Thursday, 5 Mar 2020

Written Answers Nos. 463-482

Local Enterprise Offices Data

Questions (463, 464)

Robert Troy

Question:

463. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of local enterprise office-supported clients by county and in the case of Dublin by Dublin city, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin in 2018 and 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3681/20]

Robert Troy

Question:

464. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of local enterprise office-supported jobs by county and in the case of Dublin by Dublin city, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin in 2018 and 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3682/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 463 and 464 together.

The Local Enterprise Offices play a key role in our enterprise supports eco-system and make a significant contribution to boosting local economies across the country.  The Local Enterprise Offices are now supporting 38,535 jobs across 7,400 client companies. 

This is the sixth year of continuous employment growth for the Local Enterprise Offices since their inception in 2014 and as the table below illustrates the LEOs continue to be a successful ‘First Stop Shop’ for entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises which are planning to start and grow their businesses.

The following table shows the number of Clients and Jobs supported by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices across the country for the years 2018 and 2019.  

County	LEO	2018 No.  of Clients	2018   Total Jobs	2019 No  of  LEO clients	2019 Total Jobs
Carlow	Carlow	219	1153	217	1209
Cavan	Cavan	202	1374	202	1456
Clare	Clare	239	1270	239	1384
Cork	Cork City	164	810	198	982
Cork	Cork South	274	1393	266	1420
Cork	Cork W / N	208	957	202	984
Donegal	Donegal	214	1294	239	1331
Dublin	Dublin City	394	1736	451	1959
Dublin	DLR	292	1695	305	1785
Dublin	Dublin Fingal	223	1031	242	1085
Dublin	Dublin South	303	1491	302	1600
Galway	Galway	263	1116	280	1182
Kerry	Kerry	263	1295	276	1352
Kildare	Kildare	199	1239	212	1195
Kilkenny	Kilkenny	210	1257	204	1128
Laois	Laois	122	635	128	697
Leitrim	Leitrim	161	437	161	458
Limerick	Limerick	301	1926	301	1882
Longford	Longford	254	1195	257	1270
Louth	Louth	250	982	240	971
Mayo	Mayo	234	1224	233	1327
Meath	Meath	255	1255	273	1358
Monaghan	Monaghan	152	1164	160	1188
Offaly	Offaly	201	1063	211	1095
Roscommon	Roscommon	172	857	172	897
Sligo	Sligo	236	920	232	996
Tipperary	Tipperary	258	1295	276	1379
Waterford	Waterford	331	1447	329	1525
Westmeath	Westmeath	225	1172	231	1269
Wexford	Wexford	227	1308	221	1438
Wicklow	Wicklow	118	675	140	733
	Totals	7164	36666	7400	38535

NOTE: The cumulative annual figures include gross jobs created in a given year less LEO client jobs transferred to Enterprise Ireland in that year.

IDA Ireland Jobs Data

Questions (465, 466, 467, 468)

Robert Troy

Question:

465. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the level of IDA-supported jobs by county at 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2019, respectively in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3683/20]

Robert Troy

Question:

466. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland jobs including the number of jobs created and lost in 2018 and 2019, by county as per the format presented in Parliamentary Question No. 147 of 18 January 2018 with data (details supplied). [3684/20]

Robert Troy

Question:

467. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of persons in employment in IDA Ireland-supported companies in regions (details supplied) in 2018 and 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3685/20]

Robert Troy

Question:

468. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of persons in employment in IDA Ireland-supported companies in the mid-east and Dublin regions respectively in 2018 and 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3686/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 465 to 468, inclusive, together.

Ireland continues to perform very strongly in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, FDI, and encouraging further investment from multinational companies will remain important to our future economic success.

Total employment in the IDA's client companies now stands at over 245,000, with nearly 14,000 net new jobs added in 2019. Every region in Ireland has seen FDI employment gains in recent years. There are now over 138,000 people employed in 724 IDA client companies located outside of Dublin, with 57% of all net new FDI jobs created last year based in regional locations.

The tables provide a breakdown of jobs created by IDA supported companies in each county for 2019 and 2018 and the number of IDA jobs by county and region for 2018 and 2019.

Table A: Total jobs created by IDA Ireland-supported companies by county in 2019

	New Jobs Created (Gross Gains)	Additional Jobs Created (Net Change )	Total Jobs	Number of Companies
Carlow	108	108	1,257	5
Cavan	57	53	1,153	8
Clare	413	222	7,146	67
Cork	2,525	1,434	40,671	184
Donegal	335	270	3,776	13
Dublin	12,626	8,499	106,466	825
Galway	1,546	853	21,071	88
Kerry	37	-81	2,176	18
Kildare	225	-29	8,872	30
Kilkenny	72	-65	655	8
Laois	16	10	121	4
Leitrim	44	39	948	5
Limerick	992	899	12,749	60
Longford	314	271	1,210	6
Louth	805	486	4,428	29
Mayo	205	108	4,941	17
Meath	309	250	1,904	19
Monaghan	16	6	318	7
Offaly	69	-21	1,192	11
Roscommon	130	102	1,288	10
Sligo	96	-37	2,268	26
North Tipperary	12	12	216	3
South Tipperary	161	91	3,624	8
Waterford	238	121	7,138	36
Westmeath	255	235	3,686	22
Wexford	94	23	3,163	21
Wicklow	144	8	2,659	19
Grand Total	21,844	13,867	245,096	1,549

Table B: Total jobs created by IDA Ireland-supported companies by county in 2018

	New Jobs Created (Gross Gains)	Additional Jobs Created (Net Change)	Total Jobs	Number of Companies
Carlow	283	274	1,149	5
Cavan	16	-55	1,100	7
Clare	497	-82	6,924	67
Cork	3,600	2,387	39,237	187
Donegal	211	106	3,506	13
Dublin	12,917	7,219	97,967	819
Galway	2,241	1,687	20,218	88
Kerry	138	70	2,257	17
Kildare	793	395	8,901	31
Kilkenny	45	3	720	7
Laois	4	-9	111	3
Leitrim	26	25	909	5
Limerick	1,491	1,216	11,850	60
Longford	210	194	939	7
Louth	293	91	3,942	30
Mayo	436	349	4,833	16
Meath	191	118	1,654	19
Monaghan	163	162	312	7
Offaly	59	46	1,213	11
Roscommon	126	47	1,186	10
Sligo	202	42	2,305	25
North Tipperary	99	-131	204	3
South Tipperary	214	203	3,533	8
Waterford	476	381	7,017	36
Westmeath	469	439	3,451	22
Wexford	172	153	3,140	20
Wicklow	416	393	2,651	19
Total	25,788	15,723	231,229	1,542

Table C: Total employment in IDA Ireland-supported companies by region in 2018 and 2019.

