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Tuesday, 8 Sep 2020

Written Answers Nos. 60-80

Ministerial Communications

Questions (60)

Alan Kelly

Question:

60. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if he, his Ministers of State and or advisers have ever used private email for any form of official Government business since the formation of the Government; and if so, if he publish all such emails and corresponding documents immediately. [19644/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Department of the Taoiseach has an ICT Policy which stipulates that where personal email accounts are used for business purposes, due regard must be taken of the sensitivity and confidentiality of the information being transmitted.

The ICT Policy further requires that, where personal email accounts are used for business purposes, a copy of any record created must be retained in an appropriate official electronic filing system and/or hard copy file which can be accessed should the need arise.

Although I and the staff working in my Department have been assigned Departmental email accounts which are used for official business, there may be occasional operational reasons to use a personal email account. From time to time, a third party may email me about official business using an address other than my Departmental address. This has occurred previously where the third party may have had a particular address to contact me prior to my appointment as Taoiseach.

In line with my Department's ICT policy, if such correspondence is received, I or my staff copy the reply to Government officials thereby creating a record of the correspondence which can be accessed at a later date. All staff working in my Department have signed the ICT Policy, new staff joining the Department are furnished with a copy of it and extracts of the Policy relating to the use of private email have been released under Freedom of Information and are, therefore, in the public domain.

Ministerial Advisers

Questions (61, 64, 69, 73)

Alan Kelly

Question:

61. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if he will provide details of his advisers and those of the Ministers of State; the remuneration packages of same; and the date of commencement in their role. [19678/20]

View answer

Gerald Nash

Question:

64. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Taoiseach the names and salaries of his special advisers; and the salaries paid to each Minister of State in his Department. [19728/20]

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Catherine Murphy

Question:

69. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a schedule of advisers, special advisers and seconded civil servants currently working in his Department appointed and or recruited and or in an acting capacity; the roles and responsibilities attributed to each; and the salary scale for the role in tabular form. [20627/20]

View answer

Catherine Murphy

Question:

73. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a schedule of advisers, special advisers and seconded civil servants working in his Department appointed and or recruited and or in an acting capacity; the roles and responsibilities attributed to each; and the salary scale for each role in tabular form. [22537/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 61, 64, 69 and 73 together.

The persons employed by my Department as Special Advisers are detailed in the table below.

It should be noted that all appointments are subject to formal Government approval and relevant contracts will be laid before the Oireachtas in due course. All appointments will be made in line with the Public Service Management Act, 1997.

Both Ministers of State in my Department are paid the salaried allowance of €38,787 which is payable to all Ministers of State. It has been agreed that all members of the current Government and Ministers of State will gift a portion of their current remuneration effective from the date that the Government took office. The amount to be gifted by Ministers of State for 2020 will be €7,424. An additional allowance is payable to the Chief Whip for his attendance at Cabinet which will require a Government order before it can be paid.

There are currently 20 civil servants seconded to Department of the Taoiseach working in various roles across the various divisions: 1 at Assistant Secretary level, 4 at Principal Officer level, 6 at Assistant Principal level, 4 at Higher Executive level, 3 at Administrative Officer level and 2 at Clerical Officer level, none of which work as Special Advisers.

Office of the Taoiseach

Name

Position

Salary Scale

Date of commencement

Deirdre Gillane

Chief of Staff (Taoiseach's Office)

Deputy Secretary

27 June 2020

Pat McParland

Deputy Chief of Staff (Taoiseach's Office)

Assistant Secretary

27 June 2020

Alan Ahearne

Economic Adviser to the Taoiseach

Assistant Secretary equivalent

(part-time)

