Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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74. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he will publish the planned White Paper on industrial policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62091/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s enterprise and industrial policy has served us well – but the pace and fundamental nature of change now underway globally in multiple dimensions – economic, technical, geo-political and environmental– requires us to refresh our approach to account for the new risks and indeed opportunities that will arise.

We must never take our prosperity for granted. If lost, it will take a long time to regain.

So, over the last nine months we undertook a review of our enterprise policy – choosing to do so from a position of strength, not decline or crisis.

The White Paper, published last Wednesday, will build on the strong foundations already in place and ensure businesses in Ireland are well positioned to seize opportunities to grow and succeed.

Government will be there to help businesses reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and improve their energy efficiency in the coming years through a range of initiatives, including knowledge transfer, grants and loans. While weaning ourselves off coal, oil and gas will not be easy, it also presents incredible opportunities for Ireland, specifically in the area of renewable energy production.

Notwithstanding the recent retrenchment in the tech sector, the future is digital. There is going to be more data, more robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality and autonomous transport. There will be a huge expansion of the tech sector in the medium term and we will make sure that Ireland is at the forefront of that.

To achieve the White Paper vision, Government will focus on seven priority enterprise policy objectives:

1. Integrating decarbonisation and net zero commitments.

2. Placing digital transformation at the heart of enterprise policy

3. Strengthening the Irish-owned exporting sector

4. Enabling locally trading sectors to thrive

5. Advancing Ireland’s FDI and trade value proposition

6. Stepping up enterprise innovation

7. Building on strengths and opportunities

For each priority we have a number of metrics against which progress will be measured.

Implementation of the White Paper will be regularly reported on to Government through a monitoring and tracking of progress against identified targets.