Region	2018	2019
Dublin	97,967	106,466
Mid-East	13,206	13,435
Mid-West	18,978	20,111
Midlands	5,714	6,209
North-East	5,354	5,899
North-West	6,720	6,992
South-East	15,559	15,837
South-West	41,494	42,847
West	26,237	27,300
Total	231,229	245,096

Table D: Total employment in IDA Ireland-supported companies by county in 2018 and 2019.

County	2018	2019
Carlow	1,149	1,257
Cavan	1,100	1,153
Clare	6,924	7,146
Cork	39,237	40,671
Donegal	3,506	3,776
Dublin	97,967	106,466
Galway	20,218	21,071
Kerry	2,257	2,176
Kildare	8,901	8,872
Kilkenny	720	655
Laois	111	121
Leitrim	909	948
Limerick	11,850	12,749
Longford	939	1,210
Louth	3,942	4,428
Mayo	4,833	4,941
Meath	1,654	1,904
Monaghan	312	318
Offaly	1,213	1,192
Roscommon	1,186	1,288
Sligo	2,305	2,268
Tipperary North Riding	204	216
Tipperary South Riding	3,533	3,624
Waterford	7,017	7,138
Westmeath	3,451	3,686
Wexford	3,140	3,163
Wicklow	2,651	2,659
Total	231,229	245,096

Question No. 469 answered with Question No. 448.

IDA Ireland Data

Questions (470)

Robert Troy

Question:

470. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA site visits by county in each quarter of 2019; the percentage of visits in each county as a percentage of the number of visits nationally in 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3688/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

IDA Ireland's performance in 2019 represented a record year of growth under the agency's strategy for the 2015-2019 period. 

By the end of last year, total employment in the agency's client companies stood at over 245,000 people. Every region in Ireland has seen foreign direct investment-driven employment gains. There are now over 138,000 people employed across 724 firms in IDA client companies located outside of Dublin, which represents 57% of all IDA client-supported jobs. 

I am determined, together with the IDA, to see this trend continue and we will be doing everything possible in 2020 to encourage more firms to invest further in the regions.

When it comes to foreign direct investment, FDI, site visits do represent a valuable tool through which investors can be encouraged to invest in regional areas. However, as I have said before, site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as a significant percentage of all new FDI comes from existing IDA client companies.

The table below details the number of IDA site visits per county for all four quarters of 2019 and the percentage of the total national number that these visits represent.

County	Q1    2019	Q2    2019	Q3    2019	Q4    2019	Total    2019	% total    site visits in 2019
Carlow	3	3	1	2	9	1.3%
Cavan	1	3	2	1	7	1%
Clare	5	12	3	8	28	4%
Cork	17	23	15	13	68	9.8%
Donegal	1	1	4	6	12	1.7%
Dublin	56	90	70	68	284	41%
Galway	9	17	9	11	46	6.6%
Kerry	0	2	2	1	5	0.7%
Kildare	3	1	4	6	14	2%
Kilkenny	5	2	5	1	13	1.9%
Laois	2	1	2	0	5	0.7%
Leitrim	0	1	1	0	2	0.3%
Limerick	12	22	9	14	57	8.1%
Longford	0	1	1	1	3	0.4%
Louth	10	9	13	8	40	5.7%
Mayo	2	0	1	0	3	0.4%
Meath	1	1	1	1	4	0.6%
Monaghan	1	1	2	0	4	0.6%
Offaly	1	1	2	1	5	0.7%
Roscommon	0	1	1	1	3	0.4%
Sligo	8	9	7	5	29	4%
Tipperary	3	2	1	1	7	1%
Waterford	8	3	5	2	18	2.5%
Westmeath	6	5	5	6	22	3.1%
Wexford	1	1	2	2	6	0.9%
Wicklow	4	1	1	0	6	0.9%
Total	159	213	169	159	700	100%

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (471)

Robert Troy

Question:

471. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the funding allocated in 2020 to each specific State agency under her aegis by current and capital funding in tabular form. [3689/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The following table details the funding allocated in 2020 to each State agency under the aegis of my Department by current, capital and total allocation as set out in the 2020 Revised Estimates Volume.  

Subhead - Agency	€,000	€,000	€,000
	Current	Capital	Total
A.4 - INTERTRADE IRELAND	2,497	7,695	10,192
A.5 - IDA IRELAND	53,177	136,000	189,177
A.6 - NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland)	6,790	500	7,290
ENTERPRISE IRELAND
A.7 - ENTERPRISE IRELAND	89,538	65,750	155,288
B.4 - ENTERPRISE IRELAND	4,794	122,000	126,794
B.9 - DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES INNOVATION FUND*	0	30,000	30,000
Enterprise Ireland Total	94,332	217,750	312,082
A.8 - LOCAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT	10,681	27,500	38,181
SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND
B.4 - SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND	12,645	178,486	191,131
B.5 - SFI PhD Programme**	0	15,500	15,500
Science Foundation Ireland Total	12,645	193,986	206,631
C.5 - HEALTH & SAFETY AUTHORITY	20,502	0	20,502
C.8 - COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSION	13,836	0	13,836
C.9 - PERSONAL INJURIES ASSESSMENT BOARD	246	0	246
C.12 - IRISH AUDITING & ACCOUNTING SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY	1,942	0	1,942

Further to the allocation above, the table below sets out the additional Capital monies being provided to the following State agencies arising from the carryover of unspent 2019 Capital monies into 2020;

Subhead	Title	Amount of Carryover allocated (€,000)
A7	Enterprise Ireland	23,500
A8	Local Enterprise Development	6,000
B4	Science Foundation Ireland	4,925
B9	Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund*	2,800

*Administered on behalf of the Department by Enterprise Ireland

**Administered on behalf of the Department by Science Foundation Ireland 

Work Permits Data

Questions (472)

Robert Troy

Question:

472. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applications for work permits received in each month over the past six months; and the number of applications that remained to be processed at the end of each month from September 2019 to February 2020, in tabular form. [3690/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

My officials inform me that 2019 saw an 11-year high in applications for employment permits with a total of 18,940 applications received, a 13% increase over 2018.  At the same time there was also an 11 year high in the amount of decisions made on applications with a total of 18,655 decisions, a 22% increase on 2018.