21 July 2020

Kevin Dillon

Special Adviser to the Taoiseach

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Grainne Weld

Special Adviser to the Taoiseach

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Diarmuid Lynch

Special Adviser to the Taoiseach

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Office of the Chief Whip

Sam Griffin

Special Adviser to the Government Chief Whip

Principal Officer

15 July 2020

Office of the Tánaiste

Brian Murphy

Chief of Staff

Deputy Secretary

27 June 2020

John Carroll

Head of Policy and Programme Implementation

Assistant Secretary

27 June 2020

Angela Flanagan

Special Adviser to the Tánaiste

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Philip O'Callaghan

Special Adviser to the Tánaiste

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Clare Mungovan

Special Adviser to the Tánaiste

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

Jim D'Arcy

Special Adviser to the Tánaiste

Assistant Principal (Higher)

27 June 2020

Office of the Leader of the Green Party

Anna Conlan

Joint Chief of Staff

Assistant Secretary

27 June 2020

Donall Geoghegan

Joint Chief of Staff

Assistant Secretary

27 June 2020

Eamonn Fahey

Special Adviser to the Leader of the Green Party

Principal Officer

27 June 2020

David Healy

Special Adviser to the Leader of the Green Party

Principal Officer (part-time)

27 June 2020

Niamh Allen

Special Adviser to the Leader of the Green Party

Principal Officer (part-time)

27 June 2020

Suicide Incidence

Questions (62)

Alan Kelly

Question:

62. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach the number of public servants, excluding healthcare workers, gardaí, Defence Forces personnel, primary school teachers and secondary-school teachers, who died by suicide in each of the years 2015 to 2019 and to date in 2020, while still in the employment of the State by the relevant Department and State agency. [19863/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Information requested by the Deputy is not available.

All deaths that occur in the State must be registered within 3 months of the end of the relevant period. However, cases that are referred to the Coroner are frequently registered outside of this 3 month period as there are often long delays in finalising these cases. A death from Intentional self-harm is regarded as an unnatural death and these must be referred to the Coroner's Office for investigation and subsequent registration. There is therefore a time lag of 22 months from the end of the reference year to allow for the inclusion of as many such cases as possible.

As a result, data is currently only available to 2017 and please see below, the number of deaths by sex due to Intentional self-harm, for the years 2015 - 2017 inclusive. These figures are based on the date the death occurred and are regarded as final data. The final mortality data is published in the Vital Statistics Annual Report and the report for 2018 is scheduled to be disseminated on October 31st, 2020.

Total Male Female

2015 425 335 90

2016 437 350 87

2017 383 310 73

Deaths that are registered outside the 22 month lag are included in an Appendix that is published as part of the Vital Statistics Annual Report. For example, there were 69 additional deaths from Intentional self-harm that were registered in 2017 and 58 (44 male and 14 female) occurred in 2015,

These additional deaths that were not registered until 2017 but which occurred in 2015, would therefore increase the original figure that was reported in the 2015 Vital Statistics Annual Report

The Revised figure for deaths due to Intentional self-harm for 2015 is as follows:

Total Male Female

2015 483 379 104

Any late registered deaths due to Intentional self-harm that occurred in 2016 will be included in the 2018 report that will issue in October next. The number of actual deaths due to Intentional self-harm that occur in a particular year is therefore subject to revision as the revised 2015 figure of 483 could again increase at a later date (i.e. registered later than 2017).

It is not possible to provide data on the number of deaths from Intentional self-harm of certain Public Servants. Of the 425 suicide deaths included in the 2015 Annual Report, 39, or 9.2%, had no details of occupation stated on the death certificate. A further 67, or 15.8%, were not in employment at the time of death. Other examples of occupational descriptors were 'Typist', 'Clerical Worker' etc. and as the name and address of the company/organisation of the employer is not collected on the death certificate, then it is not possible to determine whether the deceased was employed in the public or private sector in many instances.

Taoiseach's Communications

Questions (63)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

63. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he has spoken directly with the Australian or New Zealand Prime Ministers since his appointment. [19933/20]

View answer

Written answers

I spoke with Prime Minister Morrison by telephone on the evening of 29 July, when he offered me congratulations on my appointment as Taoiseach.

