Written Answers Nos. 26-45
26. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs being created as a result of a sale (details supplied); when they are likely to come on stream; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37662/17]
View answerAs Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I am delighted that the sale of the Bose Plant in Carrickmacross has been completed.
However I understand that at this stage, information relating to the purchaser of the Plant is commercially sensitive.
As yet therefore, there is no information available in relation to the number of jobs being created as a result of the sale.
27. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if there is a senior official with designated responsibility for Brexit matters in her Department; if so, the grade of the designated official; the funding allocated to the Brexit unit; the cost to date; the anticipated cost; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37985/17]
View answer28. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff deployed full time in her Department in respect of Brexit; if there is a designated section or unit to deal with Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38001/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 28 together.
The work of very many Business Units is impacted by Brexit and the Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges in its work plans for 2017 across all its Divisions.
A dedicated Brexit Unit was established in 2016 and is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs and Trade Policy Division, to coordinate and represent the Departmental and Agencies response to Brexit and to support me in my position at the Cabinet Committee dealing with Brexit. The designated official, at Assistant Secretary level, is currently supported by 1 Principal, 2 Assistant Principals, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 Clerical Officer. An additional HEO/AO is being recruited for the Brexit Unit. Many other areas of the Department are impacted by Brexit and on foot of a recently completed workforce planning exercise for the Department in respect of the period 2017-2019 these posts, plus others which are not solely Brexit-impacted are being filled as staff can be recruited.
The full year salary costs for the Brexit Unit itself, including the additional staffing resources to be recruited, is estimated at approximately €570,000. In addition to this, funding is available to undertake appropriate research, and in light of the substantial programme of visits ongoing and planned at Ministerial and Official level to other capital cities as part of our outreach to our European partners, there will be associated travel and subsistence costs.
Separately, resources have been made available to IDA, EI, SFI and the HSA to recruit additional staff consequent on Brexit with significant progress made at this time in filling those posts.
29. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the level of construction inflation that has been experienced by her Department in the 18 months to September 2017 in respect of construction projects; the way in which she monitors construction inflation; the mechanisms her Department employs to establish this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38017/17]
View answerMy Department does not have any role in tracking or monitoring inflation levels in the construction sector and therefore does not employ any mechanisms to establish these.
30. Deputy John Curran asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she or bodies and agencies under the remit of her Department plan to make services or payments dependent on the mandatory use and production of the public services card; if so, the services and payments which will now be dependent on the mandatory use of the public services card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38141/17]
View answerMy Department and the bodies under its remit do not plan to make any services or payments dependent on the mandatory use and production of the public services card.
31. Deputy John Curran asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of additional staff to be made available to each State agency under her remit to specifically deal with Brexit; the number of these staff that have been recruited to date in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38180/17]
View answer53. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if an additional €3 million has been allocated by her Department in 2017 to the evolving Brexit scenario; the number of full-time and part-time staff hired since 1 January 2017 under this budget allocation; the amount allocated to each State agency to date in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38395/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 53 together.
An additional €3 million was secured for my Department in respect of Pay in Budget 2017 targeted specifically to assist with increased staffing needs for the Department and a number of our Agencies to deal with the evolving Brexit scenario. These funds are enabling the Department and, primarily, our Agencies to recruit additional staff to supplement existing staffing numbers in the context of the workload associated with Brexit. These numbers may grow, by agreement with the Department, as Agencies allocate additional Own Resource Income, to recruit further staff to work on "Brexit-related" activity.
The additional €3m was allocated as follows:
- Enterprise Ireland (€1,700,000)
- IDA Ireland (€750,000)
- Science Foundation Ireland (€150,000)
- The Health and Safety Authority (€150,000), and
- The Department itself (€250,000).
The remaining Agencies that come under the remit of my Department – the National Standards Authority of Ireland, The Personal Injuries Assessment Board, The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority have not sought to recruit any additional staff specifically for Brexit related issues.
Of the 39 sanctioned Brexit-related posts for Enterprise Ireland (EI), 26 have been filled to date, all of which are full-time positions, and recruitment is ongoing for the remaining 13 posts. In this regard, EI is confident that it has partnered with the most appropriate recruitment agencies around the world and in Ireland to support them in the identification of appropriately qualified high-calibre candidates, increasing the speed of filling the outstanding posts.