Up to week commencing 9 December the number of applications in the processing queue stood at 2,238, a 16% reduction in the processing queue from year end 2018 (2,620). However, there was then a 45% spike in applications during the last two weeks of December (compared to December 2018) as applicants anticipated changes to Employment Permit Regulations coming into effect from 1 January 2020, which increased the number of applications in the processing queue to 2,988.  January 2020 has seen the increase in applications received continue with 1,626 applications for the month.  This represents a 39% increase compared with January 2019.

Over the course of 2019 and into 2020, my officials have introduced a number of operational changes, streamlined processes and implemented ICT solutions and additional staffing resources have been assigned to the section.  As a result of these changes, the processing queue has now begun to reduce.

An independent Business Process Review (BPR) of the work of the Employment Permits Section of my Department has been carried out to identify further efficiencies that can be implemented in the short term and as a first step in the development of a new IT processing system during 2020 which will take advantage of all the new technologies available, including full digitisation. 

The Department’s officials have been proactively engaging with customers to notify them of current processing timelines through email, meetings and regular updates on the Employment Permits section of the DBEI website.

The statistics requested by the Deputy are set out in the attached document.

Work Permit Application Statistics

Brexit Data

Questions (473)

Robert Troy

Question:

473. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants and participants in Brexit schemes and supports provided by her Department or agencies under her remit in tabular form; and the amount allocated and expended to each such scheme in each year since being established. [3691/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Brexit remains a top priority and my Department and its agencies have put in place a broad suite of schemes, supports and advisory resources to encourage and help businesses to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period.

Brexit has been and will remain central to my decision-making in the allocation of my Departments budget. I secured for my Department an additional €15m Current and €63 million capital funding in Budget 2019 and a further €9 million in current funding and €12 million in capital funding in Budget 2020. These resources have allowed me to increase allocations across the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), Enterprise Ireland (EI), and InterTradeIreland (ITI) to establish and continue to fund Brexit-related schemes and provide services. Furthermore, €6.4 million of the increase to my Department’s current budget in 2020 will allow for additional resources to be provided to the Department’s regulatory bodies and its enterprise agencies to continue to prepare for a post-Brexit environment, in whatever form it may take, by expanding and further developing the suite of available supports.

My Department's funding allocation to the LEOs has been increased from €33 million in 2018 to €38.2 million in 2020. This increase is being used to support micro-enterprises in becoming more competitive and better able to cope with the changing environment in which they are operating. The LEOs are active across all counties and are working with enterprises across a broad range of sectors to ensure that they are informed about Brexit and have plans in place to manage new trading relationships on the island and with the UK more generally. To date, there have been 7,040 participants at LEO Brexit Information Events and 1,381 mentoring participants focused solely on Brexit. There have also been 1,720 participants in the customs training programme that the LEOs have rolled out for all businesses, exporters and importers, in conjunction with EI.

My Department's funding allocation to EI has been increased from €273 million in 2018 to €282 million in 2020. Whilst these increases are not focused solely on Brexit, they are mainly provided to assist the enterprise agencies in their responses to the challenges posed by the UK's withdrawal from the EU. For example, I was pleased to announce an additional capital allocation of €2.75 million to EI in 2019 to start developing regional innovation and technology clusters with Institutes of Technology right across the country, positioning them as drivers of world-class start-ups and growth enterprises and helping businesses adjust to market changes, which includes Brexit. 

Funding to EI also supports the organisation in the provision of Brexit-specific supports such as: the running of Brexit Advisory Clinics, at which there has been over 1,200 attendees to date; the EI Brexit Act On Programme, which is a support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise a report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience, and 359 Act On Plans have been completed to date; and the Enterprise Ireland Clear Customs Grant, to which there has been 250 applications made to date to access financial support through the scheme.

The funding allocation to InterTradeIreland by my Department increased by €1 million in 2019 and by a further €1m in 2020 to enable the organisation to engage with more of the companies seeking its support through the Brexit Advisory Service. 5,416 SMEs directly engaged with the ITI Brexit Advisory Service in 2019 and this is in addition to the 4,175 engagements in 2018.

ITI also supports businesses through Brexit Planning Vouchers, worth up to €2,250. These vouchers enable businesses to get professional advice on how best to plan and prepare for the UK's withdrawal from the EU and on specific areas such as tariffs, currency management, regulatory and customs issues and movement of labour, goods and services.  To date 1,837 of such vouchers have been approved. Furthermore, in March 2019, ITI launched a Brexit Implementation Voucher, which provides financial support up to €5,625 with ITI paying 50% of total expenditure. This allows businesses to implement critical changes making them better prepared to deal with a new trading relationship. To date 44 such vouchers have been approved.

To enable retailers to increase their customer base and build a more resilient business, I also introduced a new pilot Online Retail Scheme in 2018 administered by EI. The Scheme, with a fund of up to €1.25m over two Calls, provided funding to 40 retailers across Ireland, with grants of between €10,000 and €25,000 on a 50 per cent match fund basis. This scheme follows through on my commitment to increase the scale and internationalisation of indigenous enterprise; increase productivity in high-employment sectors; and encourage Brexit readiness. The Pilot Online Retail Scheme concluded in 2019 and my Department and EI will review its effectiveness. 

The Brexit Loan Scheme was launched at the end of March 2018, using a combination of Irish Exchequer and EU guarantees, it leverages up to €300 million of lending at a maximum interest rate 4% at a cost to the Exchequer of €23 million – €14 million provided by my Department and €9 million provided by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. To date 889 applications have been approved for eligibility and 236 loans have been progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €49.57 million. To date there have been 173 repeat eligibility applications.

The Future Growth Loan Scheme opened for applications through the SBCI in April of 2019. The scheme provides a longer-term facility, 8 to 10 years, and using a combination of Irish Exchequer and EU guarantees, it leverages up to €300 million to support strategic capital investment for a post-Brexit environment by business at competitive rates. This scheme is jointly funded by my Department (€37.2 million) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (€24.8 million) at a total cost to the Exchequer of €62 million. To date 2,980 applications have been approved for eligibility and 1,010 have been progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €207.95 million.