In our call we discussed the challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic, and the steps we were both taking to deal with its health, social and economic consequences. We agreed the importance of cooperation in the international community to contain and eradicate the virus, and to ensure the equitable distribution of future vaccines.

We also spoke about progress in the negotiations for an EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and the importance of multilateralism as the basis for peace, security, trade and development.

In addition, Prime Minister Morrison offered his congratulations for Ireland’s successful campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council.

We noted the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries, and the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Australia in 2021.

I have not spoken to Prime Minister Ardern since my appointment.

Question No. 64 answered with Question No. 61.

State Claims Agency

Questions (65)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

65. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach the legal cases the State Claims Agency is handling on behalf of his Department; the stage they are at; and the nature of the claim. [20108/20]

View answer

Written answers

There are currently no legal cases being handled by the State Claims Agency on behalf of the Department.

From time to time the State Claims Agency handles legal costs on behalf of the Tribunal of Inquiry and Commissions of Investigation which are independent of the Department.

Office of the Attorney General

Questions (66, 67)

Alan Kelly

Question:

66. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach the new appointments in the Office of the Attorney General since the formation of the Thirty-third Dáil; the purpose of the appointments; and the remuneration of each. [20067/20]

View answer

Alan Kelly

Question:

67. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if former employees in the Office of the Attorney General have been rehired on contract or other forms of employment since the Thirty-third Dáil was formed; the purpose for the hires; and the process by which the contracts were tendered for. [20068/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 67 together.

Since the formation of the 33rd Dáil, the Office of the Attorney General has made two appointments to the grade of Advisory Counsel Grade III (provision of legal advice and advising on the conduct of litigation); one appointment to the grade of Assistant Parliamentary Counsel Grade II (drafting of legislation); one appointment to the grade of Assistant Principal (HR function) and two appointments to the grade of Temporary Clerical Officer (administrative support).

They were appointed to the Civil Service pay scales appropriate to their grades and none are re-hires.

There is one Special Adviser, three personal assistants and one driver assigned to the Attorney General at present. The Office is in the process of agreeing contracts for these roles with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Cabinet Committees

Questions (68)

Alan Kelly

Question:

68. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach the dates of all Cabinet committee meetings since the commencement of this Government in tabular form by committee name and date. [20401/20]

View answer

Written answers

The following table lists the Cabinet Committee meetings held since July.

Cabinet Committee

Meeting Dates

COVID-19

3 July

11 August

Economic Recovery and Investment

8 July

15 July

21 July

2 September

Housing

30 July

Health

28 July

Environment and Climate Change

30 July

Europe

16 July

Government Co-ordination

13 July

27 July

31 August

7 September

Question No. 69 answered with Question No. 61.

Departmental Contracts

Questions (70)

Bríd Smith

Question:

70. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach the payments for services or goods by his Department to a company (details supplied) since 2015. [20783/20]

View answer

Written answers

My Department made one payment of €379.32 to the company in question in May 2016.

Departmental Advertising

Questions (71)

Alan Kelly

Question:

71. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach if his Department has carried out advertising campaigns to promote policies or programmes being implemented by same; if so, if he will provide the details of such campaigns or relevant programmes; the cost of advertising in publications, broadcast advertising and outdoor advertising; and the cost of consultancy or production costs in each of the past two years. [21035/20]

View answer

Written answers

In 2019, my Department paid for public information campaigns relating to Budgets 2019 and 2020, for public consultation notices for draft language schemes, and for the ‘Votail100’ commemorations. There was also expenditure for advertisements relating to the recruitment of Judges. The IBRC Commission, which is an independent statutory commission, contracted services to manage their public relations responsibilities.

The spend to date in 2020 has been focussed on the COVID-19 emergency.

Since March, my Department has co-ordinated communications for the whole-of-government response to the pandemic. This necessitated expenditure on a broad range of targeted public information campaigns.