Insofar as the IDA Ireland is concerned, 10 Brexit-related posts have been filled to date, all of which are full-time positions, and the recruitment process for the remaining three is under way. IDA Ireland has undertaken a rigorous recruitment process across a wide variety of channels to ensure that the best candidates are identified for these roles.
For Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), it expects a candidate to commence in one of its Brexit-related posts in late October with the two remaining posts anticipated to be filled shortly thereafter. The three posts on offer are full-time positions. In addition, SFI has a number of serving staff allocated Brexit related responsibilities and an internal Brexit team led by one of its Senior Directors which focuses on Brexit related initiatives.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) reports that it has commenced a recruitment process to fill two Brexit-related posts and it is intended that they will be filled during Q4 2017. Both posts on offer will be full-time positions. Sanction has also recently been sought for an additional Brexit-related post for the HSA which is being actively considered by the Department.
With regard to my own Department, a dedicated Brexit Unit was established in 2016 and is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs and Trade Policy Division, to coordinate and represent the Departmental and Agencies response to Brexit and to support me in my position at the Cabinet Committee dealing with Brexit. The designated official, at Assistant Secretary level, is supported by a staff compliment of 5. An additional staffing resource is currently being recruited to support the Brexit Unit.
The work of very many Business Units is impacted by Brexit and the Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges across all its Divisions and actively keeps requirements in this regard under review. Additionally, it is intended to review the Department's workforce plan (2017-2019) as part of the Department's business planning processes for 2018 and, naturally, the demands attendant on servicing the Brexit agenda will continue to be a priority.
32. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding zero-hour contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38236/17]
View answer38. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation when the heads of the Bill regarding protections for workers on insecure low hour contracts will be published; when Second Stage of the Bill will be taken in Dáil Éireann; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38298/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 38 together.
Following the coming into effect of the Labour Affairs and Labour Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 from 1st September, responsibility for employment rights policy and legislation transferred to my colleague the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.
On 2nd May, 2017 the Government approved draft legislative proposals in response to the commitment in the Programme for Government to address the problems caused by the increased casualisation of work and to strengthen the regulation of precarious employment.
The proposals aim to address a number of issues which have been identified as being areas where current employment rights legislation can be strengthened to the benefit of employees, particularly low-paid and more vulnerable employees, without imposing unnecessarily onerous burdens on employers and businesses.
The legislative proposals will address the following key issues:
- Ensuring that employees are better informed about the nature of their employment arrangements and in particular, their core terms at an early stage of their employment.
- Strengthening the provisions around minimum payments to low-paid, vulnerable workers who may be called in to work for a period but not provided with that work.
- Prohibiting zero-hour contracts, except in cases of genuine casual work or emergency cover or short-term relief work for the employer.
- Ensuring that workers on low hour contracts who consistently work more hours each week than is provided for in their contracts of employment, are entitled to be placed in a band of hours that reflects the reality of the hours they have worked over an extended period.
- Reinforcing the anti-victimisation provisions for employees who try to invoke a right under these proposals.
It will now fall to my colleague the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to progress this legislation. In this respect, I understand that officials in her Department are working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on the drafting of this legislation and it is intended to publish this Bill in the Autumn session, subject to Government approval.
33. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of business incubation centres; and the amount each centre received in Exchequer funding in each of the years from 2014 to 2016, in tabular form. [38255/17]
View answerEnterprise Ireland, an agency of my Department supports companies in every region of Ireland to start and scale, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and in the future. In order to help its clients achieve employment growth, Enterprise Ireland uses a developmental approach across all aspects of clients’ needs, including business development, sales and marketing capabilities, innovation and R&D activity, technology development, continuous competitiveness and lean improvements, leadership and management development, and access to finance. To support entrepreneurs, start-ups and early stage SMEs, Enterprise Ireland has supported the establishment of business incubation centres across the county, as detailed below:
Campus Incubation Programme
Under the Campus Incubation Programme, Enterprise Ireland funding has supported the development of a national network of business innovation centres and specialist bio-incubation facilities. Incubators now exist on every university and Institute of technology campus in the country. Such facilities are internationally recognised as an important element of public assistance for technology-intensive start-ups. These facilities are also an important driver of regional development with the majority of companies remaining in their region after they have completed their incubation period.
