Results 7,381-7,400 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: IDA Ireland Site Visits (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I am not claiming anything.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: IDA Ireland Site Visits (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: IDA Ireland has been doing wonderful work. It certainly has a strong focus on the regions. There are of course areas where we want to see improvement. We launched the regional enterprise development plans to identify the positives and build on them, but also to identify the gaps and how to improve where we need to improve. That is why we have €60 million in the regional enterprise...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Enterprise Development Fund (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: My Department's regional enterprise development fund, REDF, is a competitive fund. It has been introduced to co-finance the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative enterprise projects that can make a significant impact on enterprise development in the regions to help to sustain and add to employment at county, regional and national level. The scheme is also aimed at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Enterprise Development Fund (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I was delighted to visit Athy with the Deputy several months ago. Prior to that, I was there at the time, unfortunately, the Coca-Cola plant reduced its staff there. I was down there recently for the launch of the Athy food hub project. I saw at first hand the plans to convert the historical old model school building into a food innovation hub. It is a great project supported by...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Enterprise Development Fund (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Much work is going on in Kildare County Council. Jacqui McNabb in the Kildare local enterprise office is supportive of this project and has done much work on it. What is good about this project is collaboration. That is what we are trying to encourage across the country. It is collaboration between the local enterprise office, the local education providers, the local authorities and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Supports (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 10 together. Since 2016, my Department has worked with the enterprise development agencies, businesses and representative bodies to ensure we have the appropriate mix of supports for businesses to prepare and manage through whatever Brexit we may face over the coming period. The most immediate consequences of a hard Brexit are likely to be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Supports (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is absolutely right. Nobody knows better than he and I do the links between businesses north and south of the Border. That is the reason I allocated additional funding in budget 2019 to InterTradeIreland, which has planning vouchers worth up to €2,250 of which companies can avail easily to help them to employ somebody to identify and mitigate the risks presented by Brexit....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Supports (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is absolutely right. There is contact at official level between my Department and officials in the Department in Northern Ireland on the question of how we can co-operate. We want to make sure we can assist in every way possible because Brexit will throw up many challenges. Obviously, there is co-operation on a governmental basis also. The Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, visits...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: My Department and its agencies are working towards ambitious targets to support job creation, while ensuring employment and investment are distributed as evenly as possible across the country, thus ensuring every region can achieve its potential. Counties Longford and Westmeath have experienced significant growth in both employment and investment in recent years, with 19,400 more people in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I am particularly familiar with that business park because Deputy Burke had me visit the site. I will make sure IDA Ireland takes the Deputy's points into consideration when arranging site visits. I refer to Deputy McLoughlin's question. All politics is local. A landing space was opened in Sligo in November 2018 through a partnership between IDA Ireland, IT Sligo and Sligo County...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I am aware of the wonderful facilities in Sligo. There are some fine facilities across the country thanks to investment in recent years. The regional enterprise development plan has identified these strengths and how we can build on them, while IDA Ireland takes account of all the spaces available. It is working closely with the local authorities and local enterprise offices in attracting...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: It is a concern.

Financial Resolutions 2019 - Financial Resolution No. 9: General (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I appreciate the opportunity to say a few words about my Department's budget allocation for next year. In 2020 our total allocation will be €971 million. In a no-deal Brexit, however, we will initially have immediate access to an additional support package of €110 million. This will be drawn from the total contingency fund of €650 million, which has been earmarked...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, on 28 June, the EU concluded negotiations for an Association Agreement with Mercosur after nearly 20 years and 40 rounds of talks which would mark the EU’s largest trade deal to date. The Agreement will see a significant reduction, or elimination, of tariffs and barriers to trade which will allow an increased flow of trade and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I have a longstanding focus on seeing an increase in the numbers of women in business and women becoming entrepreneurs. As recognised in Future Jobs, increasing female participation is a vital way to grow the diversity and strength of our indigenous business sector. My Department, and the Government as a whole, continue to monitor and assess the number of women in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Action Plan for Jobs (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I have made regional enterprise development one of my key priorities as Minister. That is why I led the development of the Regional Enterprise Plans, which are enterprise focused strategies that are the result of a refresh and refocus of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs to ensure their relevance and impact out to 2020.  The refreshed North-West Regional Enterprise Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Applications Data (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: It is an indicator of our economic and job creation success that the Employment Permits Section of my Department is experiencing  high levels of demand for employment permits. This has led to some delays in processing applications.  In order to reduce processing times, the Employment Permits section has introduced a number of operational changes, streamlined processes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to supporting job creation and investment in the regions, including in County Sligo and the North-West as a whole. We are determined to ensure that employment and investment are distributed as evenly as possible across the country and we have set ambitious targets in pursuit of that goal. A "Landing Space" in Sligo was...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Supports (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: My Department and its agencies have worked to put in place an extensive suite of supports, schemes and advice to ensure that businesses can prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Many of these supports have been designed to scale after an initial investment of funds, so that they can continue to provide support to any number of Irish businesses without the need for increased...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Flexible Work Practices (9 Oct 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I, and my Department, understand the importance of remote and flexible working and the potential of new digital technologies to support well-paid employment in all parts of the country. As the nature of work and society changes, the way we organise work is also changing. A labour market which offers flexible working solutions can result in tangible benefits for employers,...