Results 7,741-7,760 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Being able to switch off from work is already an issue and it is going to become more of an issue in the years to come. Our phones are causing these problems. Phones allow us to be contacted by phone or to email 24-7, and that means people are always on. It is not like long ago, when people left work and went home at 6 p.m. Some of us probably remember when there were no computers at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Doherty. The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 falls under her remit. She has agreed that we need to examine this area. She is consulting representative bodies like IBEC and ICTU to get their views. I hope that by consulting and hearing different views, we will be able to come up with some sensible guidelines to help everyone. Some businesses...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He is absolutely right when he says that we always have to look to the future. That is why the Taoiseach and I launched the Future Jobs Ireland initiative earlier this year. The initiative positions Irish enterprise and Irish workers for the world of tomorrow. The pace of change means that the world of tomorrow is coming down the tracks at us...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The €250,000 is for the high potential start-up units. It is just one of a range of supports available to businesses. I refer the Deputy to the document, Overview of Government Supports for Indigenous Businesses, which is available on my Department's website. It is a useful document, which outlines all of the supports that are available to help companies to scale up, invest in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Industrial Development (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: We have some really good Irish companies. We are working with the SMEs on how to work collaboratively with foreign direct investment to leverage some of their talent, skills and experience. When both work together the results are better. Under the disruptive technologies innovation fund, another tranche of which I will be announcing soon, one of the qualifying criteria is the involvement...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There is no doubt that the international tax landscape has seen much change in recent years. There has been real progress in global actions aimed at addressing international concerns around the taxation of multinational companies. There have been significant changes in how companies are taxed internationally and how the taxation regimes of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I understand from IDA Ireland that the pipeline of FDI companies coming to Ireland is still strong. While we have been successful I agree that we cannot be complacent. IDA Ireland will publish its new 2020-24 strategy early in the new year. It will build on the success of the current strategy which has exceeded targets around investment and job creation and with inputs from a wide variety...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Corporation Tax Regime (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: We continue to increase our footprint in other areas of the world. I recently returned from a trade mission to South Africa and Kenya. The population there is expected to increase by 1 billion over the next 30 years, I think. There are huge opportunities there. We are increasing our footprint in China and there was a trade mission to Japan some weeks ago. It is about not being...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: That is not true.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Creation (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: They are working together.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to supporting job creation and investment in the regions, including in County Donegal 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. The IDA has a significant role to play in helping us achieve that...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Preparations (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Government, my Department, our enterprise development agencies and regulatory bodies will continue to be ready for all Brexit scenarios. As announced by the Minister for Finance in Budget 2020, provisions are in place for the Brexit Contingency funding of €650 million, in the event of a no-deal Brexit. As there is no certainty yet on the timeline or likely impact of the United...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Preparations (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: My Department and its agencies have put in place extensive supports, schemes and advisory resources to ensure that businesses nationwide are prepared for Brexit. While we cannot yet know the form that Brexit will take, these measures aim to assist businesses in identifying key risk areas and practical preparatory actions regardless of the circumstances of the UK’s withdrawal from the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I commissioned the OECD to undertake the Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Ireland and I met with the OECD Secretary General Gurria in March 2018 on my key priorities for the review. This Review which I published last month provides seminal new research examining the policy environment for SMEs and entrepreneurship in Ireland, the scale of which has...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Enterprise Development Fund (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware that the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) was introduced to support the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at county, regional and national level.  The REDF, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland, has been an effective instrument of policy particularly as a complement to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Commercial Rates (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I am very aware of the serious impacts on businesses and consumers of high costs. It is important that consumers and businesses can obtain services at a reasonable and fair price. I have no role with regard to the setting of commercial rates. The rates paid by individual rate-payers is a factor of the valuation carried out by the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Flexible Work Practices (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 65, 86 and 93 together. As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I understand the opportunities presented by the increased adoption of flexible working solutions in the workplace. This is addressed under Pillar 4 of the Government’s Future Jobs Ireland strategy. Pillar 4 is focussed on increasing participation in the labour force as...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Personal Injuries Commission (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) was established in 2017. During its 18-month work programme, which concluded in July 2018, the PIC delivered two reports with 14 recommendations. The First Report of the PIC, published in December 2017 made four recommendations, of which 2 are ongoing, 1 is partially complete and the final recommendation, relating to the Book of Quantum, has been...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Ireland is a competitive economy, as reflected in a range of economic metrics, such as: high economic growth; the strong performance of the labour market across sectors and regions; strong trade figures; and, our productivity levels. For example, CSO’s Labour Force Survey data show that there was a 2.4% increase in employment in the year to Q3 2019, bringing total employment to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pharmaceutical Sector (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Budget 2020 Economic and Fiscal Outlook noted that Ireland’s production base is highly concentrated in a small number of high-tech sectors. However, the overall macro-economic risk assessment matrix in Budget 2020 regarded the likelihood of risks relating to our concentrated production base as low. The pharmaceutical sector in Ireland operates within a broad national and...