Results 861-880 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Support Services (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: I hear what the Deputy is saying. With regard to supports in the labour market, of course, the Government is always open to looking at new and more impactful ways of doing things and looking at international best practice and so on. With regard to Tara Mines, it is important to be upfront about the scale of the financial pressures on the company. The predicted loss for 2023, when the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Food Industry (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The food sector falls within the remit of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and his Department keeps in close contact with the relevant actors in that sector. Fairness and transparency in the food sector are essential, as is ensuring that consumers have access to sufficient and accurate information before making a purchase. That is why the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Food Industry (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: First, I acknowledge the role of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, in terms of the retail forum. That focus on ensuring that consumers are getting a fair deal from a competitive marketplace in the retail sector continues. There will be another retail forum in early autumn and that conversation will continue. The food industry is an industry that I know reasonably well,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Food Industry (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: What I will commit to is having a conversation with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine about what the appropriate direction here is in terms of what we should be doing together as a Government and in the context of the new regulator being set up. It is important to say that we import a lot of food from large food companies like Unilever, Nestlé and lots of others. We are...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: CIRCULÉIRE is the first cross-sectoral industry-led innovation network dedicated to closing the circular innovation gap and accelerating the net-zero carbon circular economy in Ireland. CIRCULÉIRE was launched in 2020 by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), an Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland supported Technology Centre, in partnership with the Department of the Environment,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The Government has provided substantial funding to assist regions to support enterprise activity, promote regional growth and create jobs. The Deputy will be aware that my Department has secured up to €145 million to 2027 from the European Regional Development Fund which will support projects aligned to my Department’s Regional Enterprise Plans. The draft Scheme, the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Enterprise was published in December 2022 and sets out the Government’s approach to enterprise policy for the period to 2030. The vision set out in the White Paper is for Irish-based enterprise to succeed through competitive advantage founded on sustainability, innovation and productivity, delivering rewarding jobs and livelihoods. The White Paper includes key...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: For an advanced economy like Ireland, innovation is the best way to generate sustainable, long-term productivity growth. Investment in research, development and innovation (RD&I) by companies and enterprises is critical to ensuring we have a strong competitive economy. This underlines the importance of sustaining the ambitious RD&I investment programmes that my Department and its...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: Work on the development of the Code of Practice on the right to request remote work is ongoing. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) have recently held a public consultation, which was receiving submissions up until 9 June. In total, the WRC received 50 submissions of foot of the public consultation, which are now being considered. This Code, which will be developed in consultation with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Enterprise, published last December, articulates the direction of enterprise policy over the next decade. One of the key priorities set out in the White Paper , is integrating decarbonisation and net zero commitments with enterprise policy. This will include incorporation of carbon abatement as an objective for the Department’s enterprise Agencies, equal to and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: Regional development remains a top priority for my Department and for our enterprise agencies. IDA’s targets for the period 2021-2024 are to assist the creation of an additional 50,000 jobs, attract 800 new investment projects, of which 400 are to the regions, and to drive new climate, sustainability, RD&I (Research, Development and Innovation) and training investments by...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Strategies (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The Progress Report on the National AI Strategy: AI – Here for Good has been finalised and it is expected to be considered by Government very shortly, after which it will be published. The Progress Report is the first since the publication of the National AI Strategy in July 2021 and shows that good headway has been made across all strands. Key achievements under the Strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regulatory Impact Assessments (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The preparation of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA) is an important element of the legislative process and one that my Department takes seriously. In general, where the Department proposes new policies, consultations with interest groups including employer and employee representative groups and full public consultations inform the contents of Regulatory Impact Assessments. The engagement...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Strategies (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: The Government launched the National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital – The Digital Ireland Framework, in February 2022. Much progress has been made on implementation, and a full progress report, covering achievements across all four dimensions of the strategy, was published in December 2022. My Department is responsible for the Enterprise pillar of the Strategy, which deals...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Information and Communications Technology (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: Government restated its commitment to a well-resourced, modern and coherent regulatory framework for digital in the National Digital Strategy, which was launched in February 2022. We have made many advances towards delivering on this commitment. A Senior Officials Group for Digital Issues (SOG Digital) has been established with the aim of ensuring coherence across all Departments with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Data (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: IDA Ireland does not currently employ or have under contract an agent or consultant in Israel however, the Agency is due to issue a request for tender for a part-time Israel-based Business Development Consultant in June 2023. A Business Development Consultant identifies target companies with potential for investing in Ireland, engages with senior decision-makers in these companies and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: IDA’s strategy, Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024,has been developed in the context of the Government’s National Economic Plan. It identifies the opportunities for sustainable growth among IDA’s established base of clients through a focus on transformative investments to increase the productivity of Irish operations and their workforce through...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Climate Change Policy (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: Under the Programme for Government, Ireland has committed to reducing emissions by 51% across all sectors of the economy by 2030 and to become net zero by 2050. These commitments are enshrined in law under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. Accordingly, all sectors of the economy must remain within defined five-year Carbon Budgets which align with our climate...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: In a challenging, competitive and uncertain global environment, IDA’s Regional Property Programme aims to ensure the supply of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations to meet the needs of current and prospective clients of both the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be a key differentiator in winning FDI projects, as...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (29 Jun 2023)

Simon Coveney: In a challenging, competitive and uncertain global environment, IDA’s Regional Property Programme aims to ensure the supply of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations to meet the needs of current and prospective clients of both the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. In this regard, a robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be a key differentiator in winning FDI...