Results 19,821-19,840 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Personal Injuries Commission (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Chief Justice is doing what he can to identify the steps that need to be taken to ensure that the judicial council and its relevant committees can hit the ground running once established. I expect that the council will be set up next year. As I understand it, it should be done very quickly because the law is passed and everything is in place. The Deputy is right about the PIAB. We...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: IDA Ireland Jobs Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Creating high-quality, well-paid and secure jobs, whether in indigenous or overseas firms, has been a top priority of mine ever since becoming Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The multinational sector in Ireland continues to thrive, with new jobs being created in sectors including information and communications technologies,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: IDA Ireland Jobs Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The average salary figure of €66,000 per annum I have given the Deputy is calculated using my Department's annual business survey of economic impact, which entails consulting with up to 4,200 companies across the country. However, neither my Department nor IDA Ireland has access to comprehensive information on the pay scales or salary levels within multinational companies in Ireland....

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: IDA Ireland Jobs Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I am not familiar with the particular case the Deputy mentioned so I do not want to comment on it. However, FDI companies make a huge contribution. I only visited WuXi Biologics outside Dundalk three weeks ago. That company announced 200 new jobs in addition to the 400 jobs already announced. There will be 600 high-quality jobs in the biopharma space right on the Border in Dundalk. There...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: IDA Ireland Jobs Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I just want to tell the Deputy how important FDI is, especially in the Border region. She should go and look at that site. The development taking place there is amazing. Some 2,000 people will be employed on the site come January in light of the work due to be carried out. They will be 600 high quality jobs and staff from throughout the region - Cavan, Monaghan, Meath and Louth - will...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Personal Injuries Commission (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. During its 18 month work programme, which concluded in July 2018, the Personal Injuries Commission, PIC, delivered two reports with 14 recommendations. The first report of PIC, published in December 2017, made four recommendations. The first recommendation was the adoption of a standardised approach to the examination of personal injuries. The...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Personal Injuries Commission (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I am, as I know the Deputy is, very aware of the serious impact of high insurance costs, particularly liability insurance, for businesses and consumers. We as a Government are using every lever at our disposal to bring down insurance costs. We have done a huge amount of work and I expect all of this work will pay dividends. The Judicial Council Act has passed, which means that once the new...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Data (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to supporting job creation and investment in the regions, including in County Donegal and the North-West as a whole. We are determined to ensure that employment and investment are distributed as evenly as possible across the country and we have set ambitious targets in pursuit of that goal. The IDA has a significant role to play in helping us achieve that...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Preparations (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Government, my Department, our enterprise development agencies and regulatory bodies will continue to be ready for all Brexit scenarios. As announced by the Minister for Finance in Budget 2020, provisions are in place for the Brexit Contingency funding of €650 million, in the event of a no-deal Brexit. As there is no certainty yet on the timeline or likely impact of the United...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Preparations (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: My Department and its agencies have put in place extensive supports, schemes and advisory resources to ensure that businesses nationwide are prepared for Brexit. While we cannot yet know the form that Brexit will take, these measures aim to assist businesses in identifying key risk areas and practical preparatory actions regardless of the circumstances of the UK’s withdrawal from the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I commissioned the OECD to undertake the Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Ireland and I met with the OECD Secretary General Gurria in March 2018 on my key priorities for the review. This Review which I published last month provides seminal new research examining the policy environment for SMEs and entrepreneurship in Ireland, the scale of which has...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Enterprise Development Fund (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware that the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) was introduced to support the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at county, regional and national level.  The REDF, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland, has been an effective instrument of policy particularly as a complement to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Commercial Rates (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I am very aware of the serious impacts on businesses and consumers of high costs. It is important that consumers and businesses can obtain services at a reasonable and fair price. I have no role with regard to the setting of commercial rates. The rates paid by individual rate-payers is a factor of the valuation carried out by the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Flexible Work Practices (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 65, 86 and 93 together. As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I understand the opportunities presented by the increased adoption of flexible working solutions in the workplace. This is addressed under Pillar 4 of the Government’s Future Jobs Ireland strategy. Pillar 4 is focussed on increasing participation in the labour force as...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Personal Injuries Commission (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Personal Injuries Commission (PIC) was established in 2017. During its 18-month work programme, which concluded in July 2018, the PIC delivered two reports with 14 recommendations. The First Report of the PIC, published in December 2017 made four recommendations, of which 2 are ongoing, 1 is partially complete and the final recommendation, relating to the Book of Quantum, has been...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Ireland is a competitive economy, as reflected in a range of economic metrics, such as: high economic growth; the strong performance of the labour market across sectors and regions; strong trade figures; and, our productivity levels. For example, CSO’s Labour Force Survey data show that there was a 2.4% increase in employment in the year to Q3 2019, bringing total employment to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pharmaceutical Sector (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The Budget 2020 Economic and Fiscal Outlook noted that Ireland’s production base is highly concentrated in a small number of high-tech sectors. However, the overall macro-economic risk assessment matrix in Budget 2020 regarded the likelihood of risks relating to our concentrated production base as low. The pharmaceutical sector in Ireland operates within a broad national and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Data Centres (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: The enterprise agencies operating under the aegis of my Department - the IDA and Enterprise Ireland - undertake evaluations of grant-aided projects using a cost-benefit analysis model developed by my Department.  However, data centres are not, in general, grant-aided by the agencies.  Environmental assessments of emissions are made through the planning process where an...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Site Visits (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Increasing the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) in regional Ireland – including in the Border region – has been a priority of mine since I was first appointed as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. I know, as an elected representative of Cavan-Monaghan, how important it is to create new jobs and economic opportunities in regional areas. That’s why I...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Flexible Work Practices (3 Dec 2019)

Heather Humphreys: Ireland’s economy is changing rapidly and the world of work is very much part of that change. Future Jobs Ireland is the cross-Government initiative tasked with preparing Ireland for tomorrow’s economy, and for tomorrow’s jobs. Many of today’s schoolchildren will be in jobs that have not yet been conceived, and these jobs of the future will be a product of...