Furthermore, in the event that there is no trade agreement at the end of the transition period, the Brexit contingency provision in Budget 2020 will enable my Department, in conjunction with its enterprise agencies, to ensure that a range of targeted supports are available to vulnerable-but-viable businesses to survive the initial shock of a 'no deal' and also to enable them to successfully transition so that they can operate in the post Brexit environment.

If there is no agreement, €220 million will be made available immediately. Of this, €110 million will be made available to my Department to help vulnerable-but-viable businesses. Supports will include:

- €45m Transition Fund

- €42m Rescue and Restructuring Fund

- €8m Transformation Fund for Food and Non-Food businesses

- €5m extra for Micro Finance Ireland

- €5m for a Local Enterprise Offices Emergency Brexit Fund

- €2m extra for InterTradeIreland

- €3m extra for Regulatory Bodies

- €40m will be available, if necessary, to support Tourism.

€110m will be provided through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support our beef sector and food companies: €85 million will be provided for beef farm enterprises; €14 million for fisheries enterprises; €6 million for other livestock farms and mushroom enterprises; and €5 million for the food and drinks processing industry.

The first table attached sets out the uptake of Brexit preparedness supports available through my Department and its agencies as at 14 February 2020 (unless otherwise indicated).

The second table attached sets out the respective Voted budget allocations to ITI, EI, IDA and the LEOs between 2018 and 2020, and the cost/expenditure of the supports in so far as they are currently available.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Allocation and Expenditure for Brexit Related Supports

Budget Allocations Across Enterprise Development Agencies

-	2018 (€'000)	2019 (€'000)	2020 (€'000)
IDA	180,780	193,670	189,177
Enterprise Ireland*	272,998	279,818	282,082
InterTradeIreland	8,125	9,145	10,192
Local Enterprise Offices	32,931	37,931	38,181

The budget for the Disruptive Technology Fund is not included in these figure

Expenditure/Cost per Scheme

Scheme	Expenditure/Cost
Brexit Loan Scheme	The scheme will cost the Exchequer €23m (€14 million provided by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and €9m provided by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine).
Future Growth Loan Scheme	The scheme will cost the Exchequer €62m (€37 million from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and €25m from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.).
Enterprise Ireland Be Prepared Grant	€481,803 to 13/01/2020
Enterprise Ireland Market Discovery Fund - A support to EI clients to research new markets	€1,768,890 to 13/01/2020
Enterprise Ireland Agile Innovation Fund - Gives rapid fast-track access to innovation funding	€2,053,152 to 13/01/2020
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Advisory Clinics	€284,233 to 13/01/2020
Enterprise Ireland Brexit “Act On Programme” – A support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience.	€686,000 to 06/01/2020
Enterprise Ireland Strategic Consultancy Grant – A grant to assist EI clients to hire a strategic consultant for a set period.	€1,698,104 to 13/01/2020 - (Since June 2016-2019 to date)
Enterprise Ireland Clear Customs	€262,500 to 13/01/2020
Local Enterprise Office Technical Assistance Grant for Micro Export - an incentive for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities	2018 Expenditure - €560,275 1st Jan to 30th September 2019 Expenditure - €432,458
Local Enterprise Office LEAN for Micro - The LEO Lean4Micro offer was developed in collaboration between the EI Lean department and the LEOs to tailor the EI Lean offer for LEO micro enterprise clients	2018 Expenditure - €951,129 1st Jan to 30th September 2019 Expenditure - €585,110
Local Enterprise Office Mentoring	There isn’t a specific budget allocation for LEO Brexit mentoring. It is included in the LEOs overall Measure 2 allocation.
Local Enterprise Office Brexit Seminars/Events	2018 Expenditure - €128,601 1st Jan to 30th September 2019 Expenditure - €178,423
The Local Enterprise Office ‘Prepare Your Business for Customs’ workshops are run regionally and help businesses understand the key customs concepts, documentation and processes required to succeed in a post Brexit world.	2018 Expenditure n/a 1 Jan to 31st March 2019 Expenditure - €24,600
InterTradeIreland provides a range of Brexit supports and advice through its Brexit Advisory Service. InterTradeIreland also offers two Brexit Vouchers. The first of these is a Brexit Planning voucher which provides 100% financial support towards professional advice to help Businesses identify Brexit exposures and to plan. The second is a Brexit Implementation voucher, which provides financial support up to £5,000/€5,625 to allow businesses to implement critical changes, making them better prepared to deal with a new trading relationship post-Brexit. InterTradeIreland pays 50% of the cost of this voucher. As well support through voucher funding, the Brexit Advisory Service also offer a tailor-made on-line learning tool, a tariff checker, glossary of key Brexit terminology, research, networking and information events.	Expenditure to date in 2019: £2.05m (preliminary figure). Expenditure in 2018: £0.9m.
Pilot Online Retail Scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland	Under the first competitive call of the new €1.25m pilot Online Retail Scheme to support retail businesses to strengthen their online offering, 11 retailers were awarded funding totalling €235,084, in March 2019. A second call of the Scheme opened on 19th June with the remainder of the fund available and closed on 31st July 2019.