Campus Incubation Centres provide critical space for research-driven start-up companies and make available a wide range of support services and business mentoring. Tenant companies benefit from the research environment, being able to tap into mentors and the facilities of the host institution; the institutions benefit from having a focal point for entrepreneurial activity on campus and a commercialisation route for their research. The companies involved typically have good links with the host institution, are in hi-tech sectors and have high growth potential.
At present, there are over 359 companies in Enterprise Ireland funded incubation centres employing 1,827 people. In the period 2014-2016, Enterprise Ireland invested €2.9 million across 4 campus incubation centres, see the following table for further details.
|
Client Name |
Payments 2014 |
Payments 2015 |
Payments 2016 |
|
National University of Ireland – Maynooth |
- |
€1,144,864 |
- |
|
Dublin Institute of Technology |
- |
€1,072,885 |
€600,000 |
|
Letterkenny Institute of Technology |
€13,000 |
- |
- |
|
University of Limerick |
€84,165 |
- |
- |
|
Total Payments 2014-2016 |
€97,165 |
€2,217,749 |
€600,000 |
The Irish EU-Business and Innovation Centres (BICs)
The BICs (namely Cork BIC, Dublin BIC, South East BIC and West BIC) work in partnership with Enterprise Ireland to assess, advise, validate and progress early stage-business plans of Enterprise Ireland clients to an investor ready stage-point, with an objective of driving the number of High Potential Start-Ups approved each year by Enterprise Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland has a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place with each BIC. This provides a framework for agreement of service levels and performance management in respect of the funding administered by Enterprise Ireland (EI) on behalf of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI), to the BICs located in Ireland. Funding administered to each BIC, in line with their agreed SLA over the period 2014-2016, is presented in the following table.
|
- |
2014 (€) |
2015 (€) |
2016 (€) |
|
South East BIC |
438,069 |
390,149 |
358,160 |
|
West BIC |
511,512 |
581,194 |
441,132 |
|
Cork BIC |
580,304 |
442,783 |
404,027 |
|
Dublin BIC |
1,114,887 |
1,177,698 |
1,376,541 |
|
Total |
2,644,772 |
2,591,823 |
2,579,861 |
Regional Accelerators
Accelerators can and do play a role in enhancing the start-up ecosystem nationally. The Action Plan for Jobs 2015 called on Enterprise Ireland to increase the level of start-up support in Ireland with one of the associated actions being a scheme to support commercially managed accelerators. In 2015 Enterprise Ireland launched the 2015-2017 Accelerator Development Scheme. The objective of this call was to increase the number of accelerators operating in the Irish market to support entrepreneurship, company creation and job creation in new manufacturing and Internationally Traded Services companies in Ireland. The first call under this Scheme, with a budget of up to €3 million to leverage private investment, was open to applications via a competitive process for accelerators in regions outside Dublin. In 2017, Enterprise Ireland announced funding to the following accelerators:
- Propeller Shannon start-up accelerator: The Propeller Shannon start-up accelerator, a partnership between Shannon Group’s International Aviation Services Centre (IASC), DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurs, Boeing, and Datalex, and supported by Enterprise Ireland, aims to drive the development of innovative Irish and international start-up companies in the aviation sector.
- NDRC at Porter Shed Accelerator: This accelerator will provide intensive commercial support and expert mentoring to high potential startup businesses with a digital focus in the West Region.
Additional regional accelerators will be announced by Enterprise Ireland in due course.
34. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 105 of 11 July 2017, when a reply will issue. [38292/17]
View answerThe Deputy had requested information on "the number of staff recruited since the Brexit referendum in June 2016 in all individual State agencies and bodies under her aegis including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, LEOs, InterTradeIreland and the HSA; the number of staff in each such agency and body recruited since 1 January 2017, in tabular form" and my Department has now been able to bring the relevant data together as follows:
|
Agency |
Recruited between 1 June 2016 – 31 December 2016 |
Recruited between 1 January 2017 – 4 September 2017 |
|
PIAB |
3 |
5 |
|
SFI |
4 |
7 |
|
CCPC |
18 |
10 |
|
IAASA |
2 |
4 |
|
IDA Ireland |
31 |
37 |
|
HSA |
12 |
11 |
|
Enterprise Ireland |
54 |
68 |
|
NSAI |
9 |
5 |
|
InterTradeIreland* |
1 |
9 |
* Of the 10 staff recruited by InterTradeIreland, ITI has identified 5 of these as replacement posts.
