I welcome this. The problem sometimes is that many of these systems are automated and somebody may not have an absolutely clear record. There can be many reasons for this which are explainable, and at one time people could have gone in and sat down with the bank manager to explain the reason something happened and they could come to an agreement. This was also the case for people with good...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 3. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the means by which existing grant and support schemes are being simplified to make them more accessible to small and medium businesses; the steps his Department is taking to cut unnecessary red tape and reduce the administrative burden on small businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51025/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The previous question is a very important one. Will the Minister outline the means by which the Department is simplifying access to existing grant and support schemes for our SMEs and the steps he is taking to reduce the administrative burden for those businesses? The administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises is a major impediment for business owners around the country at...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: The issue is that we still have too many people coming into our constituency offices who cannot get the help and support they need to access grants. I hope that any grants announced in the budget will be thought out properly. The way to do that as regards the design of the grants is to have small businesses involved at the design stage of these grants because they will be able to see what...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Schemes (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Will the Minister think about this? In Sinn Féin's manifesto and over a number of years, we have envisaged the establishment of a mol gnó, a new Irish enterprise agency focused specifically on scaling existing Irish businesses. This would be a strong agency for non-export focused start-ups and established companies. It would specifically cover the void in support from existing...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: 5. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the action plan on collective bargaining will be published; the timeline for publication of the underpinning legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51026/25]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: My question relates to the publication of the action plan on collective bargaining that underpins the EU directive on an adequate minimum wage. When will we see the contents of this plan? What is the timeline for the delivery of the legislation underpinning that? There is a commitment in the programme for Government to finalise this action plan by the end of 2025. It will be October...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: This is absolutely critical because we are at a juncture regarding how we will shape our economy going forward. We cannot have an economy without workers. We need to stop viewing it as workers versus employers because the benefits of collective bargaining are huge. I commend the campaign in this regard which is being run by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, in particular, and the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (25 Sep 2025)

Rose Conway-Walsh: Six of the top ten FDI companies enable union representation. We know for a fact that it increases respect for management. It increases as union recognition increases. We need to take heed of the good jobs Bill in the North as well, because that is really making inroads in this area in terms of union recognition. As a party, Sinn Féin has long stood in support of trade union...