Brexit preparedness supports - uptake of available schemes

Scheme	Uptake at 14 February (except where otherwise noted)
Brexit Loan Scheme	988 applications received, 889 approved by SBCI, 236 loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €49.57 million. Of the approved applications to date, 173 were reapplications as eligibility expires after six months. (At 21 February)
Future Growth Loan Scheme	3,109 applications received, 2,980 approved by SBCI, 1,010 loans progressed to sanction at bank level. Total value of loans sanctioned was €207.95 million. (At 21 February)
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Scorecard - online platform for Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit	7,084 Brexit Scorecards have been completed. 1,816 LEO clients have completed the scorecard.
Enterprise Ireland Be Prepared Grant	245 Be Prepared Grants have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Market Discovery Fund - A support to EI clients to research new markets	236 companies have been approved under this initiative
Enterprise Ireland Prepare to Export Scorecard	6,686 Prepare to Export Scorecards have been completed
Enterprise Ireland Customs Insights Online Course	1,985 Customs Insights Course participants
Enterprise Ireland Agile Innovation Fund - Gives rapid fast-track access to innovation funding	97 Agile Innovation projects have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Advisory Clinics	16 Brexit Advisory Clinics have been run with over 1,200 in attendance
Enterprise Ireland Brexit “Act On Programme” – A support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience	359 “Act on” Plans have been completed
Enterprise Ireland Strategic Consultancy Grant – A grant to assist EI clients to hire a strategic consultant for a set period	1,105 Strategic Consultancy Grants have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Clear Customs Grant	250 applications have been made to access financial support through the scheme
Local Enterprise Office Technical Assistance Grant for Micro Export - an incentive for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities	937 clients were approved assistance under the Technical Assistance Grant
Local Enterprise Office LEAN for Micro - The LEO Lean4Micro offer was developed in collaboration between the EI Lean department and the LEOs to tailor the EI Lean offer for LEO micro enterprise clients	499 LEO clients have participated in the programme
Local Enterprise Office Mentoring	1,381 mentoring participants solely focused on Brexit
Local Enterprise Office Brexit Seminars/Events	7,040 participants at the Brexit Information events
Customs Training Participants	1,720 participants attended Customs Training
InterTradeIreland Brexit Advisory Service	179 SMEs have directly engaged with the Brexit Advisory Service in 2020. This is in addition to the 5,416 engagements in 2019 and 4,175 in 2018.
InterTradeIreland Brexit Planning Vouchers	There have been 2,131 applications, with 1,837 approved and 13 still pending assessment.
InterTradeIreland Brexit Implementation Vouchers	There have been 62 applications, with 44 approved.

National Development Plan Funding

Questions (474)

Robert Troy

Question:

474. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the funding to be allocated to the disruptive technologies innovation fund over the lifetime of the National Development Plan 2018-2027; the amount allocated in each year over the 2018 to 2020 period to the fund; the funding allocated for approved projects in 2018 and 2019; and the amount issued in payments to date in tabular form. [3692/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, DTIF, is a €500 million National Development Plan fund established under Project Ireland 2040 which will run from 2018 to 2027. The fund forms a key part of the delivery of the pillar 1 goal of Future Jobs Ireland to embrace innovation and technological change. Funding is available for collaborative projects seeking investment in the development and deployment of disruptive innovative technologies and applications, on a commercial basis, targeted at tackling national and global challenges.

In February 2018, the Government committed an initial tranche of €180 million (of the total €500 million) to the DTIF, with funding to be allocated each year from 2019 to 2022, as follows: 

Year	DTIF
2019	€20m*
2020	€30m*
2021	€40m
2022	€90m

*Some funds will carry over from 2019 to 2020 based on sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The DTIF was launched in 2018 and under the first call, my Department received over 300 applications. Following a competitive selection process involving international experts, 27 successful projects were approved for funding in December 2018.  The second call in 2019 resulted in a further 16 projects approved for funding. All of these projects are collaborative with multiple partners including SMEs, large companies, multinationals and research performing organisations (RPOs) such as our colleges and universities. In total, 159 organisations are involved in these collaborative projects.

As each project funded is a multi-year project of up to three years, the capital allocated to projects to date is reflective of this. A total of €140 million has been allocated to 43 projects under the first two calls (27 projects with a commitment of €75 million under call 1 and 16 projects with a commitment of €65 million under call 2).

As of end February 2020, Enterprise Ireland, who administer the Fund on my behalf, had issued payments of just over €15.4 million to project partners. A number of additional payments are in train, awaiting documentation from project partners before the funds can be released. Payments relating to both call 1 and call 2 projects will continue to issue throughout 2020 and subsequent years.

Brexit Supports

Questions (475)

Brendan Smith

Question:

475. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the uptake of all Brexit-related supports under the remit of her Department in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3699/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Brexit remains a top priority and my Department and its agencies have put in place a broad suite of schemes, supports and advisory resources to encourage and help businesses to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are active across all counties and are working with enterprises across a broad range of sectors to ensure that they are informed about Brexit and have plans in place to manage new trading relationships on the island and with the UK more generally. To date, there have been 7,040 participants at LEO Brexit Information Events and 1,381 mentoring participants focused solely on Brexit. There have also been 1,720 participants in the customs training programme that the LEOs have rolled out for all businesses, exporters and importers, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is also providing Brexit-specific supports such as: the running of Brexit advisory clinics, at which there has been over 1,200 attendees to date; the EI Brexit “Act On Programme” which is a support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise a report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience, and 359 "Act on" Plans have been completed to date; and the Enterprise Ireland Clear Customs Grant, to which there has been 250 applications made to date to access financial support through the scheme.

InterTradeIreland (ITI) has a focus on cross border trade in Ireland and provides a number of Brexit supports, including a Brexit advisory service. 5,416 SMEs directly engaged with the Brexit Advisory Service in 2019 and this is in addition to the 4,175 engagements in 2018.

ITI also supports businesses through Brexit planning vouchers, worth up to €2,250. These vouchers enable businesses to get professional advice on how best to plan and prepare for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union and advice on specific areas such as tariffs, currency management, regulatory and customs issues and movement of labour, goods and services.  To date 1,837 of such vouchers have been approved. Furthermore, in March 2019, ITI launched a Brexit implementation voucher, which provides financial support up to €5,625 with ITI paying 50% of total expenditure. This allows businesses to implement critical changes making them better prepared to deal with a new trading relationship. To date 44 such vouchers have been approved.

The Brexit Loan Scheme was launched at the end of March 2018, using a combination of Irish Exchequer and EU guarantees, it leverages up to €300 million of lending at a maximum interest rate 4% at a cost to the Exchequer of €23 million – €14 million provided by my Department and €9 million provided by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. To date 889 applications have been approved for eligibility and 236 loans have been progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €49.57 million. To date there have been 173 repeat eligibility applications.

The Future Growth Loan Scheme opened for applications through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland in April of 2019. The scheme provides a longer-term facility, 8 to 10 years, and using a combination of Irish Exchequer and EU guarantees, it leverages up to €300m to support strategic capital investment for a post-Brexit environment by business at competitive rates. To date 2,980 applications have been approved for eligibility and 1,010 have been progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €207.95 million.

The table below sets out the update of Brexit preparedness supports available through my Department and its agencies as of March 2020 (unless otherwise indicated).

