Results 61-80 of 1,751 for at speaker:Peter Burke

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tourist Accommodation (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: ...as a Teachta Dála and in a previous ministerial role. The importance of the tourism sector to the economy and to communities in every corner of Ireland is well understood. It is recognised that the use of tourist accommodation to support the Government’s response to the humanitarian crisis has impacted on the sector. Fáilte Ireland identified that, in November 2023,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tourist Accommodation (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: ...for his response and for setting out clearly the pressures the sector is under in his constituency and right across the south and west coasts. I fully understand the pressures and the acute nature of the problem. I am due to meet with the hospitality and tourist forum in May with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. Obviously, the forum will discuss this issue. We will also frame a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: On sick pay, we are very committed as a Government to improve the rights of employees. We are in the month of April. Section 6 of the Act clearly sets out that the decision has to be made in quarter 4 and a ministerial direction has to be given on 1 January next year. I make all my policy decisions based on evidence. Through the year, I will look at how the economy is progressing and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Living Wage (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: ...for his kind words. As the Deputy will be aware, in 2021 the Low Pay Commission was asked to examine the programme for Government commitment to progress to a living wage and provide recommendations on how best to achieve this commitment. The Low Pay Commission’s recommendations were received and considered and in November 2022, the Government agreed that a national living wage...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Living Wage (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: ...On an objective analysis, last night we voted for auto enrolment to ensure pension rights to those right across our economy. The most vulnerable will benefit. We also introduced sick pay on a statutory basis, which will also help those on the margins of society. If we look at any objective analysis, from 2015 the national minimum wage has increased by 46.8%. That really shows how much...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for her question and her kind wishes. We look forward to working with all Members across the House. As we have demonstrated in previous Departments, working relationships are very important. I and the Ministers of State, Deputies Higgins and Calleary, will do our very best in our respective roles. The Labour Employer Economic Forum's sub-group on employment and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: First, with regard to the legal issues, we were working with the Attorney General and additional external advice has been sought on the potential issues arising from it. We will keep the impetus going in that regard. With regard to Article 4 of the directive and the 80% threshold, we are required to prepare an action plan in line with the directive and work is under way at the moment in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: We are very much committed to this process. Obviously, just a week into the job, I am trying to go through and evaluate all of these issues, but we are absolutely committed in the first instance. The Deputy can see that demonstrated by the establishment of the LEEF group chaired by the Taoiseach and the sub-group chaired by our own Department. We are working at pace on the issues that have...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 80 and 84 together. I would like to thank the Deputies for asking for an update on the ICOB grant. Deputies will be aware that, as part of Budget 2024, the Government signed off on a package of €257 million for the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) grant as a vital measure for small and medium businesses. Local Authorities, funded through the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: I recognise that firms have faced a significant challenge in facing multiple crises alongside cost increases over the last number of years, including Brexit, the COVID -19 pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine and the associated supply chain shock, the energy cost crisis and rising inflation along with wage demands, and rising interest rates. It should be noted that not all cost increases...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Poverty Data (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: The Minister for Social Protection has advised that the 2023 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), which is the official source of poverty statistics for Ireland, reported a reduction in consistent poverty, which is the national social target for poverty reduction, down from 4.9% in SILC 2022 to 3.6% in SILC 2023. This is the lowest rate of consistent poverty recorded since the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Consumer Prices (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: My Department continuously monitors trends in consumer and wholesale prices - whether domestic or international - and those developments which are generating high headline inflation. Ireland is effectively a price taker on most international markets, and many of the drivers of Irish inflation are outside our control. As a small, open trading economy Ireland is exposed to global...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: As the Deputy has highlighted, many businesses are still to embark on their decarbonisation journey. We need to bring all enterprises with us as we transition to a more sustainable, low carbon economy. I am conscious that businesses - particularly smaller businesses - have many competing priorities at present. I and my Department are focussed on engaging businesses in the green transition,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 117 and 126 together. I recognise that firms have faced a significant challenge in facing multiple crises alongside cost increases over the last number of years, including Brexit, the COVID -19 pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine and the associated supply chain shock, the energy cost crisis and rising inflation along with wage demands, and rising...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: IDA Ireland’s Regional Property Programme is aimed at supporting economic development and job creation across the country by making property solutions available 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...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: The PRSI Roadmap outlines planned annual increases in Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) over the period 2024 to 2028, intended to increase the sustainability of the social insurance fund (SIF), given the retention of the State Pension age at 66 is government policy and the commitment to introduce ‘Pay-Related Benefit’, a social insurance benefit set to replace...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: As the Deputy is aware, the availability of appropriate, innovative, and cost-effective property solutions that meet the needs of multinational companies at the forefront of a modern economy remains essential to winning Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In this context, the IDA Regional Property Programme has been designed to ensure the supply of land, buildings and essential infrastructure...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: Under its current strategy, ‘Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021–2024’, IDA is committed to delivering 19 Advance Building Solutions across six regions in 15 locations. Eight buildings are now complete, a further 5 buildings are expected to be "on site" in 2024 with the remainder in the planning and site selection stages. Moreover, the IDA has made considerable...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Agreements (18 Apr 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: Business Supports (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: It is essential that Irish enterprise has access to an adequate pool of high quality, adaptable and flexible talent – particularly in the context of a tightened labour market and the challenges this poses for businesses in many sectors of the economy. In order to meet the demand for skills, there is close collaboration across Government, in particular between the Department of...