At the beginning of April, a campaign was run in conjunction with the COVID-19 Community Call Forum, which was established so that local groups worked with State agencies and community and voluntary groups to provide important supports and services to any vulnerable person who needed them.

A number of campaigns were run as restrictions were imposed in order to explain the measures and reinforce public health messages.

On 1st May last, the Government’s Roadmap to Reopen Society and Business was published. A communications campaign was run to explain the different phases of the Roadmap. It was also necessary to run campaigns at each phase of the Roadmap as restrictions were lifted. The campaigns associated with the Roadmap were aimed at giving people time to prepare, so that businesses could be ready to open, for example churches and places of worship, gyms, cinemas, and leisure facilities.

Over the summer, there has been a specific campaign to help students, and all those involved in the Education sector, manage the 2020 Leaving Certificate and the new standardisation of grades model. The changes for students and teachers this year were unprecedented, and needed a clear and cohesive communications campaign.

Campaigns were developed to ensure Businesses were aware of the broad level of supports being made available by Government to them. For example, in May Government announced protocols on the Safe Return to Work, and in July the Government announced the Jobs Stimulus package which was focussed at restoring confidence and investment in the recovery. This required a significant cross Government information campaign.

At different junctures of the response to the pandemic, the Government announced its response to handling the different Phases of actions including the lifting and re-imposition of restrictions. The Government’s decisions on the restrictions for Kildare, Laois and Offaly required a targeted campaign. It was essential that citizens, business owners and communities were informed of the decisions being made by Government, and campaigns were developed and implemented to keep the public informed of these decisions.

The overall Communications strategy for Covid-19 formulates and implements a coordinated response that ensures maximum clarity for citizens, businesses and our wider community. This aligns with both World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) advice, both of which emphasise the importance of ensuring the general public is aware of the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak and further that a high degree of population understanding, community engagement and acceptance of the measures put in place are key in preventing further spread.

It is also recommended that communication strategies should target different audiences and provide the rationale behind the measures, also outlining the necessity to put a support system in place to provide essential services and supplies (e.g. food and medication), and to monitor vulnerable individuals.

Most campaigns have included Radio, newspaper and social elements.

Attached are tables with a breakdown of costs as requested by the Deputy. My Department is continuing to process payments for a number of Covid-19 related campaigns.

Advertising Details

Departmental Offices

Questions (72)

Denis Naughten

Question:

72. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Taoiseach the number of vacant desk spaces available in accommodation allocated to his Department in Civil Service accommodation outside Dublin city. [22489/20]

View answer

Written answers

My Department does not have any civil service accommodation allocation outside Dublin city.

Question No. 73 answered with Question No. 61.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (74)

Louise O'Reilly

Question:

74. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason debt was prioritised through loans over grants to the level of a four to one debt to grant ratio in the July stimulus package instead of prioritising grants for at the recent European Union summit on a post-pandemic recovery package; and his views on whether this is contradictory. [19803/20]

View answer

Written answers

The July Jobs Stimulus package has been developed to fund specific measures that can achieve an immediate impact in 2020 for businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. This package is a key part of the second phase, the recovery phase, of the Government’s response to the pandemic and in total the range of measures announced related to a total stimulus of €7.4 bn, including tax, expenditure and credit supports.

The assistance already rolled out and the additional measures announced in the July Jobs Stimulus package have significant fiscal implications. In this regard, Government has targeted a headline deficit of €30 billion for 2020 which would be in line with the average of fiscal positions across the EU in tackling the COVID-19 crisis.

The suite of supports that my Department has developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis aims to achieve the widest reach with Exchequer money to support viable business across all sectors and across the variety of needs.

Within the July Jobs Stimulus package, I have prioritised grants to businesses by providing €300 million to the Restart Grant scheme from the €450 million of expenditure allocated to my Department. I have also increased the maximum funding allowed to individual businesses under the scheme to €25,000.

