Results 121-140 of 40,850 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: There were a lot of questions there and I will go through them. First, I refer to the Deputies who have raised their areas. From a Cork perspective, in Cork County Council, we expect that 15,718 businesses may be eligible. In Cork City Council, the figure is 6,857. Therefore, across Cork city and county, there are approximately 23,000 businesses that may be eligible. These are not small...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I will finish on this. Sorry.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: It was completed.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: We only got the draft code back ten days ago. We are now looking to approve that code and we are testing it, as the Deputy would expect in any process, before finally approving it and publishing it. It is probably a matter of days before that happens. We are now in a good place. We are moving towards putting a lot more structure, permanency and acceptance around how arrangements for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Business Supports (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5, 17, 20 to 22, inclusive, 25, 26, 32 and 38 together. To give a direct answer on Clare, we think that 3,955 businesses will potentially benefit. I will now answer the question more broadly because other Deputies have questions in this regard. The increased cost of business grant, announced in budget 2024, is intended to benefit particularly small...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy and I am glad to have the opportunity to update the House because, to be fair to the WRC, it has concluded its work and I have seen a draft copy as of yesterday. The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act was enacted on 4 April 2023 and represents a significant advance in terms of workplace entitlements for all employees, parents and carers in particular....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: There is a sense of urgency, but we also want to get this right. We set a very clear target that the WRC would report back to me with a code of practice by the end of January and that is what happened. I need to fully consider it now, which we are doing and we will get that done quickly. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, also has to do that under the legislation. We will finalise it and it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Article 4 of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, promotion of collective bargaining on wage setting, aims to promote collective bargaining on wages in all member states. The directive requires member states in which the collective bargaining coverage rate is less than 80% to provide “for a framework of enabling conditions for collective bargaining” and to publish an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: First, we have not set targets. We have only started the process of real engagement and consultation. That real engagement will only get started in a meeting next month. We have had some initial discussions, and obviously accept the Government's responsibilities in putting an action plan together. However, it is important to say we are a long way short of that 80% figure. Ireland's...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Fair enough.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I will try to drag it out as long as I can. I am good at that, as you know.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Wage-setting Mechanisms (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I hear the Deputy, and she takes a view that is consistent with trade union leadership, which is fair enough. The conversations between the different social partners have actually been constructive. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond and I have been involved in those discussions. The Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is involved in that too. The approach the Government is taking is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: The Government is committed to backing business and will continue to work closely with small businesses nationwide by supporting their growth, helping them to find new markets, stimulating job creation and helping them digitalise and decarbonise. The 2023 Local Enterprise Offices Annual Employment Survey results are testament to this commitment. These jobs figures show that in 2023, the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Small and Medium Enterprises (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: This Government has adopted a pro-active approach in supporting Irish businesses across multiple crises over the last number of years, including the introduction of unemployment supports during the COVID -19 pandemic, the provision of financial supports to firms facing the implications of Brexit, and more recently, through the period of increasing overhead costs. My Department is fully...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 53 and 67 together. The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Ms Catherine Martin T.D., and I co-chair the Hospitality and Tourism Forum. Membership of the Forum is made up of representatives from across the Hospitality and Tourism Sector. It provides a platform for a structured engagement between these sectors and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Climate Action Plan (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Actions committed to under the Climate Action Plan 2023 are reported on through progress reports prepared by the Department of the Taoiseach and published quarterly. In 2023, my Department reported on 10 actions in total, and provided final updates on the delivery status of these actions for review in early January. Pending final confirmation from the Department of the Taoiseach, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Construction Industry (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: To ensure the delivery of Housing for All targets, and accelerate the ongoing transformation of the construction sector, the Government recognises the need for a continuous flow of compliant innovations in the residential construction sector. This includes the more widespread adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), an umbrella term for a range of innovative construction processes,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Export Controls (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: My Department is the National Competent Authority with responsibility for Export Controls, including Controls on defence-related exports and exports of Dual-Use goods. My Department operates Export Controls to the highest standards, in accordance with EU law and international best practice. Controls on the export of Dual-use items are administered by my Department, in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: VMWare is a leading virtualisation and cloud computing software and services company, which first established in Ballincollig in 2005, following its acquisition by EMC. In May 2022, VMWare and Broadcom jointly announced that Broadcom would acquire VMWare. The company is planning a substantial rationalisation of VMWare’s headcount across its global operations in 100 countries, and, last...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Climate Action Plan (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Actions committed to under the Climate Action Plan 2023 are reported on through progress reports prepared by the Department of the Taoiseach and published quarterly. Under this reporting process, a selection of ‘high impact’ measures from the Climate Action Plan with more significant abatement potential are focussed on in the progress reports. In 2023, my Department reported on...