Results 101-120 of 27,654 for speaker:Simon Coveney in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (8 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: The Government published Making Remote Work, the National Remote Work Strategy, in January 2021. The Strategy identified 15 actions to be undertaken to ensure that remote work from homes and hubs is a permanent feature of the Irish workplace in a way which maximises its economic, social and environmental benefits for employers, employees and the taxpayer. My Department led the development and...

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

Simon Coveney: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) compiles statistical data in relation to Goods Exports and Imports. According to the CSO, the value of our goods exports to EU27 was €81 billion in 2022, €62 billion in 2021 and €64 billion in 2020. The value of our goods imports from EU27 was €43 billion in 2022, €35 billion in 2021 and €30 billion in 2020....

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

Simon Coveney: Ireland’s skills development policy is framed by Ireland’s National Skills Strategy 2025, which was published in 2016. This ushered in significant reforms in the education and training sector, resulting in a responsive National Skills Architecture, which aims to ensure that education and training provision is optimally aligned with identified skills needs within the enterprise...

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

Simon Coveney: The Programme for Government committed to promoting higher female labour market participation, as well as less commuting and greater regional balance, through increased remote, flexible and hub-working arrangements to support families in their parenting and childcare choices. According to the latest available data from the Central Statistics Office’s Labour Force Survey, female...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Sustainable Development Goals (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious framework. A whole-of-Government approach to its implementation has been taken in Ireland. Ireland’s Second National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals, 2022-2024 was published in October 2022. The Plan was developed by the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135 and 154 together. The Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) grant was announced as part of the Budget 2024 package. It is intended to particularly benefit small and medium sized businesses who operate from a rateable premises. The grant is only available to businesses who operate from a rateable premises and will not be available to vacant premises. The grant...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Official Travel (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: The information requested is currently being collated by my Department and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy as soon as it is finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reports (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Following consistent feedback from the market that scale ups are having difficulty accessing finance in Ireland, my Department established the Finance for Scale Ups (FSU) Working Group in 2022 This group consisted of representatives from my Department, the Department of Finance; Enterprise Ireland (EI); the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF); the Strategic Banking Corporation of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Advertising (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: My Department did not start spending on online advertising until 2018. Details of advertising spend for both traditional and online advertising for the past ten years are set out in tabular form below. Year Traditional Advertising Costs € Online Advertising Costs € Total € 2014 80,287 ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Contracts (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: The public relations services providers engaged by my Department and Offices of my Department and the details of the services supplied and the expenditure on each from 2014 to 2018 are set out in the below table. My Department has not spent money or sought external assistance with Departmental / Ministerial public relations from 2019 to date. Year Name of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Legal Services (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: My Department and its Offices spent a total of €11,156,299 on legal costs or legal services in the past 10 years and to January 2024 (see attached table).

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Office space for my Department and its Offices is provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in buildings which are either State owned or leased by the OPW on our behalf. Therefore, my Department does not own, purchase or rent office space. My Department works closely with OPW colleagues to ensure that the provision of such office space is appropriate, fit-for-purpose and every effort is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Supports (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: It is understandable that businesses are concerned about the impact of rising costs, and this Government is continuing to monitor the situation regarding the costs of doing business. It is also important to acknowledge that SMEs, and in particular the retail and hospitality sectors, are key employment generators for Ireland, particularly in more rural areas. Significant support has been...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: White Papers (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: Launched in December 2022, the White Paper on Enterprise sets out the Government’s approach to enterprise policy for the period to 2030. The White Paper sets out Ireland`s enterprise strategy for the medium- to long-term, which will work to enable Irish-based enterprise to succeed through competitive advantage founded on sustainability, innovation and productivity, delivering rewarding...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reports (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: My Department, in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection, is assessing the cumulative impact of recent and forthcoming changes to working conditions, including the Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme, Parent’s Leave and Benefit, Statutory Sick Pay, the Additional Public Holiday, the Living Wage, and Remote Working. This follows a recommendation by the National...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: An important element of the IDA’s strategy is to diversify its market reach by broadening the geographic profile of investment. To support this objective, a ‘Pioneering Markets’ team was established within the Growth Markets Division of IDA Ireland in 2019, tasked with extending IDA’s global footprint. This approach has been supported by the appointment of a number...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: There are 72 IDA Ireland supported companies in the border region (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, and Monaghan) that collectively employ 10,173 people, and 15 IDA supported companies in Cavan and Monaghan, collectively employing 1,104 people. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) performance in the region has been strong over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any aspect of an appeal undertaken by a company in respect of an EPA decision. I note the Deputy is referring to matters dating back some 50 years ago and I am advised that IDA Ireland does not have records dating back to 1974. Aughinish Alumina manufactures alumina, a feedstock for the production of aluminium metal, which is sold to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Minimum Wage (7 Feb 2024)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, The National Minimum Wage increased to €12.70 per hour from 1 January 2024. This represents an €1.40 increase, or 12.4%, on the 2023 rate of €11.30 per hour and is considered the second year of a proposed four-year path towards reaching the living wage of 60% of the median wage by January 2026. The Low Pay Commission has estimated that the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (31 Jan 2024)

Simon Coveney: On 26 April 2023 the European Commission published a proposal to revise and replace the existing general pharmaceutical legislation. The EU Pharmaceutical legislative package proposes a suite of measures with the purpose of assuring the quality and safety of medicines and ensuring their availability to health services across the EU. As such, the Department of Health is leading on this file in...