Results 13,001-13,020 of 15,080 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Report on Energy Poverty 2024: Motion (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas don choiste as ucht an obair thábhachtach seo agus an deis é a phlé. I join Deputy Ó Cathasaigh and, I am sure, the House in expressing my deepest sympathy to the Cathaoirleach of the committee, Deputy Denis Naughten, on the untimely passing of his brother John. Our thoughts and our prayers are with Naughten family in these very dark days. I...

Report on Energy Poverty 2024: Motion (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputies Ó Cathasaigh and O'Rourke for their contributions. It is important to reflect on Deputy O'Rourke's comments. The retrofit plan is ambitious. We have a serious ambition here. It is also realistic. I absolutely agree with Deputy Ó Cathasaigh. We are not signing up to 220 years but we have been building capacity. In my opening remarks, I referred to the extra...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an issue seo a chur os ár gcomhair. As the Senator knows, in order to plan for school provision and to analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas.It uses a geographic information system which facilitates the analysis of data from a range of sources, including...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an deis labhairt faoi seo. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. I know the House will join with me in expressing our sympathies to the Minister on the passing of his mother. As the Deputy indicated, statutory sick leave is a valuable public health intervention. It reduces...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Consumer Protection (10 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: In my capacity as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I can speak to addictive interface designs, a deceptive practice used by online traders and a topic that has come to the fore in relation to consumer protection issues. The EU Commission carried out a Digital Fitness Check, details of which have been recently published. The Fitness Check was carried out in response to concerns...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Consumer Protection (15 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 253 to 261, inclusive, together. My Department recognises the importance of ensuring that products placed on the market are safe. Menstrual products currently fall under the scope of the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC1 as transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 199/2004. These Regulations oblige producers to place only safe products on the...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (22 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: They would not serve.

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (22 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: They did not have the courage.

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (22 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí ar fad as páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht thábhachtach seo inniu. Níl mé ag iarraidh agus níl aon suim agam maslaí a thrádáil le haon duine sa Fhreasúra. I do not want to trade insults with anybody. I disagree with a lot of the policies, but I will say that in the case of the proposers,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Company Liquidations (23 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 82 together. At the outset, I should clarify that the information available to my Department relates to filings of companies registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). This does not include businesses operating as sole traders or unincorporated entities. At incorporation, companies are required to indicate the relevant NACE code...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Losses (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: We fully appreciate how difficult the announced closure of Aer Lingus Cargo is for the employees, their families and the wider community. Our thoughts are with them. This is a commercial decision being made by Aer Lingus as a private company. We have no role in Aer Lingus’s commercial decisions and it would not be appropriate for any Minister to seek to intervene. However,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Losses (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: As a Government, we have responded to many of the Deputy's campaigns and calls on Shannon Airport. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Lawless, announced just last week €4.2 million for Shannon and Cork airports, and €47 million is being invested in Shannon Airport alone. We are very much committed to it and it is a very important part of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Job Losses (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: If there is a case to be made for investment in physical facilities, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Lawless, will be more than open to it. We want to see Shannon strengthened. We have identified a very exciting future in terms of Shannon Estuary being an Atlantic green digital corridor. This has enormous potential for Shannon Airport and the supply chain,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy for his question. We have taken a number of steps to address the concerns of small businesses and the challenge they are facing around rising costs. The increased cost of business scheme has paid out over €244 million in this year to almost 75,000 SMEs, which includes 38,000 SMEs in retail and hospitality. Recognising that businesses operating in retail and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: There is an acknowledgment that we have introduced a lot of initiatives in recent years and that the sequencing of them was not properly thought out with respect to costs. It was not done. We have strengthened the SME test. The Cabinet signed off on that this week. It will ensure that far more vision is given to initiatives, and that they are sequenced and streamlined. As the Deputy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: There is lots there. The Minister, Deputy Burke, is conducting a consultation exercise on how the new sick pay changes are working. He is engaging with employers directly in that space to get their feedback. That will feed into future decisions with regard to sick pay. On retail, I absolutely agree with the Deputy. Retailers are the backbone of our economy. They sustain not just...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Services Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist thábhachtach seo a ardú. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is the independent statutory body that enforces competition and consumer protection law under the remit of our Department. It continues to promote and monitor compliance with competition and consumer protection laws across all sectors of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Services Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I absolutely agree with the Deputy's concerns regarding unfair pricing. This Government has already introduced legislation in this space, such as the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021, which prohibits the sale and advertising of tickets or ticket packages for prices exceeding the original sale price of those tickets for events taking place...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Services Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Dara Calleary: I want to go back to the remarks of Deputy Ó Snodaigh. Dynamic pricing is used in many sectors and we have to make sure that in dealing with the consequences of one model we do not damage the other sectors that use it responsibly and in the best interests of the consumer. That is why the CCPC process will be of use to us. There is also work underway at European Commission level, which...