The July package also includes €2 bn in credit supports to be made available to eligible businesses through a scheme which is underpinned by an 80% State guarantee. An important attribute of loan schemes is the multiplier effect of Exchequer funding: up to €2bn in credit will be available now to support eligible businesses, while the cost to the State will be limited to 80% of the value of loan defaults. Furthermore, Exchequer costs for the scheme will be spread over a six-year window and will thus be incurred at a time when it is envisioned that State finances will be in a stronger position.

It should be noted that not all businesses need the same level or type of support, and that is why the package is comprised of a range of measures including grants and loans.

It is not the case that debt is being prioritised over grants in the July Jobs Stimulus package. As I have outlined above, two thirds of direct expenditure from my Department was assigned to direct grant support to businesses through the Restart Grant scheme, and this in addition to the expenditure underpinning support for business through the new Wage Employment Support Scheme which will provide for an estimated stimulus of €1.9 bn.

It is important to emphasise that the value of supports made available across the different measures may differ significantly from the amount of Exchequer expenditure required to provide these supports. For example, the Government is able to leverage Exchequer funding into a significantly larger package for business, including the €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme which relates to a substantial portion of the overall stimulus package announced but for which the associated cost to the Exchequer will be significantly lower than the lending made available through the scheme.

With regard to the EU post-pandemic recovery package, this is an EU wide budgetary package made up of grants and loans to Member States. The consideration of grants and loans in the context of member states is not directly comparable to the discussion of the provision of grants and loans to businesses as set out in the July Jobs Stimulus package, which is a domestic jobs stimulus programme. As such, I see no contradiction as to the Government’s position on this topic at the European Union summit.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (75)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

75. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding loans for small businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22054/20]

View answer

Written answers

There are a number of State-supported loan schemes in place to support small businesses.

If the business has been impacted by COVID-19, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme makes lending available to eligible businesses to enable those businesses to innovate, change or adapt in response to the current business environment. This could include innovations like the ones described in the supplied details. The Scheme is operated by the SBCI through participating finance providers, and loan amounts between €25,000 to €1.5m are available per eligible enterprise for loan terms ranging from one year to three years, with loans of up to €500,000 being available without collateral.

Alternatively, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme facilitates up to €2 billion in lending to eligible businesses. Loans under the Scheme range from €10,000 to €1 million, for terms of up to five-and-a-half years. Financing will be offered through a range of products, including term loans, working capital loans and overdrafts. Loans of up to €250,000 under the Scheme are available unsecured (except where this is a requirement of the product feature, as in the case of asset finance, invoice discount facilities, etc.). The Scheme is operated by the SBCI through participating finance providers.

If the business is a micro-enterprise, they may be eligible for a loan from Microfinance Ireland and if the business has been COVID-19 impacted they may be eligible for a COVID-19 Business Loan of up to €25,000. These loans are available through Microfinance Ireland with zero repayments and zero interest for the first six months and the equivalent of an additional 6 months interest-free subject to certain terms and conditions. Loan terms are typically up to 3 years and there are no fees or charges.

The Future Growth Loan Scheme may also be appropriate and offers lending over a longer term than other loan schemes. This is another scheme from my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and is also operated by the SBCI. This scheme provides for loan terms of 7-10 years and is aimed at supporting businesses to invest strategically for their long-term sustainability and growth. Finance provided under the scheme is competitively priced and offered at favourable terms. For example, loans of up to €500,000 are available unsecured. Loans under the scheme range from €25,000 to €3 million.

For further details of the schemes listed above, please visit my Department’s website, the SBCI’s website and the MFI website.

Covid-19 Pandemic

Questions (76)

Cormac Devlin

Question:

76. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the aviation and car rental sectors will be included in the Covid-19 industrial review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22163/20]

View answer

Written answers

As the Deputy will know, the aviation and car rental sectors referred to in the question are under the remit of other Ministers. However, my Department maintains an overview of key sectors of the economy to understand sectorial challenges and to facilitate a cohesive strategic approach to economic development.

