Results 761-780 of 7,954 for speaker:Peter Burke

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Smith for his kind wishes. I propose to take questions Nos 54, 58 and 63 together. The Government is very aware that SMEs have faced a number of economic shocks in recent years which have resulted in cost increases. On 15 May, I, along with my Government colleagues, announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium sized businesses. Included in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: As the Deputy will be aware, I announced the reopening of the ICOB grant scheme from 15 May to 29 May. This is to ensure those business owners who missed the deadline can now register. They should do so without delay, and the sooner they register, the sooner the local authority can verify the information and make a payment to the businesses. I have also made a change to the scheme that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: We all know commercial arrangements in how businesses operate with their landlords are different from business to business. It is difficult to put conditions in place to assess every single one. The best metric I have at the moment to get money out to vulnerable businesses as quickly as possible is linked directly to their rates. If I put more conditions in place right now or try to pave...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: When the scheme closed a week ago, we had about 76,000 registrations. That was roughly 60% of all businesses that qualified for the increased cost of business grant. A decision was then taken to open the scheme for a further two weeks and to run a very strong and robust advertising campaign, which we hope will encourage additional uptake in the run down to next Wednesday. I appeal to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: Again, I thank the Deputy for his question. We have worked with all sectors. I met ISME yesterday, along with another number of business sectoral groups. We are working with them to progressively keep improving the business environment in which they operate. I point out that inflation has halved since November 2022. That demonstrates that Government policies are working. We really did...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy Shanahan for posing this important question. The Government has adopted a proactive approach in supporting the Irish SME sector across multiple crises over recent years. Over the two-year period to budget 2024, a total of €12 billion was provided in cost-of-living and doing business supports, comprising a mix of permanent and one-off measures, most significantly the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The last number of years has seen a significant increase in inflationary pressures, most pointedly in the form of energy price inflation – which is a significant input cost for firms across a range of sectors, including hospitality. This Government has adopted an active approach in supporting Irish businesses throughout the period of increased costs. Before Budget 2024, a total of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: Regional development is a key element of the Government's enterprise policy and is fully reflected in the Strategies of our Enterprise Development Agencies. For the IDA, it is targeting at least half of all investments - that is 400 of 800 - from 2021 to 2024 to regional locations. The Mid-West Region, including Ennis, County Clare, has 159 IDA client companies, employing over 27,000...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Government remains committed to the introduction of a living wage. As the Deputy will be aware, in November 2022, Government announced that a national living wage would be introduced and set at 60% of hourly median wages, in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. It was also agreed that the Low Pay Commission would continue to make annual recommendations on the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Strategies (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The life sciences industry is an important sector of Ireland’s economy, accounting for almost 100,000 jobs and almost 60% of Ireland’s exports. Most of the world’s leading life sciences corporations have operations in Ireland and strong partnerships and dependencies are increasingly evident across all aspects of this cluster. We have a rich and convergent landscape with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: This Government has adopted an active approach in supporting the Irish SME sector across multiple crises over the last number of years. Over the two-year period prior to Budget 2024 a total of €12 billion was provided in cost of living and doing business supports, comprising a mix of permanent and one-off measures (most significantly the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme)....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: This Government has adopted an active approach in supporting the Irish SME sector across multiple crises over the last number of years. I recognise costs are impacting firms, and this motivated the recent introduction of a range of additional measures aimed at reducing costs for small and medium sized businesses. Some of which include: Ensuring that the employer PRSI threshold is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Agreements (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The EU-Mercosur Agreement is designed to cement the close political and economic relations between the EU and Mercosur countries and represents a commitment to rules-based international trade. Since formal negotiations concluded in 2019, the global trade policy landscape has changed considerably. The rise in trade nationalism, the economic impacts of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: Under its current strategy, ‘Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021–2024’, IDA is committed to progressing the delivery of 19 Advance Building Solutions across six regions in 15 locations. Eight buildings are now complete, 3 are under construction and a further 3 are at procurement stage with the remainder in the planning, design and site selection stages....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: IDA Ireland’s Regional Property Programme is aimed at supporting economic development and job creation across the country by providing property solutions to its own as well as Enterprise Ireland and LEO clients. In this regard, the provision of property solutions is a key element of IDA’s marketing of the Midlands Region, including Longford and the IDA has committed to build an...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Government is very aware that SMEs have faced a number of economic shocks in recent years which have resulted in cost increases. On May 15th, I, along with my Government colleagues, announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium sized businesses. Included in these measures was the reopening of the ICOB portal from 15th May to 29th May, in order to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Government is very aware that SMEs have faced a number of economic shocks in recent years which have resulted in cost increases. On May 15th, I, along with my Government colleagues, announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium sized businesses. Included in these measures was the reopening of the ICOB portal from 15th May to 29th May, in order to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Innovation Voucher Programme is funded by my Department under the Science and Technology Programme, through Enterprise Ireland. The Innovation Voucher Programme is designed to build links between Ireland's public knowledge providers (higher education institutions and research performing bodies) and small businesses and help to create a cultural shift in the small business community's...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Government is very aware that SMEs have faced a number of economic shocks in recent years which have resulted in cost increases. On May 15th, I, along with my Government colleagues, announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium sized businesses. Included in these measures was the reopening of the ICOB portal from 15th May to 29th May, in order to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (23 May 2024)

Peter Burke: The Government is very aware that SMEs have faced a number of economic shocks in recent years which have resulted in cost increases. On May 15th, I, along with my Government colleagues, announced a substantial range of measures to reduce costs for small and medium sized businesses. Included in these measures was the reopening of the ICOB portal from 15th May to 29th May, in order to allow...