Results 2,141-2,160 of 12,402 for speaker:Louise O'Reilly
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Excellent. I thank the Minister. In his opening statement, he mentioned the diverse nature of the Irish economy. A central plank of his White Paper is focused on diluting the concentration risks in the multinational sector by growing our domestic and SME sector. Obviously, growing the indigenous SME sector will help with economic diversification and protect our economy from external...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: That was my question. It was about diversification rather than regional balance. I understand regional balance is important but the question is slightly different.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: That brings me quite neatly to my next question. I thank the Minister. I want to ask about two matters. The first is the expansion of SMEs and microenterprises and ensuring that they have strong exports. Second, once this is achieved, there is the issue of the failure to scale SMEs into mid-caps and then to global corporations. This year alone, we have heard from organisations that have...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Exactly.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: It is not happening organically. By the way, this is very long-standing Sinn Féin policy in terms of growing these companies. Is it the intention of the State to intervene to ensure these companies can make this leap? As the Minister said, and rightly so, there is pressure there which will require some form of support. The Minister listed what those supports could be, but given the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: -----business angels would be grand, but what is the Government prepared to do?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Yes. It is the second quarter now.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: In fairness, we are well into it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: We are halfway through it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Excellent.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: No. The targets should not be small. They should be ambitious.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: I wish to ask a very brief question on the proposed corporate sustainability due diligence directive, CSDDD. As the Minister knows, on 1 June 2023 the European Parliament will vote to decide the negotiating position in this regard. The general approach agreed in December 2022 has made access to justice and remedies for victims, which should be at the heart of this law, fairly inaccessible...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: No, I am sorry. We have considered this matter and we have had hearings on it. We have not issued a report and nor have we come to a position on it. I am asking what the Government's position is on this issue.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Okay. If the Minister could-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Excellent.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: No. We are only at the preliminary stage and we have not yet reached an agreement on it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: That is very fair. It would be brilliant if that information could be sent to us. I thank the Minister.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: I welcome what the Minister has said about prices. When Government representatives make comparisons with consumer prices in the rest of Europe, it drives people up the wall. They are doing their shopping in their local area, not in France or anywhere else. I welcome what he said about getting prices down in a way that is not at the expense of primary producers. We will all be watching...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: I appreciate that, but I did not want to let the point go because it is something that really frustrates people. When people hear about prices elsewhere, what they hear is someone saying, "Well, at least we are doing better than such a place". That is grand but they do not do their shopping there; they do it in their local shop.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)
Louise O'Reilly: Absolutely.