In this context, my Department has developed a series of sectorial reports, Irish Economic Sectorial Reports 2020, which I brought to Cabinet for information in early August. These reports provide an overview of 16 key sectors and identify initial impacts of the pandemic on sectors as well as ongoing challenges and, in some cases, opportunities facing sectors. Published versions of the 16 sectorial reports, Focus on Sectors 2020, were launched by my colleagues Minister Harris and Minister English on 22 August.

While many of the sectors covered in these reports fall within the remit of my Department and its agencies, broader sectorial development responsibility spans a range of other Government Departments and the sectorial reports are developed in conjunction with those Departments. They also reflect inputs from industry representative organisations.

Of the sectors covered in the reports, Aerospace & Aviation and Tourism & Hospitality are amongst the most heavily affected sectors, severely impacted by the almost complete shutdown of international air travel and the social distancing measures required to contain the virus. Recovery in these sectors is uncertain and dependent on the evolution of the virus and ongoing travel restrictions.

As an island economy built largely on international trade and foreign direct investment, the recovery of the aviation sector is crucial for wider economy recovery. The latest CSO figures from June 2020 show arrivals and departures decreased by 97. 8% and 97.3% respectively by comparison to June 2019. According to a recent forecast across the airline sector IATA do not anticipate global capacity returning to 2019 levels before the 2023/24-time frame. Enterprises across the aviation value chain, with the sole exception of dedicated cargo operators, have seen severe depletion of business and organisations are facing various degrees of financial challenge.

The Taskforce for Aviation Recovery, established on 10 June 2020 by the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has set out a series of recommendations on how to support Irish aviation, some of which have already been implemented in the recently announced July Stimulus.

I also understand the fundamental role that the car rental industry plays in supporting overseas tourism and providing the opportunity for high spending tourists to visit all parts of the country, particularly the less accessible rural areas. This accessibility is crucial to local economies and jobs. I recognise that the public health requirements have had a very severe impact on international tourism and consequently, the car rental market. Officials in my Department have examined recent submissions from the car rental sector. Supports announced in the July Stimulus will have a wide reach across the economy, and address many of the needs of the sector outlined in the correspondence.

Importantly, the stimulus package gives certainty and employment supports to business, including through the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme which will run to April 2021; gives a clear timeline for the continuation of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment which will help to provide assurances to those who suffered job losses as a result of COVID-19; enhances the Restart Grant to assist even more businesses as they resume activity; and increases the attractiveness of liquidity supports such as the Credit Guarantee Scheme and Micro Finance Ireland Loans. The business supports introduced to date have been cognisant of the challenges and needs across sectors, as will be any additional and future actions.

The trajectory of COVID-19 remains unpredictable and the full extent of the impact of the pandemic on global and national economies continues to unfold. We will continue to support enterprises through the crisis and lay the groundwork for economic recovery as part of a whole of government effort which will require ongoing communication with enterprise.

The next steps in our recovery will be mapped out in the October Budget and the subsequent National Economic Plan. The National Economic Plan will endeavour to set out a vision for what our post-COVID economy will look like and the actions that Government can take to support enterprises through this transition.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (77)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

77. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to help small businesses, such as restaurants, which had to close for a period of months to assist with the rent payments that are still due even though they were not trading; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22212/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Restart Grant is aimed at helping micro, small, and medium-sized businesses with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures. The scheme is designed to help with the cost of reopening or adapting business premises so that normal business can resume. The grant is a contribution towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. The grant could be used to defray ongoing fixed costs, for example, utilities, insurance, rent, refurbishment or for measures to ensure employee and customer safety.

Furthermore, the Restart Grant Plus is just one part of the wider suite of schemes available to firms of all sizes, which includes low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst SMEs.