On establishment, staff in the Local Enterprise Offices were employed either by the Local Authority for each LEO or by Enterprise Ireland. Any new staff appointed to the LEOs since establishment is a matter for the Local Authorities. Under an agreement between this Department and the Local Authorities the total minimum complement of staff for the LEOs nationwide is 178.
While not all of these roles are Brexit-specific; the work of many agencies is impacted by Brexit and my Department has prioritised the Brexit challenges and works closely with the agencies, actively keeping requirements in this regard under review.
36. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number employed in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, based on data in the annual employment survey over the period from 2010 to 2016, by county, in tabular form. [38296/17]
View answerThe following spreadsheet outlines the total number employed (full-time and part-time) in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Údarás na Gaeltachta based on data in the Annual Employment Survey 2016. The data is broken out by county and provided for the years 2010 to 2016, in tabular form.
Total Employment (full-time and part-time)
|
County |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
Carlow |
2,866 |
3,216 |
3,347 |
3,441 |
3,556 |
3,629 |
3,615 |
|
Cavan |
5,404 |
5,444 |
5,386 |
5,327 |
5,684 |
6,062 |
6,424 |
|
Clare |
9,318 |
9,235 |
9,065 |
9,102 |
9,613 |
9,957 |
10,106 |
|
Cork |
42,030 |
44,503 |
46,600 |
48,474 |
51,013 |
56,595 |
59,599 |
|
Donegal |
7,169 |
7,409 |
7,271 |
7,609 |
7,831 |
8,498 |
8,866 |
|
Dublin |
111,515 |
114,185 |
118,358 |
125,213 |
133,080 |
142,563 |
152,211 |
|
Galway |
19,844 |
21,762 |
22,629 |
23,313 |
23,748 |
25,325 |
27,337 |
|
Kerry |
5,982 |
6,083 |
6,421 |
6,587 |
7,128 |
7,347 |
7,524 |
|
Kildare |
16,623 |
16,369 |
16,654 |
17,125 |
18,016 |
18,970 |
18,776 |
|
Kilkenny |
3,874 |
3,794 |
4,113 |
3,977 |
4,436 |
5,789 |
5,965 |
|
Laois |
1,422 |
1,288 |
1,237 |
1,311 |
1,305 |
1,411 |
1,498 |
|
Leitrim |
1,641 |
1,467 |
1,307 |
1,052 |
1,154 |
1,235 |
1,335 |
|
Limerick |
13,067 |
13,179 |
13,821 |
14,446 |
14,801 |
15,681 |
18,105 |
|
Longford |
2,608 |
2,476 |
2,509 |
2,707 |
3,111 |
3,330 |
3,551 |
|
Louth |
6,848 |
6,980 |
7,374 |
8,159 |
8,669 |
9,116 |
9,605 |
|
Mayo |
7,650 |
7,908 |
7,881 |
8,306 |
8,622 |
8,583 |
8,882 |
|
Meath |
6,352 |
6,598 |
6,772 |
7,405 |
7,996 |
8,526 |
8,732 |
|
Monaghan |
4,275 |
4,333 |
4,439 |
4,614 |
4,725 |
4,926 |
5,239 |
|
Offaly |
3,935 |
3,988 |
3,989 |
4,156 |
4,406 |
4,701 |
4,870 |
|
Roscommon |
2,126 |
2,165 |
2,175 |
2,322 |
2,462 |
2,624 |
2,673 |
|
Sligo |
3,687 |
3,836 |
3,894 |
3,892 |
3,903 |
3,769 |
3,827 |
|
Tipperary |
9,525 |
8,741 |
8,600 |
8,128 |
8,430 |
8,777 |
8,724 |
|
Waterford |
10,818 |
10,097 |
9,674 |
9,878 |
10,542 |
11,360 |
11,992 |
|
Westmeath |
4,831 |
4,900 |
5,206 |
5,493 |
5,902 |
6,092 |
6,224 |
|
Wexford |
6,845 |
6,668 |
6,670 |
6,978 |
7,009 |
7,194 |
7,447 |
|
Wicklow |
6,003 |
5,616 |
5,776 |
5,650 |
5,772 |
5,919 |
5,914 |
|
Total |
316,258 |
322,240 |
331,168 |
344,665 |
362,914 |
387,979 |
409,041 |
37. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of funding the Health and Safety Authority spent on all safety initiatives; the number of inspections it carried out in each of the years from 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38297/17]
View answerThe following sets out the number of inspections and investigations and spend on safety initiatives by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) for the period 2011 - 2017.
