Results 1,421-1,440 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I welcome Ms Byron and congratulate her on her appointment. I wish her the best with it. The HSA has a massive remit and it is very complex, technical and detailed. I went through its website and it is actually quite good. My colleague has quite rightly been pointing out the issues with respect to sensitive data; I noticed on 13 September last that a press release was issued pertaining to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I will expand a little. While I think the motivation is probably correct and well-meaning from their point of view, I have come across some companies which have signs up stating the workplace has been accident free for two years or so many days and so forth. There is then pressure on people not to report accidents because they break this record. It is something I have been concerned for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I notice that the HSA's remit extends to outdoor workers being exposed to UV rays. That is interesting. In my town and area in the past week, we have had severe weather and flooding. I also notice there is a section on the HSA website dealing with flooding and so on, which is good to see. One of the most difficult areas where we see a lot of fatalities and injuries is farms. What are Ms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: Ms Byron mentioned the relatively new interest in the whole area of renewable energy. The committee has done some work on this. The website mentions solar farms, wind farms and so on and notes that even when they are operational they are still workplaces, which is important. I draw Ms Byron's attention to the expanding area of businesses and farms installing solar panels on the roofs of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I have also noticed, from the unfortunate number of people who have been killed or died in the workplace, that there seems to be a bias towards older people. I think that ten of the people who died in one year were aged between 55 and 64. is there an age-related issue there? Is there a correlation between age and injury and fatality that we should be concerned about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: There is an issue there we need to be concerned about.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: This is my final question, and I think Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked it too. Will Ms Byron give the committee an overview of how many staff are in the HSA? Are there enough staff? Does the authority need more staff? Is there competition for qualified staff, as there is in many other institutions and agencies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of the Health and Safety Authority (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I thank Ms Byron.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I welcome Mr. Carey to the committee and wish him well in his role. I also thank him for taking up that position because it is not everybody who will take on the job. Given his successful career to date, he will bring a great deal to the table. It is great he is in that role. I note Mr. Carey stated that the board is gender balanced. Is it very well balanced? I think there are six...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I agree with Mr. Carey that it is a really impressive team he has in the board. That is good to hear. He spoke about the network of 31 LEOs through Enterprise Ireland's centre of excellence. We have had representatives from the LEOs before the committee previously. Will Mr. Carey tell us more about the centre of excellence? If he does not have notes on that with him, perhaps he could...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: My time is tight. There are 31 LEOs and they all work independently in their respective local authority areas. It has been put to me, and again this is from Enterprise Ireland's own website, that given the range of skills required for people who are starting up and growing small businesses or SMEs, the diversity is huge. I put it to Mr. Carey that there cannot be expertise in every LEO to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: Enterprise Ireland is focused on international markets, growing businesses, exporting and becoming global, which has already been discussed. Some companies in Ireland do not export and are focused only on the local, national market. How does Enterprise Ireland support those companies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: What about some businesses that are a bit larger than that but do not export? It has been said to me that they do not get the TLC that others get which export or have the potential to export. That is an area Enterprise Ireland might look at. I do not know how many are out there but they feel a bit unloved. Mr. Carey is familiar with the concept of people establishing businesses under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I am told it is but that may be for another day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: It is just another area that came to my attention that I was surprised about. Enterprise Ireland may have a look at it. Quite a lot of large Irish companies are fleeing the Irish stock market and registering elsewhere. Will Mr. Carey comment as to whether or not he is concerned about that? What can be done to address it? Should it be addressed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: A comment was recently made that we are now beyond full employment. How many staff does Enterprise Ireland have nationally and internationally? Are there many vacancies? Is Enterprise Ireland finding it difficult to attract staff? Obviously, it needs, as it has, quite dedicated, experienced and qualified people working with it. Will Mr. Carey comment on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I have been looking at the Enterprise Ireland website. I do not see too many career opportunities advertised on it. I am just wondering where those 100 are advertised or are they advertised?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: Will Mr. Carey come back to me about that at some stage with a note?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: If people are interested in working in Enterprise Ireland, I am interested in how they can apply and the process. There are some on the website but not that many, unless I am missing something. It is just a comment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with Chairperson of Enterprise Ireland (25 Oct 2023)

David Stanton: I wish also to comment on the Open Doors initiative, which I do quite a bit; I am on the board of the initiative, which Enterprise Ireland supports. I wish to thank Enterprise Ireland for that. The company is industry-led and assists people with disabilities, migrants and people from disadvantaged communities to get employment and get on the job ladder and it helps companies to employ those...