Results 4,641-4,660 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The truth hurts, does it not?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As a serious policy point, I get the dilemma and I hear what the Deputy is saying. I really think the solution is not in paying sick pay to people who do not have to produce any evidence that they are sick. The solution is in improving access to GP care and healthcare, and raising the eligibility limits. It is not 40% of workers but 40% of people who receive free GP care in Ireland. We...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We certainly had prolonged restrictions in Ireland, perhaps longer than in many other countries, including other countries in Europe. It does depend on how you define restrictions. Some people define it as working from home and other people define it as business closures and so on. It is worth pointing out that Ireland is now one of the most open countries in the world. Most European...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Tóibín is correct; a €40 billion rescue for the economy is huge. It is probably the second biggest intervention in the history of the State and the biggest after the banking crisis. We all agree it is a much better one in terms of the number of jobs and livelihoods that were protected, but we do now have a national debt approaching a quarter of a trillion euro, which...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland became a member of the International Labour Organization, ILO, in 1923. It was the first international organisation the new State joined. We have been an active member ever since and in June 2021 we completed our first ever term as a titulaire, or full member, of the governing body of the ILO. Ireland is committed to being among the first ILO member states to ratify convention No....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As I mentioned earlier, ten countries have signed the convention and three have it in force. Different countries adopt different approaches to these things. Some countries sign things and spend ten or 20 years actually bringing them into force. We try to bring everything into force and then ratify, which I think is a better approach in the round. What we are doing at the moment is seeing...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure if we have to bring in that formal leave as a requirement of the convention. I would have to double-check that. Regardless, I think it is accepted across the House that it is a good idea and it has been done in some other countries. We need to engage with the Deputy on that, as well as with employer bodies, the unions and the office of the Minister for Children, Equality,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Programme for Government (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the private sector. The Government has been clear that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Programme for Government (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government committed to promoting higher female labour market participation, as well as less commuting and greater regional balance, through increased remote, flexible and hub-working arrangements, to support families in their parenting and childcare choices. According to the latest available data from the Central Statistics Office’s Labour Force Survey, female...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Support Services (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The period since early 2020 has been a difficult one for many businesses, and some sectors have been more severely impacted by public health restrictions and for a more prolonged period. Throughout the pandemic my Department and its enterprise agencies have engaged with and supported businesses within their remit, and from last year there has been a recovery in employment across the economy....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Low Pay (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I have acknowledged the pressures people are feeling as the cost of living increases. I know that many costs have increased sharply and that those on lower incomes are being disproportionately affected. Relevant Government Departments have been tasked with developing proposals for a package to help families with the cost of living and my Government plans to finalise this package shortly. In...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Funding (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has recently been awarded funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Fund to grant aid projects to accelerate decarbonisation of the enterprise sector. The details of the fund and how it will operate are currently being agreed and it is expected to launch mid-year. This initiative will have two components: 1. The Climate Enterprise Action Fund which will provide...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Data (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Central Statistics Office compiles statistical data in relation to Goods Exports and Imports. These statistics can be found on the website www.cso.ie. Trade data is collected by the Central Statistics Office at a country level, in this case for China as a whole, and so the more detailed breakdown requested by the Deputy is not available. As regards the substantive human rights issue...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Support Services (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Through my Department's participation in the Hospitality and Tourism Forum, I am fully aware that recruitment continues to be a significant challenge for the tourism and hospitality sectors, with up to two-thirds of businesses reporting reduced capacity due to staff shortages. The Forum was established in late 2020 to provide a platform for structured engagement between the sectors with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Regional Aid is an enhanced form of State aid that can be provided to Irish enterprises in economically disadvantaged areas. It helps Irish enterprises to grow and expand and assists in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. Within my Department, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland grant Regional Aid, amongst other valuable forms of assistance. Since 2014 there has...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Official Engagements (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 60 together. I visited Saudi Arabia from 13 – 15 November 2021 as part of an Enterprise Ireland-led trade mission to the Gulf. I held a number of meetings in Saudi Arabia including the Saudi Minister for Commerce, the Saudi Minister for Investment, and the Saudi Minister for Transport. I also had meetings with the President of the Saudi...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government makes the commitment to "progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government.” I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department regularly explores ways to assist businesses and to create an environment that stimulates their growth. This includes potentially methods which may prove useful to enterprises such as the possibility of an export credit insurance scheme. A state supported export credit insurance scheme should only be considered where private sector insurance is unavailable and where there is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department published the National Remote Work Strategy, on January 15th, 2021. The objective of the Strategy is to ensure that remote work is a permanent feature in the Irish workplace in a way that maximises economic, social and environmental benefits. My Department led the implementation of the Strategy’s 15 actions through an Interdepartmental Group. There has been significant...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Missions (10 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Each year, Enterprise Ireland offers a programme of trade missions and events which support the goal of securing high-level market access for companies based in Ireland who are aiming to grow business overseas and increase domestic employment. In recent years the majority of Ministerial-led Trade Missions have taken place to the Eurozone, North America and Asia Pacific, which...