Results 1-20 of 3,318 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Peter Burke

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: The latest data available from the Central Statistics Office shows that the price of wholesale electricity in February 2024 was 46.8% lower than in February 2023, with electricity prices falling by 15.3% between January 2024 and February 2024. Additionally, the Wholesale Price Indices for Energy Products – that is fuels purchased by manufacturing industry – fell by 37.2% over...

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

Peter Burke: The Sick Leave Act 2022 introduced employer-paid, medically certified, statutory sick leave for the first time in Ireland. Commencing on 1 January 2023, the initial statutory entitlement was to up to 3 days’ sick leave, which increased to 5 days on 1 January 2024. As the Deputy has noted, this could potentially increase to 7 days in 2025, reaching 10 days in 2026. Introducing...

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

Peter Burke: The report referenced by the Deputy provides a commentary by ICTU on recent and forthcoming changes to working conditions that are planned, or have already been introduced, by this Government. Last month, a report by officials from several Departments, including my own - and all members of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) - was published. This set out an assessment...

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

Peter Burke: I am aware of the campaign outlined which is seeking new protections for workers seeking to organise in their workplaces. I note that the launch of the campaign was held in conjunction with the Irish Second-Level Students Union (ISSU). The Government fully supports the right of any worker to join and be active in their trade union. Employees have the right under the Constitution to...

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

Peter Burke: The Government has advanced a range of measures to improve working conditions in Ireland, including the transition to a Living Wage, Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings, Parent’s Leave and Benefit, Statutory Sick Pay, an Additional Public Holiday, the Living Wage, and Remote Working. These improvements will bring wider societal benefits and will serve to bring Ireland in line with other...

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: Trade Data (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: The Central Statistics Office compiles goods trade data for individual countries on a monthly basis. This data is available from the month of October 2023 but not from the specific date of 7 October. According to the most recent data available from the CSO, the value of goods imports from Israel in the period October 2023 to end February 2024 was €1,559 million. The value of...

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

Peter Burke: My Department continues to monitor risks to economic activity and employment for both the locally- traded and international sectors of the economy. As set out in Budget 2024, risks in the near-term are tilted to the downside. The rise in interest rates, which the ECB does not expect to cut before Summer, would be expected to dampen international growth. Given the open nature of the Irish...

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: Referendum Campaigns (18 Apr 2024)

Peter Burke: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 119 together. On Tuesday, Government agreed to a deferral of the constitutional referendum on Ireland’s participation in the Unified Patent Court which had been due to take place on the 7th of June 2024. The Government continues to believe that joining the UPC is essential, and that the referendum should be pursued. The Bill was...

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

Peter Burke: As the Deputy will be aware all sectors of society are learning to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. The decarbonisation of how companies generate heat during the manufacturing process is one aspect of that. As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment it is my responsibility - through the work of my Department and its enterprise agencies – to meet the...

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...