Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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460.To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the implementation of the Programme for Government commitments under the remit of his Department.[34006/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department has played a central role in delivering the Programme for Government – Our Shared future and in delivering cross-Government policy objectives as set out in documents such as the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan, the Climate Action Plan 2023, Harnessing Digital – the Digital Ireland Framework and to our international commitments including the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Government’s White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 sets out the medium- and long-term ambitions for a vibrant, resilient, regionally balanced and sustainable economy made up of a diversified mix of leading global companies, internationally competitive Irish enterprises and thriving local businesses.

The White Paper is being implemented through a series of consecutive two-year Implementation Plans with Government committed to providing progress reports on a biannual basis to the Cabinet Committee on Economy and Investment.

The second implementation Plan Update Report was published in May 2024 and the third update, covering H1 2024, is expected to be published shortly. The reports detail the progress made on the 40 key initiatives that were identified and agreed as part of the 2023-2024 Implementation Plan.

The latest labour force survey for quarter 2 of 2024 shows that employment continues to grow with 2.74 million people in employment. More than half of the jobs created in the past year were outside of Dublin which is a testament to this government’s commitment to achieving more balanced regional enterprise development.

To ensure business can retain and create jobs, deal with rising costs and transition under the digital and green agenda my Department introduced a range of schemes and funding initiatives for businesses to access credit and capital, including:

• On 2 September I published legislation which will allow for Microfinance Ireland (MFI) to increase its lending limit to microenterprises from €25,000 to €50,000.
• €222 million has been paid out to date under the Increase Cost of Business scheme which was introduced in Budget 2024 to help businesses with their increasing overheads.
• €300 million Industry Decarbonisation Fund to incentivise businesses to make significant investment decisions to reduce their carbon emissions and so that we can achieve our 2030 abatement target.
• The €500 million Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme provides longer-term lending to SMEs with competitive Loans of between €25,000 and €3 million.
• To assist the wider business sector with liquidity a €1.2 billion State-backed Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme will provide low-cost working capital to businesses

In the first six months of this year, the IDA supported 131 investments, 74 of which are planned for regional locations, enabling the future delivery of 8,900 jobs to the economy against an increasingly challenging global operating environment.

We have provided significant funding for green funding through the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme and Green Transition Fund to support Ireland’s commitment to achieving our ambitious decarbonisation objectives. Alongside this we have provided support for training in vital green skills. Our national strategy for offshore wind, Powering Prosperity, marks a key step towards realising Ireland’s significant renewable energy potential, securing Ireland’s place in green value chains, and enhancing our competitiveness.

In support of digital technologies and innovative enterprise, we are now seeing 85% of SMEs at basic digital intensity, while four European Digital Innovation Hubs are now fully operational in Ireland. New funds have additionally been launched to enhance disruptive innovation and to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative research, while, in the frontier Irish space sector, more than 100 companies have benefited from European Space Agency contracts, well ahead of our initial targets set. On the legislation side we passed the Digital Services Act which will ensure the rights of Irish users of digital services are protected.

In addition to progressing a range of legislation in the areas of workplace relations, digital, trade and commerce, in 2024 my Department continued to prioritise engagement with the broad base business, employer and employee representative groups and stakeholders, through initiatives such as the LEEF, Enterprise Forum, the Retail Forum and the Company Law Review Group.

Over the lifetime of the programme for Government my Department has delivered a number of important enhancements for workers’ rights including statutory sick pay, right to request remote working, enhanced rights for those employees in a collective redundancy situation. To protect low paid workers, the minimum wage moved to €12.70 on 1^stJanuary 2024.

We have taken a number of important steps to enhance consumer protection and drive insurance reform including commencing legislation to allow mediation on Insurance claims at the Injuries Resolution Board.

The Government’s Trade and Investment Strategy Value for Ireland, Values for the World aims to see Ireland grow sustainably, diversify export markets and provide for continued economic wellbeing. Following the successful inaugural Team Ireland Trade Mission Week to South Korea in 2023 a second Taoiseach-led Team Ireland Trade Mission Week is being planned for 28-30 October.

Finally, my Department is not complacent about Ireland’s competitive position and policies, strategies and the legislative toolkit are constantly kept under review to ensure that we continue to deliver on our commitments under the Programme for Government.