  Brexit preparedness supports - uptake of available schemes

Scheme	Uptake at 14 February (except where otherwise noted)
Brexit Loan Scheme	988 applications received, 889 approved by SBCI (of which 173 are repeat applications), 236 loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a value of €49.57 million.   Of the approved applications to date, 173 were reapplications as   eligibility expires after six months. (At 21 February)
Future Growth Loan Scheme	3,109 applications received, 2,980 approved by SBCI, 1,010 loans progressed to sanction at bank level. Total value of loans sanctioned was €207.95 million. (At 21 February)
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Scorecard - online platform for Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit	7,084 Brexit Scorecards have been completed. 1,816 LEO clients have completed the scorecard.
Enterprise Ireland Be Prepared Grant	245 Be Prepared Grants have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Market Discovery Fund - A support to EI clients to research new markets	236 companies have been approved under this initiative
Enterprise Ireland Prepare to Export Scorecard	6,686 Prepare to Export Scorecards have been completed
Enterprise Ireland Customs Insights Online Course	1,985 Customs Insights Course participants
Enterprise Ireland Agile Innovation Fund - Gives rapid fast-track access to innovation funding	97 Agile Innovation projects have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Brexit Advisory Clinics	16 Brexit Advisory Clinics have been run with over 1,200 in attendance
Enterprise Ireland Brexit “Act On Programme” – A support funding the engagement of a consultant to devise report with recommendations to help clients address weaknesses and improve resilience	359 “Act on” Plans have been completed
Enterprise Ireland Strategic Consultancy Grant – A grant to assist EI clients to hire a strategic consultant for a set period	1,105 Strategic Consultancy Grants have been approved
Enterprise Ireland Clear Customs Grant	250 applications have been made to access financial support through the scheme
Local Enterprise Office Technical Assistance Grant for Micro Export - an incentive   for LEO clients to explore and develop new market opportunities	937 clients were approved assistance under the Technical Assistance Grant
Local Enterprise Office LEAN for Micro - The LEO Lean4Micro offer was developed in collaboration between the EI Lean department and the LEOs to tailor the EI Lean offer for LEO micro enterprise clients	499 LEO clients have participated in the programme
Local Enterprise Office Mentoring	1,381 mentoring participants solely focused on Brexit
Local Enterprise Office Brexit Seminars/Events	7,040 participants at the Brexit Information events
Customs Training Participants	1,720 participants attended Customs Training
InterTradeIreland Brexit Advisory Service	179 SMEs have directly engaged with the Brexit Advisory Service in 2020. This is in addition to the 5,416 engagements in 2019 and 4,175 in 2018.
InterTradeIreland Brexit Planning Vouchers	There have been 2,131 applications, with 1,837 approved and 13 still pending assessment.
InterTradeIreland Brexit Implementation Vouchers	There have been 62 applications, with 44 approved.

Work Permits Applications

Questions (476)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

476. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if consideration will be given to offering a work permit in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3804/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

In order to work in the State all non-EEA nationals require a valid employment permit or relevant immigration permission from the Minister for Justice and Equality which allows them to reside and work in the State without the requirement for an employment permit. 

A non-EEA national who has been granted permission to remain in the State by the Department of Justice and Equality as a registered student is permitted to work 20 hours a week during term time and 40 hours a week during holiday periods.  Queries relating to this permission should be addressed to the Department of Justice and Equality.

There does not appear to be a current employment permit application for the named person (details supplied).  An application for an employment permit by the named person will be considered should such an application be made, subject to the application fulfilling all relevant criteria. 

In order to apply for an employment permit a non-EEA national must have secured a job offer for an eligible occupation from an Irish registered employer.

Details on how to apply for an employment permit are available on my Department's website at the following link: https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/.

In order to assist with the application process, the Department has produced a suite of information including various checklist documents, a "User Guide" to our online application system and a comprehensive FAQ document which answers the most common queries received regarding employment permits.  All this information can be found in the Employment Permit section of my Department’s website at www.dbei.gov.ie.

Departmental Data

Questions (477)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

477. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of supplier invoices and the value of each which were processed for payment by each Department and State body in each of the years 2013 to 2019. [3841/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 - SI 580 of 2012 gives legal effect to Directive 2011/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. 

The 2012 Regulations provide that public authorities must pay for goods and services they procure within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or as specified in a contract (which cannot exceed 30 days). Failure to do so incurs the automatic payment of interest and compensation.  

To promote compliance with the legislation, Government Departments and relevant public sector bodies are required to publish on their respective websites, their quarterly payment performance reports. Individual Government Departments are also required to publish the quarterly composite reports covering the bodies under their aegis.

Since 2013, my Department has been collating and publishing the composite quarterly returns by Central Government Departments of payments made to their suppliers.  This information which has been supplied by each Department relates to payments made to suppliers within 15 days and within 30 days. 

The figures included in the table below have been calculated based on the values provided to my Department by Government Departments as part of the 15-day prompt payment requirements.

Table 1 provides the value of payments which were processed by each Department from 2013 to 2019.  It also includes the value of payments processed by the bodies under the aegis of my Department in the period from 2013 to 2019. It should be noted that there have been changes in Department configurations over this period.

Table 2 provides the numbers of payments that were processed by each Department from 2013 to 2019. It also includes the number of invoices processed by the bodies under the aegis of my Department in the period from 2013 – 2019.

