Results 10,821-10,840 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: At many of our meetings with stakeholders, this issue has not been at the top of the agenda. If the Deputy has a list of companies in this situation - I have not met a large number of them - I will be happy to work with them and make a case. The Department of Finance, through the Minister, has said the initial design of the scheme was to get it approved, operational and out the door quickly...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: I have not read the report yet, so I am not going to have a conversation on it just yet. It is not an area we will spend money on between now and Christmas, which is the topic of this meeting. It is an issue on which I will engage with the Deputy again. We take every opportunity to bring in flexibility and encourage more people into the workforce. We are open to discussing and debating...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: On the breakdown of the €61.35 million in capital savings, €15 million relates to the temporary partial credit guarantee scheme. The success of that scheme meant companies were able to repay their debts and did not have to draw down State funding, which was positive. It showed that credit guarantee schemes are useful, can work and are not as costly as may have been thought...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: The nature of the TBESS is to try to reach the majority of businesses that have been impacted. I think the majority would qualify for the scheme. The Deputy is correct to say that certain sectors are impacted in a greater way. That is why the combination of schemes, using TBESS and the loan guarantee as an option and the other supports that are there to reduce energy bills, will help. It...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: Was the Deputy referring to the TBESS with his final question?

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: There are a number of schemes. Under the TBESS, the maximum that any company can draw down if it has a number of locations and MPRNs is €30,000 per month. For example, a retailer might have seven or eight stores. It depends on the ownership mechanism, but the cap will be €30,000 and will apply to companies across the board. I cannot say who will or will not apply for it. I...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: It is open to any business.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: We will monitor the drawdown of the scheme and its implications over the coming months. We will see whether we can make improvements to the scheme as we proceed. What we as a Department have to focus on are the hundreds of thousands of businesses that badly need this money ASAP to support their enterprises and jobs. When I speak to them, they are not obsessed with who else is getting...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: Potentially hundreds of thousands of businesses will apply for this. I cannot justify or explain every potential applicant. When we see who draws it down, we can discuss it further. If we can make changes to improve it, we will. What are we doing in the budget that was announced? Two things. This is to allocate this funding to support hundreds of businesses who badly need it as soon...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: There are a number of schemes to help a range of businesses and we wanted to design them as quickly as possible under the EU framework to reach businesses who need help and support. Within that are businesses of all shapes and sizes, Irish-owned and not Irish-owned, which might avail of these grants and which, we can argue until the cows come home, do not need them. It is more important to...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: It is speed and the legal mechanism to be able to reach these companies. If you tie it up in knots and try to segregate and pick out people who you think should not get it, that can complicate a scheme. We have to design the scheme to be as uncomplicated as possible and make it available as quickly as possible.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: There are two things there. The Department published an updated policy on data centres which I am happy to come in here to discuss at length today or any day members want to do that. That sets out where we stand in relation to data centres. They have responsibilities to reduce their energy usage. They support society and create many jobs. Each individual data centre, you could argue,...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: The Deputy keeps referencing data centres.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: Some of them have responsibilities to create their own energy and have committed to doing so. Regarding future development of data centres, in light of the shortage of supply for the coming years, a limited number will be allowed and they will have to prove how important they are to Ireland Inc. That is part of their journey. On future schemes, we are constantly working with our agencies...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: There is not a scheme designed yet, as the Deputy says, for data centres. We have a number of schemes now in place, thankfully, and businesses can draw down supports before Christmas-----

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: Can I finish?

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: There are a number of questions there. I will try to answer them all but if I miss some, the Chair might correct me. On the two loan products, the one most useful to SMEs under financial pressure to survive in the coming years is the loan guarantee because it is to do with working capital and finance now. That is the most urgent and useful one and the Covid version of that has been proven...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: We are constantly working with Enterprise Ireland to see how we can improve the situation on both ends but we have to understand it is taxpayers' money. There are checks and balances and that dreaded red tape to go through. However, when one is availing of quite a high amount of taxpayers' money, those checks and balances have to be in place. It is not always to do with that. It is to do...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: I apologise to the Deputy. I meant to address the issue earlier on. It does not just fall to our Department. There are a number of options here with regard to the Department of Transport with regard to fuel supports, as well as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Deputy is right, to correct it we have adjusted the loan guarantee criteria to allow those in the fishing...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2022)

Damien English: We are okay on that. That is fine.