Results 3,821-3,840 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Ports Policy (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of this Government. Earlier this year, my Department launched nine new Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) to 2024. The new REPs are an integral part of Ireland’s enterprise policy, aimed at driving economic growth and sustaining better standards of living throughout Ireland. These are bottom-up...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Officials from my Department, Ministers of State and I engage with the business community almost on a daily basis. The cost of doing business and in particular the impact of rising energy costs on businesses have featured very prominently in recent weeks. My Department is taking a leading role in the Government response to this, working closely with the Department of Environment, Climate and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Conservation (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: There are a range of incentives and advice available to business to help them use energy efficiently, diversify their fuel use and switch to renewable energy sources. I and my officials are engaging with Minister Ryan’s Department and the SEAI to ensure that assistance to business is appropriate, easy to understand, and efficient in regard to the time and resources required for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: 2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 29,000 on 2020. Growth in the regions was particularly buoyant, with 53% or 133 projects of the 249 investments won by IDA going to regional locations. Employment growth was recorded in every region of the country. The Border Region...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is very aware of the economic challenge of escalating energy prices and has put in place measures to assist enterprise. I and my Department are working with Minister Ryan, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and across Government, to manage our response to the energy situation as it develops. The Wholesale Price Index for energy products...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland published their mid-year results in July and despite the challenging global environment, the results demonstrated significant foreign direct investment for the first half of 2022. In the first half of this year, we have seen investment levels exceed 2021 mid-year results by 9% and 2019 mid-year results by 10%, meaning we have exceeded pre-pandemic levels of FDI. Ireland won 155...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Labour Market (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: When we launched the Economic Recovery Plan last year, we set a goal of achieving 2.5 million people in employment by 2024. According to the latest available national employment figures, from the Central Statistics Office’s Labour Force Survey, employment levels reached 2.55 million in Q2 2022. We now have more people employed in our country than ever before, while the quarterly...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Low Pay (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 66 together. The Programme for Government contains the commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government”. In January 2021, I requested the Low Pay Commission to report on how best the Government could progress to a living wage. Following commissioned research from Maynooth University and engagement with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: 2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 17,000 on 2020. Growth outside of Dublin was particularly buoyant with 53% or 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth was recorded in every region of the country. The IDA’s...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Officials from my Department, Ministers of State and I engage with the business community almost on a daily basis. The cost of doing business and in particular the impact of rising energy costs on businesses have featured very prominently in recent weeks. My Department is taking a leading role in the Government response to this, working closely with the Department of Environment, Climate and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I extend my sympathies to all employees of the company who have been impacted by these developments and I know this news is very concerning for all involved. Enterprise Ireland has been working with the company throughout this difficult period. That engagement has intensified and I have asked EI to keep me informed of developments having raised the matter at the most senior levels. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I'm very aware of the difficulties businesses have faced over the past number of years with the necessary COVID-19 restrictions and now with the increased cost of living and in particular energy costs. The Government has already implemented measures to help ease the impact on enterprises of rising energy costs, including a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged, by 20 cent per...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: 2021 was a record-breaking year for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment, with total employment in IDA client companies now standing at 275,384, up over 29,000 on 2020. Growth outside of Dublin was particularly buoyant with 53%, that is 133 projects of the 249 investments won going to regional locations and employment growth was recorded in every region of the country. IDA...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: IDA markets Carlow as part of the South East region for FDI investment. There are 4 FDI companies in Carlow with a combined employment of 1,477. In 2021, 178 new jobs were created in Carlow. In response to COVID related global travel restrictions, IDA migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms during 2020 and 2021. As part of this,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is acutely aware of the difficulties businesses have faced over the past number of years with the necessary COVID-19 restrictions and now with the increased cost of living and in particular energy costs. The Government has already implemented measures to help ease the impact on enterprises of rising energy costs, including a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Right to Request Remote Working Bill is part of a broader Government vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland’s workforce in a way that can benefit all – economically, socially and environmentally. The Right to Request Remote Working Bill will, for the first time, provide a legal framework around which requesting, approving or refusing a request for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Minimum Wage (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland has a well-established system for setting the minimum wage, based on the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, and this system works well. Since its establishment in 2015, the Low Pay Commission has delivered six consecutive annual increases in the minimum wage. The national minimum wage has increased from €8.65 per hour to €10.50 per hour between 2016 and 2022,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Balanced regional development is a priority of mine and this Government. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has provided over €126m in funding through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, Border Enterprise Development Fund, and Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme to assist enterprise development and regional jobs growth across all regions.These Funds enable significant...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Rights of People with Disabilities (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is progressing a range of actions to promote the inclusion of people with a disability in the workforce. These actions cover issues such as Workplace Relations Commission referrals referencing disability grounds, the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s Excellence Though People certification scheme, and Enterprise Ireland’s (EI) collaboration with the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (15 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware that Irish businesses have faced dual-challenges from Brexit and Covid, and that many are still at an early stage in understanding and mitigating their climate impact. For this reason, my Department has been working hard to assist enterprises understand their environmental impact, set clear climate targets and broaden their knowledge of the measures available to achieve them....