Results 5,801-5,820 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The fact that the Deputy has to go out of his way to misrepresent what I say and to misquote me is emblematic of how dishonest and two-faced he and his party are when it comes to the issue of housing. What I said was a statement of fact, but I did not say under any circumstances that I thought it was desirable that we should see house prices rise further or get back to the level they were at...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department does not hold a database of potential foreign investors seeking projects for investment or projects that are seeking foreign investors.  I am also advised that neither IDA Ireland nor Enterprise Ireland, both of which are under the remit of my Department, hold such databases. IDA Ireland is the statutory agency with primary responsibility for the attraction and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Enterprise Ireland (EI) receives funding under both the Jobs and Enterprise Development and the Enterprise, Innovation and Commercialisation Programmes in my Department’s Vote. A Further Revised Estimate setting out the allocations for 2021in respect of the various programmes funded from my Department’s Vote is expected to be submitted to the Dáil for approval shortly....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: InterTradeIreland (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 171 together. The Deputy will be aware that Intertrade Ireland as a North South body receives funding from both my Department and from our counterpart Department in the Northern Ireland Administration. Insofar as my Department is concerned, a Further Revised Estimate setting out the allocations for 2021in respect of the various programmes funded from...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: A Further Revised Estimate (FRE) setting out the allocations for 2021in respect of the various programmes funded from my Department’s Vote is expected to be submitted to the Dáil for approval shortly. It is expected that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) will be provided with a gross allocation of €15.405million for its use in 2021. On the basis of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: A Further Revised Estimate (FRE) setting out the allocations for 2021 in respect of the various programmes funded from my Department’s Vote is expected to be submitted to the Dáil for approval shortly. It is expected that the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) will be provided with a gross allocation of €52.781million for their use in 2021. On the basis of the LEOs’...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Consumer Protection (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 173, 177 and 178 together. The Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 established the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and in doing so effectively merged the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. The CCPC receives its exchequer funding under the Regulation Programme of my Department’s Vote. The CCPC) was...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Company Registration (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: A Further Revised Estimate (FRE) setting out the allocations for 2021 in respect of the various programmes funded from my Department’s Vote is expected to be submitted to the Dáil for approval shortly. It is expected that Companies Registration Office (CRO) will be provided with a gross allocation of €7.964 million for its use in 2021. On the basis of the CRO’s...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 175 and 176 together. An exercise to estimate the budgetary requirements for the establishment of the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) commenced in 2018. At that point, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement’s (ODCE) annual budget was €5.057m. Following an assessment of the CEA’s resourcing needs upon its establishment,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Low Pay Commission (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 179 and 180 together. The Low Pay Commission (LPC) received an allocation of €490,000 from my Department’s Vote in 2020. In terms of 2021, a Further Revised Estimate (FRE) for the Department will be submitted shortly to the Dáil for approval. It is expected that the LPC’s gross allocation will be maintained at €490,000  in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Low Pay Commission (24 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The key responsibilities of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) are to make recommendations to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment designed to set a minimum wage that is fair and sustainable.  The operations of the LPC are supported by a team in the Enterprise, Strategy, Competitiveness and Evaluation Division of my Department. The team is led at Principal Officer level and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Fire Safety (23 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: In the area of furniture fire safety, there are no harmonised EU standards. The Irish standard (I.S. 419:2011) and regulations (SI No. 316/1995) were introduced to protect consumers by preventing the rapid spread of a fire started on or near furniture. In 2019 my Department conducted a public consultation on the future of the regulations. The public consultation period was extended until...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Trade Agreements (23 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, commonly known as CETA, has provisionally applied since 21st September 2017, meaning a great many of the benefits of this Agreement are already in place. Provisional application is a standard mechanism provided for in the EU’s Free Trade Agreements. This means that those areas where the EU has full competence may be applied...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Workplace Relations Commission (23 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 47 together. The WRC carries out inspections of employer records with a view to determining compliance with employment rights legislation. The full year cost of recruiting an executive officer inspector for the Workplace Relations Commission would be approximately €61,341. This is based on the calculation of staff costs as set out in the Public...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Bodies (23 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The table below sets out the exchequer funding expended by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and local enterprise offices, respectively in 2019, 2020 and the 2021 funding allocated through the published Revised Estimate Volume. Revised Estimates Volume Allocations 2019 Outturn(€,000) 2020 Outturn(€,000) 2021...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Social Welfare Code (23 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is committed to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme and work is well underway in this regard. Ireland is currently an outlier among its peer nations in not providing for any statutory employer sick pay and is one of only three EU member states that does not do so. Any move to introduce a statutory sick pay scheme must be balanced with the need to support the viability...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Funding (22 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IntertradeIreland (ITI) is jointly funded by my Department and its Northern Ireland counterpart the Department for the Economy (DfE). The funding provided by my Department over recent years is set out below in tabular form. My Department has been steadily increasing its contribution to ITI in recent years to equip the body to assist SMEs prepare for and respond to the UK’s withdrawal...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (22 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Banking charges and interest charges incurred by state agencies and organisations under the remit of my Department are a day-to-day operational matter for the agencies concerned and do not fall within my Ministerial remit.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (22 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department’s Humanitarian Flooding Relief Scheme may be invoked, following a Government Decision, to provide funding on the basis of confirmation received from the local authority and the National Emergency Coordination Group that relevant damage has occurred. My Department remains ready to assist should there be the necessary justification to do so. In that regard my...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Staff (22 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Currently there is no official living wage in Ireland. The Living Wage Technical Group, which comprises members including Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, TASC, NERI and SIPTU calculates a living wage by calculating the cost of a basic basket of goods, services and expenses required to maintain a “minimum essential living standard (MESL)”. The Partnership estimates the...