Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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406. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the main policy achievements of his Department since 23 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38753/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Since January 2025, my Department has made significant progress delivering on our Programme for Government priorities and my ambition to support businesses especially SMEs to grow and thrive and deliver high quality jobs across Ireland.

The CSO’s Labour Force Survey for Q1 2025 shows employment continues to grow, with 90,800 jobs created in the year to Q1 2025. Employment now stands at 2.81 million, an increase of approximately 3.3 percent over Q1 2024. Employment growth has been widespread throughout the regions – Employment outside of Dublin increased by 65,700 in the year to Q1 2025 (+3.5 percent).

I am pleased to report positive trends in the volume of inward investment so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, supported by IDA Ireland there have been 179 investments by global companies into Ireland, a 37 per cent increase on the same period last year, that are expected to deliver cutting edge R&D, strengthen our talent proposition, drive sustainable change, and lead to the creation of over 10,000 jobs. Enterprise Ireland (EI) is now working in partnership with over 4,000 companies to help them to grow and succeed in international markets. EI’s end of year statement for 2024 was published in January and outlined that there are now over 234,000 people employed in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland. EI published its 2024 export results in July – client companies achieved exports of €36.75 billion, up 7% on 2023. I established a Small Business Unit in my Department in May fulfilling a key commitment in the Programme for Government. The Unit focuses on the rigorous implementation of the SME Test. The Unit also oversees the simplification of information and improved access to grants and supports for businesses though the National Enterprise Hub. Additionally, the unit is committed to ensuring the Local Enterprise Offices are properly resourced to effectively help small businesses.

The Cost of Business Advisory Forum was convened on 11 June 2025. This Forum delivers on a key commitment in the Programme for Government 2025 – emphasising the importance of ‘Supporting Small Business, Hospitality and Retail’ in the current economic climate. The Forum is a sub-group of the Enterprise Forum. The Government is cognisant of issues relating to Ireland’s international competitiveness and is taking concrete action to improve our competitiveness position. In April of this year, I brought forward a series of measures intended to minimise cost pressures for Irish firms. These included an extension of the timeframe for the introduction of the Living Wage by three years (to 2029) and an end to any further increases under the Statutory Sick Leave scheme for this year.

Last week I published the fourth and final update report on the implementation of the White Paper on Enterprise, covering the period H2 2024. This report showcases the significant progress made across 40 strategic initiatives underpinned by 93 activities in realising the ambitions and objectives set out in the White Paper.

Advancements across digital transformation include the launch of the Grow Digital portal supporting SMEs in mapping their digital journey. Over €1.9 million was disbursed through European Digital Innovation Hubs, benefiting 337 companies with access to research infrastructure and technical expertise. AI adoption among SMEs increased from 8% in 2023 to 14.9% in 2024.

In terms of net zero, Ireland’s Offshore Wind Strategy, Powering Prosperity, has been implemented with 38 of the 40 actions underway and €312.6 million was approved under the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme.

Innovation and enterprise growth highlights included the €32 billion target for Irish owned company exports in 2023 which was exceeded at €34.57 billion, with the sector further supported by 90 High Potential Start-Ups (HPSUs) in 2024. The Knowledge Transfer Boost Programme was launched with €33.4 million to support spinouts and innovation. 2025 has seen continued investment in the commercial development and deployment of disruptive technologies. In February, two Call 7 projects, submitted before the deadline, were awarded funding of €17 million. In April, the seventh Call of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) closed, receiving a total of 41 applications. In May, my Department announced the launch of the Departments Charter for Digital Inclusion. Silicon Island – Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy was published. As part of the launch, a Mapping of Ireland's Semiconductor and Microelectronics Industry was also published.

Implementation of the Regional Enterprise Plans continues, with several Steering Committee meetings and a meeting of the National Oversight Group, which I chair with Minister Dillon and Minister Smyth, taking place during H1 2025. An independent review of the Regional Enterprise Plan initiative commenced in January and is nearing completion. The final review is expected in the coming weeks.

In terms of delivery of legislation, the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill was published on 13 June 2025. Initiated in the Dáil at Second Stage on the 19 June 2025, the Bill is due to proceed to Committee Stage on 17 July 2025. The General Scheme of the Short-Term Letting and tourism Bill was approved by Government in April 2024. The Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025 completed Second Stage in the Dáil on 28 May 2025. The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 completed Committee Stage on 2nd July 2025.