|
Year |
Inspections and Investigations |
|
2011 |
15,340 |
|
2012 |
13,835 |
|
2013 |
12,244 |
|
2014 |
10,719 |
|
2015 |
10,880 |
|
2016 |
10,460 |
|
2017 to 1st Sept. |
6,790 recorded year to date 01 September 2017 |
|
Year |
Spend on Safety Initiatives |
|
2011 |
€1.567m |
|
2012 |
€1.907m |
|
2013 |
€1.595m |
|
2014 |
€1.154m |
|
2015 |
€1.776m |
|
2016 |
€1.297m |
|
2017 to 30th August |
€760,000 estimated |
Health and Safety Authority Inspectors carry out inspections across all work sectors and work activities that come under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the Chemicals Act 2008. Most inspections are targeted at the high risk sectors such as construction, agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, mines, quarries, transport of dangerous goods by road, or the chemical sectors. Other inspections can be part of a particular safety awareness campaign e.g. on manual handling, on slips, trips or falls or on compliance with the REACH Regulation.
The HSA produces a Programme of Work each year setting out its plan for all areas of its work, including inspection targets. The 2017 Programme of Work set a target of 11,100 inspections and investigations. To date (1st Sept. 2017) the HSA has carried out 61% of its target number of inspections and investigations for the year.
39. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Brexit readiness vouchers from InterTradeIreland that have been availed of since being established, by county; and the total value of such vouchers, in tabular form. [38301/17]
View answerDetails on the number of Brexit readiness vouchers approved to date by InterTradeIreland (ITI) from the funding provided by my Department to the body for its Brexit related initiatives are as follows:
|
County |
Number |
Value |
|
Dublin |
3 |
€6,000 |
|
Sligo |
1 |
€2,000 |
|
Kilkenny |
1 |
€2,000 |
|
Galway |
2 |
€4,000 |
ITI is currently engaging with 39 further businesses about participating in this scheme.
40. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she or her Department made representations to the EU Commission’s Advisory Committee on State Aid on changing the state aid rules regarding protecting exposed sectors here and safeguarding jobs from a hard Brexit scenario. [38303/17]
View answerThe EU Commission's Advisory Committee on State Aid comprises Commission members and Member States’ representatives. The Commission calls meetings of the Advisory Committee on State Aid to consult with the Committee on any changes to State Aid rules and regulations in advance of the final implementation of these changes.
As a consultative Committee it is not a forum for direct representations from Member States. Nor does the Committee itself propose changes to the State Aid rules.
The Committee last met in November 2016 to discuss the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation and its extension to ports and airports. A date for a further meeting of the Committee has not been set.
The Government is conscious of the need to consider the types of supports that Irish businesses may require to address challenges arising as a result of the Brexit Referendum, which is likely to represent a structural shift in the UK trading relations. Short, medium and long term responses from market diversification through to price repositioning will be needed.
A lot can be done within the existing EU State Aid Framework. My Department is working with the Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Enterprise Ireland and the SBCI to develop appropriate, tailored and targeted responses. This work, along with market developments as a result of Brexit, and ongoing engagement with the business community, will inform further discussions with the Commission and the development of any further initiatives to business.
Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing rules, we will move quickly to advance with the EU Commission through the proper channels.
41. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her views on a special assignee relief programme that is focused on SMEs in order to attract highly skilled talent to work in sectors that have skills and labour shortages; and if she made representations or submissions to the Minister for Finance on this subject in the context of budget 2018. [38304/17]
View answerThe Government introduced the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP) in Finance Act 2012. The aim of the relief is to reduce the cost to employers of assigning skilled individuals in their companies from abroad to take up positions in their Irish based operations, thereby facilitating the creation of jobs and the development and expansion of business in Ireland.
Measures such as this complement the range of initiatives to support export-led growth as part the Action Plan for Jobs, which has seen 230,000 extra people in work since its launch in 2012.
The budgetary process is currently under way and I am liaising with my colleague, the Minister for Finance, and his department with regards to meeting the needs of businesses of all sizes in order to best address the challenges they face and to assist them achieve their potential.
42. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her views on recent publications by the Workplace Relations Commission regarding housing assistance grant cases (details supplied). [38306/17]
View answerThe Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body which was established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s core services include the provision of adjudication on employment and equality complaints, early resolution, mediation, conciliation, facilitation and advisory services, the monitoring of employment conditions to ensure the compliance and enforcement of employment rights legislation, the provision of information, and the processing of employment agency and protection of young persons (employment) licences.
The WRC is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial function and I as Minister have no direct involvement in its day to day operations.
The Equal Status Acts 2000-2015, prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services, the provision of accommodation and access to education, on any of nine grounds. The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 inserted a new ground in the provision of accommodation only; the “housing assistance” ground. Since 2015, the law has outlawed discrimination on the housing assistance ground at all stages in the provision of rental accommodation - in advertising and making offers of new tenancies, in bringing existing tenancies to an end and in the treatment of tenants during the term of an existing tenancy.
The WRC plays a critically important role for persons who want to make a complaint about any discrimination, for example discrimination by landlords on the basis of being in receipt of a Housing Assistance Payment. Making a complaint is free and can be done on line, and both sides can expect the WRC to give them both a hearing and a decision promptly.
I understand that equal status complaints accounted for almost 5% of all complaints made to the WRC. It is expected that this pattern will continue into the future.
43. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she has had discussions with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs regarding parents who work shifts or are on zero or low hours contracts and potentially missing out on the affordable childcare scheme due to their variable work patterns. [38307/17]
View answerI am informed by my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, who has policy responsibility for the Affordable Childcare Scheme that the legislation underpinning the scheme is currently being drafted. The Heads of Bill and General Scheme, which were published in February, proposed that where an applicant and an applicant's partner are engaged in work or study, they will be eligible for up to 40 hours of subsidised childcare per week, for each child. The definition of "work" proposed in Head 12 is "any form of employment, self-employment, apprenticeship, or participation in a statutory of State-sponsored labour market activation programme that requires attendance or availability either every week on a frequent and regular basis, including short-term periods of leave from any such work (including, but not limited to, sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, adoptive leave and carer's leave), but excluding career breaks". I am further informed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs that this definition, if applied, would include parents who work shifts or are on zero or low hours contracts, provided they either work - or are required to be available for work - on a frequent and regular basis and that the definition would not prevent parents benefiting from the affordable childcare subsidy simply because their work patterns are variable.
44. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the specific targets set for agencies under her auspices following the recent comments by the Taoiseach to double the Team Ireland footprint overseas by 2025. [38308/17]
View answerIn January 2017 Enterprise Ireland published its strategy for the period 2017-2020. The strategy was developed in the context of Brexit and seeks to inspire and drive Irish enterprise to ‘Build Scale and Expand Reach’ and has ambitious targets. Despite economic and market uncertainties, Enterprise Ireland’s strategic targets are to:
- Assist clients to create 60,000 new jobs by 2020 and to sustain the existing record level of jobs
- Grow annual exports by €5bn to €26bn per annum
- Increase the level of spend in the Irish economy by €4bn to €27bn per annum by 2020.
- Inspiring more companies to have global ambition.
Enterprise Ireland’s will deliver on its ambitious targets by:
- Driving innovation in Irish enterprise to unprecedented levels through new supports to reach the target of €1.25bn in R&D expenditure per annum by 2020.
- Improving the competitiveness of Irish companies through Enterprise Ireland’s Lean programmes and new client engagement model, which will provide targeted supports based on agreed milestones.