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
	€000	€000	€000	€000	€000	€000	€000
Agriculture, Food and the Marine (previously Agriculture,   Fisheries and Food)	104,055	115,480	134,183	168,223	154,878	205,075	220,501
Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs	41,844	36,859	40,059	11,460	62,192
Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs				47,402
Business, Enterprise & Innovation (previously Jobs,   Enterprise and Innovation)	78,923	28,059	40,707	42,217	25,462	14,444	14,543
Children & Youth Affairs	82,820	31,386	10,622	12,236	13,509	9,755	9,151
Communications, Climate Action and Environment						25,483	26,697
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources	15,707	30,879	60,241	3,241
Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources				20,192	34,753
Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht						57,309	66,340
Defence	130,630	162,394	184,735	194,163	191,259	209,562	234,999
Education & Skills	326,028	372,601	381,249	388,845	350,248	362,005	510,093
Environment, Community and Local Government	16,081	16,260	17,493	1,551
Employment Affairs & Social Protection	346,116	343,329	277,475	298,381	315,419	377,596	344,635
Finance	10,453	7,991	9,318	7,181	8,988	5,786	4,920
Foreign Affairs & Trade	29,627	28,630	32,035	38,019	34,959	40,467	44,478
Health	5,433	4,668	4,823	5,713	7,663	10,641	20,138
Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government				8,099	12,592	31,047	34,063
Justice & Equality	117,224	135,659	143,200	149,596	160,457	178,969	240,823
Public Expenditure & Reform	6,026	7,638	11,438	14,020	20,118	20,859	22,849
Rural & Community Development						31,821	30,734
Taoiseach	7,417	7,161	8,303	7,433	7,870	29,993	8,067
Transport, Tourism & Sport	1,795,094	1,807,581	1,722,723	1,854,372	1,849,599	2,098,980	2,369,197
Bodies under the aegis of   DBEI
Enterprise Ireland	31,724	31,877	39,736	32,527	32,797	36,103	38,074
Forfas	7,510	971
Health & Safety Authority	6,600	6,418	7,328	7,013	7,583	6,593	7,550
Industrial Development Agency	34,569	67,645	48,900	53,201	64,607	68,377	108,134
Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority	994	906	699	812	989	1,279	1,052
Labour Relations Commission	544	462	272
National Consumer Authority	5,160	2,405
National Standards Authority of Ireland	7,145	7,229	11,241	10,519	8,879	10,281	9,965
Personal Injuries Assessment Board	14,003	15,589	16,358	17,285	19,001	16,871	16,523
Science Foundation Ireland	4,041	4,464	4,525	6,296	6,573	6,105	14,479
Shannon Development	21,771	7,061
The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission		858	4,148	3,404	4,090	3,997	5,182
The Competition Authority	601	676
The Equality tribunal		84	32

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
	Number of payments	Number of payments	Number of payments	Number of payments	Number of payments	Number of payments	Number of payments
Agriculture, Food and the Marine (previously Agriculture,   Fisheries and Food)	24,842	23,648	25,405	25,620	27,328	26,961	25,870
Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs	14,003	13,869	13,143
Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs				12,240	9,203
Business, Enterprise & Innovation (previously Jobs,   Enterprise and Innovation)	6,889	6,167	6,976	6,904	7,038	7,245	7,336
Children & Youth Affairs	2,016	1,322	1,687	1,874	2,049	1,942	1,628
Communications, Climate Action and Environment						5,697	5681
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources	3,981	4,359	9,658
Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources				3,635	5,469
Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht						12,799	15,845
Defence	36,962	36,496	37,197	36,762	34,050	34,650	32,817
Education & Skills	14,052	11,874	12,799	11,738	11,145	12,090	13,613
Environment, Community and Local Government	6,274	4,883	4,405
Employment Affairs & Social Protection	19,581	16,587	15,954	15.438	14,733	13,279	12,270
Finance	4,373	2,968	2,921	2,889	3,004	3,129	3,035
Foreign Affairs & Trade	7,337	6,039	6,370	6,504	7,196	7,644	8,738
Health	2,487	2,191	2,513	2,664	3,071	3,532	3,427
Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government				3,082	4,049	4,722	5,373
Justice & Equality	29,126	32.653	31,763	35,630	41,333	46,362	49,537
Public Expenditure & Reform	2,238	2,303	2,527	2,533	2,985	3,470	3,509
Rural & Community Development						4,357	2,191
Taoiseach	1,775	1,626	2,206	2,612	3,418	2,911	2,164
Transport, Tourism & Sport	20,563	19,268	13,210	12,195	12,518	12,331	15,192
Bodies under the aegis of   DBEI
Enterprise Ireland	13,133	11,477	11,252	11673	12,468	13,587	15,461
Forfas	1,574	605
Health & Safety Authority	2,607	2,834	3,469	3,376	3,390	3,371	3,786
Industrial Development Agency	6,416	6,598	7,167	7,267	5,647	6,135	6,921
Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority	288	293	386	483	423	435	455
Labour Relations Commission	1,060	1,162	859
National Consumer Authority	1,186	957
National Standards Authority of Ireland	2,740	2,705	3,048	3,051	3,003	3,575	3,801
Personal Injuries Assessment Board	20,952	23,321	23,773	26,055	25,887	23,719	24,451
Science Foundation Ireland	1,136	1,073	1,146	1,599	1,560	1,198	1,399
Shannon Development	11,576	5,071
The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission		261	1,775	1,940	1,519	1,388	1,541
The Competition Authority	439	374
The Equality tribunal		151	78

Departmental Data

Questions (478, 480)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

478. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of supplier invoices which were processed by each Department and State body in each of the years 2013 to 2019 which received interest payments under the prompt payment of accounts legislation. [3842/20]

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

480. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of supplier invoices which received both interest payments and compensation payments under the prompt payment of accounts legislation and which were processed by each Department and State body in each of the years 2013 to 2019. [3844/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 478 and 480 together.

The European Communities (Late Payment in in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 - S.I. No. 580 of 2012 gives legal effect to Directive 2011/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. 

Under these Regulations it is an implied term of every commercial transaction that where a purchaser does not pay for goods or services by the relevant payment date, the supplier shall be entitled to late payment interest on the amount outstanding.

The 2012 Regulations provide that public authorities must pay for goods and services they procure within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or as specified in a contract (which cannot exceed 30 days). Failure to do so incurs the automatic payment of interest and compensation.   

To promote compliance with the legislation, Government Departments and relevant public sector bodies are required to publish on their respective websites, their quarterly payment performance reports. Individual Government Departments are also required to publish the quarterly composite reports covering the bodies under their aegis.

Since 2013, my Department has been collating and publishing the composite quarterly returns by Central Government Departments of payments made to their suppliers.  This information which is supplied by each Department relates to payments made to suppliers within 15 days and within 30 days.  My Department has since April 2017 collected data on the number of payments incurring late payments interest and compensation.

The table below provides the number of supplier invoices which incurred late payment interest and compensation payments which were processed by each Department since April 2017.  It also includes the number of supplier invoices incurring late payment interest and compensation payment processed by the bodies under the aegis of my Department in the period from April 2017 to December 2019. 