On 4 March 2025 and again on the 27 May 2025 the new Statutory Employment Law Review Group (ELRG) has met in Plenary session to progress the 2025-2026 Work Programme which has been set by me in consultation with the Group. The work programme is published on my Department’s website and covers three very substantive items: the determination of employment status, review of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, and review of the statutory notice periods in the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973. The ELRG is a crucial enabler for our work as an independent, technical advisory group with expertise and interest in the development of employment and redundancy law.

The International Labour Organization concluded its Conference in June 2025 with the adoption of the first-ever international labour standards aimed at preventing exposure to, and protecting workers from, biological hazards in the workplace, a landmark step in global efforts to safeguard occupational health and safety across all sectors.

My Department has also continued to deliver on Programme for Government commitments on supporting the industrial relations, including the appointment of a new Chair of the Labour Court, appointing new adjudicators to the WRC and ongoing engagement with the social partners on policy objectives. New arrangements to support pay in the security and childcare sectors have also been put in place.

Employment Permits Regulations have been implemented to continue to provide access to employment permits for certain key occupations across a range of sectors including home care, town planning (for the first time) and the motor industry thus ensuring a flexible and responsive employment permits system adapting to the needs of the economy and labour market. The Department launched a new employment permits IT system on 28 April 2025. The move to a modern cloud-based system changes the way in which employment permits are submitted, processed and issued, to support a more efficient and responsive service.

As regards, competition and consumer protection so far this year we have seen the publication of the CCPC’s report “Access to Car History” with recommendations for enhanced protection for buyers of used cars. The CCPC’s new procedure for agreeing settlements in administrative competition law investigations was published in April 2025 and in June 2025 the CCPC published European Accessibility Act guidelines for microenterprises

In 2025, the Government has provided over €33 million to support tourism development across the country. The continued capital provision in Budget 2025 for tourism product development is ensuring that Fáilte Ireland can support the delivery of enhanced amenities through Fáilte Ireland’s four Regional Tourism Development Strategies; Wild Atlantic Way, Dublin, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Ireland’s Ancient East. A €3 million small grants scheme was launched in July 2024, for cross-border regional development under the Shared Island Brand Collaboration Project is progressing. The scheme was designed for both Local Authorities and the private sector for the development of tourism product across the northern part of Wild Atlantic Way and the Causeway Coastal Route.

Tourism Ireland’s new global campaign Ireland Unrushed went live across key international markets for the month of June, showcasing new ways for overseas holidaymakers to explore the island and take time to enjoy our scenery, culture and heritage more deeply. Fáilte Ireland, are preparing for the major sporting events that will bring significant visitors to the island in the months ahead.

I launched a revised Business Events Strategy for our Tourism sector in May of this year. Work is progressing on a new Tourism Policy Statement in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government and on a new Tourism Sectoral Adaptation Plan, both of which will be finalised in the coming months.

My Department participated at the G20 Tourism Working Group led by the South African Presidency. Key priorities discussed included AI and innovation to enhance travel and tourism start-Ups and SMEs, tourism financing and investment to enhance equality and promote sustainable development, air connectivity for seamless travel, and the development of an action plan for enhanced resilience for inclusive sustainable tourism development. The EU informal meeting of tourism ministers took place in Warsaw on 23-24 June where discussion focused on the sustainable development of the sector in the context of increasing the competitiveness of the European tourism ecosystem.

The year to date marks a period of sustained success for Irish enterprise, built on sustainability, innovation and productivity. While we have made significant progress supporting job creation right across the country there is no room for complacency given significant uncertainty in the geopolitical outlook. Accordingly, in line with the Programme for Government I am developing an Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, intended to cover areas critical to Ireland’s economic performance including industrial policy, regulatory burden reduction, infrastructure, energy, trade, and innovation. The Plan focuses on matters within Ireland’s domestic sphere of control that can make the Irish economy more competitive and ‘shock-resistant’ to future adverse economic events. At last week’s Competitiveness Summit hosted by the Taoiseach it was agreed that the Plan will be finalised and published in the coming weeks.