- Increasing the diversification of Enterprise Ireland’s client company exports into new markets, with two-thirds of exports going beyond the UK. This includes a major focus on the Eurozone where Enterprise Ireland are targeting a 50 per cent increase in exports. In May 2017 Enterprise Ireland launched announced a new Eurozone Strategy to drive this. This strategy will be accompanied by a new ‘Irish Advantage’ campaign which will target Eurozone buyers to promote Irish innovation in key Brexit impacted sector.
Enterprise Ireland’s overseas structure through its network of 33 overseas offices and its extended Pathfinder (Trade Consultant) network provides client companies with access to Incubation and Hot-Desking Facilities, local market knowledge on a sectoral basis, introductions to buyers/suppliers/partners, and market intelligence such as competitor analysis, identification of professional services etc.
The activities of Enterprise Ireland’s overseas network are supported by the Market Research Centre and Strategic Marketing Unit based in Dublin along with a range of financial and capability developments supports aimed at helping client companies to compete and win sales in overseas markets.
To support the implementation of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy the agency employs 686.5 people across a national and international network of offices. Within these figure, 145.5 staff are located in Enterprise Ireland’s international offices. As part of its strategic response to Brexit, EI received sanction to create 39 additional posts. Of these 39 Brexit related posts, 26 have been filled to date and are included in the total figure above.
In 2015, IDA Ireland launched its five year strategy, ‘Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019. This Strategy, along with my Departments Action Plan for Jobs 2017, outlines the following targets:
- Complete construction of new advance buildings in Sligo, Castlebar and Tralee.
- Generate closer links and business opportunities between Irish owned and foreign owned enterprise to achieve increased global sourcing sales.
- Increase investment in each region outside of Dublin in line with IDA Ireland’s strategy of increasing investment in each region outside Dublin by 30 to 40% by 2019.
- Target 7,000 net new jobs in 2017 through the creation of new jobs and sustaining current employment in existing IDA companies.
- Work to win another 180 FDI projects in 2017 including investment from high growth and emerging markets together with new forms of FDI.
IDA Ireland operates an overseas office network consisting of approximately 73 executives, in 20 Offices in 12 countries across the world.
IDA Ireland has been allocated funding for ten extra posts specifically designated to deal with Brexit, seven of these have been filled to date. The remaining three are expected to be filled in the near future. IDA Ireland is also engaging on an ongoing basis with client companies from all over Ireland regarding the commercial impact of Brexit on Irish firms.
Expansion of the resources of EI and IDA in the context of increasing Ireland’s global footprint will be the subject of discussions with the relevant Departments and Agencies in due course.
45. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of Exchequer and European moneys invested in the enterprise stabilisation fund in each of the years from 2009 to 2011; the number of businesses that received funding from the fund; the average amount of funding per enterprise; the amount of funding drawn down under the scheme; the number of jobs that were supported, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38311/17]
View answerThe Enterprise Stabilisation Fund (ESF) was established by Government to support viable but vulnerable exporting companies who were experiencing difficulties due to the economic crisis which started in 2008. €100m was allocated to the fund to the end of 2010. Client companies of Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Údarás Na Gaeltachta and Shannon Development across all sectors within manufacturing and internationally traded services were eligible to apply. The fund was administered by Enterprise Ireland.
The State Aid basis for the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund is the Temporary Aid Framework 2008. Based on this derogation from the EU, the ESF was open for applications for the years 2009 and 2010.
Funding was in the form of preference shares, supporting a range of activities including market development, productivity improvements, cost reduction and product development.
Enterprise Ireland approved €80.4m under the ESF and paid out €80.018m. 223 companies were approved funding and the average funding per enterprise was €375,000. Based on the most recent analysis, this investment supported 7,140 jobs. The majority of the companies supported are still trading as viable entities, contributing to the Irish economy. In addition, over €22m has been redeemed to date and redemption of the shares will continue to be sought.
Table 1 shows the total amount invested/drawn down by year over the period 2007-2010.
Table 1: total amount invested/drawn down by year over the period 2007-2010, under the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund.
|
Year |
Investment Amount (€) |
|
2007 |
180,337 |
|
2008 |
7,028,316 |
|
2009 |
56,029,434 |
|
2010 |
16,780,000 |
|
Grand Total |
80,018,087 |
