Results 6,001-6,020 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland’s overseas teams and office network are vital to support the agency’s efforts in winning new Foreign Direct Investment across the world. From time-to-time IDA seeks to expand its global network of offices and teams. Many firms are looking to expand into new markets and Ireland is a proven location for global companies to grow and serve their customer base in the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Social Media (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, I met with content moderators, and their representatives, earlier this year and I followed up directly with the company on whose behalf content moderation work is carried out. I am aware of the genuine concerns of social media content moderators both from meeting directly with them and from their recent presentation to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Since the onset of the pandemic, my Department has made loan supports available to businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19. These schemes will also support enterprises as they look towards rebuilding their business.  These loan schemes are available to SMEs which include microenterprises and sole traders such as taxi operators, subject to meeting eligibility criteria and being...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Trading online is a very important route for retail businesses to grow and improve and will be an important element in their recovery over the longer term.  The COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme - a competitive scheme, administered on my Department's behalf by Enterprise Ireland - is to support companies in the indigenous retail sector who have already started an online journey, to further...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The urgency to amend the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and other acts that make provision for investigations in the Workplace Relations Commission is a result of a Supreme Court ruling and the consequential Orders which resulted in the current statutory framework being declared inconsistent with the Constitution. The Orders concern public hearings and the necessity to have a statutory power to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Data (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The development of the all-island economy is a priority right across Government. One of the aims of the new Shared Island Unit, established in the Department of the Taoiseach, is further developing our shared island economy. This involves working to deepen our cooperation and investing together for the benefit of the North West and border regions. As part of Budget 2021, the Government...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Our Economic Recovery Plan, published this week, sets an ambitious target to exceed pre-crisis employment levels by having 2.5 million people in work by 2024 and in more productive and resilient jobs. The EWSS has been extended to the end of the year to support businesses to retain employment as they re-open by subsiding a portion of labour costs which gives businesses the opportunity to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The construction sector was negatively impacted following the introduction of restrictions late last year. The number of individuals from the construction sector claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) rose steadily in the early weeks of the year and reached a high of 62,902 claimants on the 9th February this year. The phased reopening of the construction sector, beginning on...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Data (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 213, 215, 216 and 217 together. As the Deputy will appreciate, 2020 export performance and the outlook for 2021 exports to the UK, Eurozone and rest of the world continues to be significantly impacted by both Brexit and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Brexit has fundamentally changed the trading relationship between Ireland and the UK and will continue to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The successful vaccination programme is now allowing for a progressive re-opening of the economy. As this continues and as we emerge from the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, Government will support people and businesses to make a full return to work. Our ambition as set out in the Economic Recovery Plan, published this week, is to exceed pre-crisis employment levels by reaching 2.5...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The financial support the Government is providing businesses and workers affected by the pandemic is unprecedented. The 31 Local Enterprise Offices continue to offer support and guidance to entrepreneurs nationwide by providing direct grant aid to microenterprises (up to 10 employees) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sector. They also offer ‘soft...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We want our economy to recover, and to restore employment as soon as possible. The Economic Recovery Plan published this week sets out the availability of supports over the coming months, which will give businesses the certainty they require in order to plan for the future and re-employ staff members. The overall ambition of the plan is to exceed pre-crisis employment levels by reaching 2.5...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (3 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Our Economic Recovery Plan, published this week, sets an ambitious target to exceed pre-crisis employment levels by having 2.5 million people in work by 2024. The Plan commits to helping people to return to work; both to previous employment and, in recognition that not all previous jobs will return, to be prepared for new opportunities. The EWSS has been extended to the end of the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Economic Policy (2 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Since the start of this pandemic, the Government has provided unprecedented levels of aid to businesses aimed at ensuring that viable businesses will survive this pandemic. The Government was clear that there would be no cliff edge to this assistance and that businesses would be given as much certainty about the levels of help which will be available in the future as this pandemic allows. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (2 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department published ‘Making Remote Work’, 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. The report is built on three pillars which are bolstered by underpinning conditions. These pillars are:...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Minimum Wage (2 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Statistics on the number of persons in receipt of the minimum wage are gathered by the Central Statistics Office. Below is the latest information made available to my officials by the Central Statistics Office. In Q4 2020, 60,500 employees between 15 and 24 earned the minimum wage or lower. A further 22,400 employees between 25 and 34 earned the minimum wage or lower.  Across all age...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (2 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Since the outbreak of  COVID-19 in Ireland, Government has worked to put in place a range of loan guarantee schemes that offer access to appropriate financing to businesses as they respond to the impacts of the pandemic on their business. These include the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, which makes available up to €2 billion in lending for terms of up to five-and-a-half years....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Insurance Industry (2 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, under the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery & Investment, which I chair was established to oversee and drive forward insurance reform. The Action Plan for Insurance Reform was published on December 8thand sets out 66 actions across Government to bring down the cost of insurance for consumers and business. Actions for my own Department under the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Data Protection (1 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The PQs referred to by the Deputy relate to issues on the enforcement of data protection law in this jurisdiction. I have no direct responsibility for the enforcement of data protection law. I am not in a position to comment on draft legislation in a separate jurisdiction. Having made enquiries, my officials inform me that our embassy in Washington is aware of the draft legislation and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (1 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services....