	2017	2018	2019
	Number of invoices	Number of invoices	Number of invoices
Agriculture, Food and the Marine	61	147	127
Business, Enterprise & Innovation	153	131	56
Children & Youth Affairs	17	41	44
Communications, Climate Action and Environment	104	156	153
Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht	29	67	55
Defence	72	139	87
Education & Skills	56	61	83
Employment Affairs & Social Protection	57	72	41
Finance	5	20	4
Foreign Affairs & Trade	14	82	143
Health	50	50	48
Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government	43	41	54
Justice & Equality	27	83	94
Public Expenditure & Reform	11	39	29
Rural & Community Development	0	33	12
Taoiseach	6	21	12
Transport, Tourism & Sport	0	0	5
Bodies under the aegis of   DBEI
Enterprise Ireland	2	1	2
Health & Safety Authority	0	0	0
Industrial Development Agency	5	123	302
Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority	0	0	1
National Standards Authority of Ireland	0	0	0
Personal Injuries Assessment Board	96	38	46
Science Foundation Ireland	0	0	0
The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission	0	3	11

Departmental Data

Questions (479, 481)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

479. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the value of interest payments for supplier invoices which received interest payments under the prompt payment of accounts legislation and which were processed by each Department and State body in each of the years 2013 to 2019. [3843/20]

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

481. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the value of interest payments and compensation payments for supplier invoices which received interest payments under the prompt payment of accounts legislation and which were processed by each Department and State body in each of the years 2013 to 2019. [3845/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 479 and 481 together.

The European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 - S.I. No. 580 of 2012 gives legal effect to Directive 2011/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. 

Under these Regulations it is an implied term of every commercial transaction that where a purchaser does not pay for goods or services by the relevant payment date, the supplier shall be entitled to late payment interest on the amount outstanding.

The 2012 Regulations provide that public authorities must pay for goods and services they procure within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or as specified in a contract (which cannot exceed 30 days). Failure to do so incurs the automatic payment of interest and compensation.  

To promote compliance with the legislation, Government Departments and relevant public sector bodies are required to publish on their respective websites, their quarterly payment performance reports. Individual Government Departments are also required to publish the quarterly composite reports covering the bodies under their aegis.

Since 2013, my Department has been collating and publishing the composite quarter returns by Central Government Departments of payments made to their suppliers.  This information which has been supplied by each Department relates to payments made to suppliers within 15 days and within 30 days.  My Department has since April 2017 collected data on the number of payments incurring late payments interest and compensation.

This table provides the value of late payments interest and compensation paid by each Department since April 2017.  It also includes the value of late payments interest and compensation paid by the bodies under the aegis of this Department in the period from April 2017 to December 2019.

	2017	2017	2018	2018	2019	2019
	Late Payment Interest €	Comp.     €	Late Payment Interest €	Comp     €	Late Payment Interest €	Comp     €
Agriculture, Food and the Marine	1,274	3,090	932	7,100	4,258	6,610
Business, Enterprise & Innovation	1,631	5,558	315	2,379	908	2,808
Children & Youth Affairs	351	500	708	2,240	1,005	2,330
Communications, Climate Action and Environment	2,088	4,030	1,793	7,320	3,316	6,310
Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht	165	1,580	1,415	3,130	324	2,530
Defence	806	3,510	1,101	6,400	1,477	4,260
Education & Skills	327	2,750	2,375	2,639	3,002	4,550
Employment Affairs & Social Protection	4,481	1,850	724	2,300	804	3,010
Finance	23	300	70	1,380	6	160
Foreign Affairs & Trade	184	770	2,174	3,720	3,727	7,450
Health	604	2,870	1,353	3,110	361	2,190
Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government	567	2,380	1,240	2,240	943	2,280
Justice & Equality	253	1,260	1,085	3,920	1,030	4,870
Public Expenditure & Reform	126	760	179	1,860	309	2,078
Rural & Community Development	0	0	226	1,660	19	480
Taoiseach	368	300	80	900	272	780
Transport, Tourism & Sport	0	0	0	0	1	200
Bodies under the aegis of DBEI
Enterprise Ireland	2	80	0	0	0	0
Health & Safety Authority	0	0	0	0	0	0
Industrial Development Agency	3	200	1,542	6,600	5,740	17,348
Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority	0	0	0	0	358	0
National Standards Authority of Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0
Personal Injuries Assessment Board	1,100	3,500	1,159	1,270	210	1,180
Science Foundation Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0
The Competition & Consumer Protection Commission	0	0	0	0	20	560

Question No. 480 answered with Question No. 478.

Question No. 481 answered with Question No. 479.

Public Procurement Contracts

Questions (482, 485, 486)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

482. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the standard processes in place between 2013 and 2019 across each Department and State body to ensure suppliers' invoices were processed in compliance with the prompt payment of accounts legislation. [3846/20]

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

485. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if there have been accurate and traceable systems in place between 2013 and 2019 across each Department and State body to ensure that the receipt date of all suppliers' invoices are accurately and systematically recorded to ensure that supplier invoices can be processed in strict compliance with the prompt payment of accounts legislation. [3849/20]

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

486. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the Departments and State bodies that did not have an accurate and traceable system between 2013 and 2019 to ensure that the receipt date of all suppliers' invoices are accurately and systematically recorded in order that supplier invoices can be processed in strict compliance with the prompt payment of accounts legislation. [3850/20]

Written answers

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 482, 485 and 486 together.

The European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 applies to all public authorities which include Government Departments and state bodies.

The 2012 Regulations provide that public authorities must pay for goods and services they procure within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or as specified in a contract (which cannot exceed 30 days). Where a Department of state body fails to comply with these regulations, they must automatically pay compensation and late payment interest to suppliers.

It is the responsibility of each Government Department and state body to ensure its internal systems and processes are in order to meet obligations under the above Regulations. I can confirm that my Department and its agencies have systems and processes in place to ensure that obligations under the 15-day prompt payment rules and the 30-day limit under the Regulations are met. Prompt payments is an integral part of the processes in this Department and its agencies and is constantly monitored.

All Departments must publish, on a quarterly basis their compliance figures. All Departments must also publish the compliance levels of the bodies under their aegis on their respective websites. In 2018 and 2019 respectively, 98% and 98% of all invoices received by Government Departments were paid within 30 days and did not incur late payment interest or compensation. In 2018 and 2019, 99% and 98% of all invoices received by the agencies of this Department were paid within 30 days and therefore did not incur late payment interest or compensation payments.

In addition, 84% an 83% of invoices received by Government Departments were paid within 15-days and 92% and 89% of invoices received by the agencies of this Department were paid within 15-days.

The compliance level among Government Departments and the agencies of my Department with the regulations have been consistently very strong which demonstrates that robust systems are in place to ensure compliance with the regulations.