Results 181-200 of 2,796 for speaker:Neale Richmond in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The meat processing industry have been provided with access to the General Employment Permit over the last number of years, most recently with an additional quota of 425 permits made available in June last year. All quotas for meat processing operatives have now been filled. These and other agriculture/agrifood quotas were opened with a proviso that a strategic review on labour attraction...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: As you are aware, the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was a government grant designed to help businesses with increasing energy costs. The Scheme was designed by the Department of Finance and was administered by the Revenue Commissioners. However, funding for the Scheme was allocated to the Vote of my Department. As of 5th October (the latest stats available from the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: An additional €9m has been allocated in Budget 2024 to the Local Enterprise Offices to enable them to continue their work assisting business start-ups in local towns and communities across the country. This reflects the ambition this government has for the LEOs and for supporting small businesses throughout the country. Each year, in line with the standard budgetary process, my...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Regional enterprise development is an established core element of the enterprise policy landscape, and the Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) are among the primary tools to progress this policy priority. The REP Programme Managers (PMs) are critical to the successful implementation of the REPs. To date, the REP PMs have been employed on short-term contracts jointly funded by the relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: As you are aware, the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) was a government grant designed to help businesses with increasing energy costs. The Scheme was designed by the Department of Finance and was administered by the Revenue Commissioners. However, funding for the Scheme was allocated to the Vote of my Department. As of 5th October (the latest stats available from the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Last week the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD, announced a Budget 2024 package which recognises the ongoing challenges businesses are facing across the country, including in Clare. Overall funding allocated to the Department in Budget 2024 increased by 3.7% to €979m, including a €26m increase in capital expenditure to €584m, and a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: My Government, through Enterprise Ireland, typically support employment in regions such as Tipperary through a range of programmes aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, business development, and job creation. Almost 70% of new jobs growth occurred outside of Dublin, the positive job creation results are a testament to the talent, resilience and innovation of businesses operating in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 206 together. The right to request remote working will be available to all employees under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Under the Act, flexible working arrangements such as adjusted working patterns or reduced hours, will be available to parents and carers. One Code of Practice will now be developed which will provide...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The WRC Inspectorate is staffed by civil servants of my Department. WRC inspectors are ranked at Executive Officer (EO) Inspector and Higher Executive Officer (HEO) Inspector Team Manager (ITM) levels. Additional funding of €1.7million has been allocated to the WRC in Budget 2024, bringing the WRC’s total allocation next year to just over €18.5 million. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Firstly, my thoughts are with all employees facing job losses and I fully appreciate how difficult this situation can be for both them and their families. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect and support workers in collective redundancy situations. The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes certain legal obligations on employers proposing collective...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system, maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills or labour shortages in the State in the short to medium term. This objective must be balanced by the need to ensure no...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Data (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together. The attached table provides a breakdown of the grants awarded by Enterprise Ireland under New Frontiers, High Potential Start Ups and the Pre-Seed Start Fund (formerly Competitive Start Fund). In relation to the Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF), this commenced in Q4 of 2022. In 2022 prior to the official launch of PSSF, 10 pre-HPSU companies...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) has been designed to serve as a valuable and effective support mechanism for high-growth early-stage start-up firms and entrepreneurs operating in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors. It specifically aims to foster innovation and encourage the growth of innovative businesses. The PSSF offers investments in the range of €50,000 to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Ireland operates a managed employment permits system, maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills or labour shortages in the State in the short to medium term. In framing policy, consideration is given to other...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The Deputy will be aware that my Department has secured up to €145m in regional enterprise funding which is aimed at accelerating economic growth and sustainable job creation across all regions of the country. The first call under the ‘Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme’ was announced last week. This €35m call will capitalise on existing regional enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) are statutory instruments drawn up by a Joint Labour Committees (JLC), adopted by the Labour Court, and given statutory effect by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The ERO fixes minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment for workers in specified business sectors: employers in those sectors are then obliged to pay wage rates and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I am very aware of the continuing challenges that businesses, including restaurant businesses, still face due to the cost of living crisis. For that reason, we are introducing the Increased Cost of Business Scheme (ICOB). The ICOB will be a targeted grant payment paid out by local authorities which will apply to businesses operating out of a rateable premises, at a rate of up to half their...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: The meat processing industry have been provided with access to the General Employment Permit over the last number of years, most recently with an additional quota of 425 permits made available in June last year. All quotas for meat processing operatives have now been filled. These and other agriculture/agri-food quotas were opened with a proviso that a strategic review on labour...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Work Permits (17 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: An application for an employment permit seeks to secure permission to take up employment in the State on the basis of a job offer to fill a current vacancy in an eligible role from an Irish employer to a suitably qualified or skilled non EEA national. Applications are subject to a range of requirements and criteria set out in the employment permits legislation and are granted to the non EEA...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Development (12 Oct 2023)

Neale Richmond: I very much welcome the ambition set out by the independent Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce in their Final Report. The Taskforce’s vision for an Atlantic Green Digital Corridor, developing from the Shannon Estuary and stretching from Cork to Donegal is more than an energy strategy; it is also about reshaping the Irish economy very fundamentally, and it offers a tangible opportunity...