Results 20,521-20,540 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (4 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam were concluded in December 2015. After the process of “legal scrubbing” and the preparation of the legal texts in the various languages was completed, the EU and Vietnam signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) along with the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) on 30th June last. The FTA...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (4 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Common Commercial Policy, including trade, is an exclusive competence of the European Union under the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union. The European Commission acts as lead negotiator on behalf of all EU countries regarding trade agreements with non-EU countries. Member States (in Council) approve negotiating directives (or mandates) before negotiations begin, are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises (4 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I note the findings of the Central Bank vulnerability analysis of Irish SME credit exposures,  in particular, the improvement in the condition of the aggregate performing SME portfolio overall. I also note that high vulnerability exposures are not concentrated in any particular region or regions, that borrowers in the Accommodation and Food and Wholesale and Retail sectors account for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (4 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 178 together. Any international agreement entered into by the European Union with a third country or group of third countries may, depending on its content, be concluded as an EU-only agreement (i.e. without the Member States also being parties to that agreement) or as a "mixed" agreement (i.e. with both the EU and the Member States being parties...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Eligibility (4 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that not enough information has been provided to determine whether the person (details supplied) qualifies for an employment permit. In order to work in the State all non-EEA nationals require a valid employment permit unless exempt under permission from the Department of Justice and Equality. In order to apply for an employment...

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As Members will know, the agreement reached last Friday was arrived at following 20 years of negotiations. First and foremost, it is important to acknowledge how vital international trade deals are for Ireland. As a small, open, export-led economy we very much support balanced international trade. The key word is "balanced". As a Government, we need to go through this deal in detail to...

EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I accept that the Mercosur deal is a difficult one, and as a Government we have to look at it in the round. The economic assessment will ensure that the Government makes a fully informed decision when deciding what position to take when the ratification process on this deal commences.

Seanad: EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I appreciate the opportunity to address the Seanad this afternoon. The Mercosur agreement reached last Friday was arrived at following 20 years of negotiations. It is important to acknowledge just how vital international trade deals are for Ireland. As a small, open, export-led economy, we very much support balanced international trade. The key word there is "balance". The Government...

Seanad: EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I have a meeting to attend, but I will try to accommodate the House.

Seanad: EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank all of the Senators for their contributions on the Mercosur trade agreement. The debate here follows on from our discussions in the Dáil this morning. I understand there will be an opportunity for further debate in the Dáil next week. It is only right and proper that we have this debate. It is important that everybody is given the opportunity to fully discuss this trade...

Seanad: EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement: Statements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I do not know. I do not have that level of detail yet but that will emerge.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Applications (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that an application for a Critical Skills Employment Permit in respect of the named individual was received on 14 December 2018.  On 8 March 2019, this application was refused because: - At the time of application the named individual was in the State without current immigration permission as it had been...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Site Visits (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The IDA's performance in 2018 reflects the emphasis the Agency and the Government have placed on increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) into regional locations. Last year, for example, 56% of all net new jobs created by IDA client firms were in locations outside Dublin. There are now over 132,000 people employed across 681 firms in IDA client companies outside the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: On Friday 28thJune last, the EU concluded negotiations for an Association Agreement with Mercosur – after nearly 20 years and 40 rounds of talks. This marks the EU’s largest trade deal to date and is four times the size of the trade agreement with Japan. Irish exporters have been subject to trade tariffs, barriers and restrictions when exporting to Mercosur. This Agreement will...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Funding (3 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy should note that the Labour Court and Workplace Relations Commission form part of the overall Workplace Relations Programme area of my Department. The overall funding allocation for this area increased by €1,106m in 2019. The distribution of Exchequer funding allocations for the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission as per the 2018 and 2019 Revised Estimates...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: What? That is nonsense.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Data (2 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: In 2018, Ireland’s goods exports to Vietnam amounted to €65 million. Ireland’s main exports to Vietnam include medical and pharmaceutical products valued at €18.6m in 2018. Ireland's food exports to Vietnam have grown considerably in recent years. While meat and dairy products are the largest share of this, beverages and seafood also contributed strongly. In...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (2 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 358 and 364 together. While there is a minimum share capital requirement of €25,000 for Public Limited Companies set out in the Companies Act 2014, there are currently no plans to introduce legislation to set the minimum level of paid up share capital and reserves required by a limited company as a proportion of the annual turnover of the company. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (2 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that DBEI has not provided any funding to the Dublin Port Company in the past ten years to date.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Meetings (2 Jul 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I meet regularly with the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Mark Ferguson, as does the Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation and Research and Development. My most recent meeting with the Director General took place on 9 May 2019 in the context of an announcement of renewal of funding to six world class SFI Research Centres. On 5 March 2019, I was...