All COVID-19 Business Schemes are under constant review in terms of the evolving situation and will be adapted as circumstances dictate. In that regard, I can assure the deputy that I will continue to work with my colleagues across Government and all stakeholders to examine how best to further assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 as part of the forthcoming National Economic Plan.

Employment Data

Questions (78)

Alan Kelly

Question:

78. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made on the intention stated in the programme for Government to enable increased hub working nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21101/20]

View answer

Written answers

On 12 August 2020, I launched a new €12 million Enterprise Centre Fund, which will be administered by Enterprise Ireland, to help enterprise centres impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The closing date for applications is noon on Wednesday September 30, 2020. The objective of the Powering the Regions – Enterprise Centres Fund is to provide financial support to eligible enterprise centres who have been impacted by COVID-19 for the implementation of a 6 to 12-month Recovery Plan. This plan should have the objective of strengthening the underlying viability of the centre to enable it to continue to deliver value added supports to their client companies.

These facilities provide affordable physical workspace for businesses across the country and deliver training and soft supports to their tenants and also other companies in their locality and regional area. As such, these facilities are key infrastructures in the ecosystem for supporting entrepreneurship and start-ups and remote working.

To date, the Government have invested significantly in the development of remote working and co-working centres/spaces in every region in Ireland through the three calls of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund and Border Enterprise Development Fund. The total funding committed to the full range of projects amounts to €117 million to support 79 projects in total.

Many of these projects will lead to additional co-working spaces in every region as they are progressed and completed. Based on Enterprise Ireland’s analysis, approximately 3,200 co-working/incubation spaces are being developed across 45 of the projects supported under Regional Enterprise Development Fund and Border Enterprise Development Fund.

Employment Data

Questions (79)

Alan Kelly

Question:

79. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department is working to collate data on the national infrastructure of remote working hubs; the number, classification, offering and occupancy of same as was highlighted as a key implication in the remote work in Ireland report published as part of Future Jobs Ireland 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21102/20]

View answer

Written answers

Remote working has now become more important than ever in Ireland as part of our response to Covid-19. Last December my Department published the Remote Work in Ireland report. This outlined the prevalence and types of remote working in existence in Ireland. It also identified influencing factors on the part of both employers and employees.

One of the findings of the report was the need for data on our country’s hub infrastructure to aid informed policy in the area of remote work. While my Department has not conducted research on the national hub infrastructure, there is a large volume of work underway on this topic across Government departments and agencies.

This includes the preparation of remote working guidance for employers and employees, which my Department is leading on. An Interdepartmental Group, consisting of relevant departments and agencies, has been formed to steer the delivery of this guidance. This work, which will be completed later this year, will be informed by the recent public consultation held by my Department and direct consultations with key stakeholders.

Alongside the work that my Department is leading on in relation to remote working, the Department of Rural and Community Development is leading on work to categorise hubs in Ireland. This includes the recently launched Atlantic Economic Corridor Hubs Map which was developed in partnership with the Western Development Commission in support of the AEC Enterprise Hubs Network. Data is available at https://www.atlanticeconomiccorridor.ie/hubs-map/

Licence Applications

Questions (80)

Niall Collins

Question:

80. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of an application by a person (details supplied); when a decision will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21368/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Employment Permits Section of my Department inform me that the critical skills employment permit application for this individual was refused on July 6th as the occupation stated on the application is not the critical skills occupations list.

The applicant was notified by email of the refusal reasons and of the right to request a review of this decision within 28 days of issue of the refusal decision. To date, no such appeal has been received. The applicant has submitted the relevant forms to receive a 90% refund of the fee they paid for an employment permit and this currently being processed.

While the occupation is ineligible for a critical skills employment permit, it is eligible for a general employment permit. A new application may be submitted, subject to complying with the legislative requirements for this employment permit type. Should the employer wish to submit an application for a general employment permit , I have asked my officials to expedite the decision.

A comprehensive suite of information is available on my Department's website regarding employment permits and a FAQ document which answers the majority of the most common questions is available via the following link

https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/

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