Written Answers Nos. 1-20
9. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of enterprises in counties Longford and Westmeath that have applied to the small business assistance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30044/21]
View answerThe outlook is hopeful as we now enter the early stages of recovery but central to our economic recovery is the small and micro business community. We know businesses across the country continue to feel the impact Covid-19 has had on their normal operations.
Earlier this year, the Government introduced a Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC), with the aim to provide grants to businesses ineligible for the Government's other existing schemes such as CRSS and is designed to help with fixed costs. While modest, it will go a ways to help small businesses meet their fixed costs.
The total number of Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC) applications received for County Longford is 99. Of that figure to date, 29 applications have been paid, 2 have been approved and are due to be paid, 2 have been received and are awaiting a decision and 36 have been refused.
In relation to County Westmeath 104 applications have been received for the SBASC grant. Of that figure to date, 57 applications have been paid, 3 applications have been approved and are due to be paid and 44 applications have been refused.
Refusals have occurred due to eligibility requirements, such as businesses not meeting the turnover criteria, incomplete application form, the business was in receipt of CRSS or they were not in a rateable premises.
Last month, we announced an expanded SBASC phase 2 scheme, which will be open for applications in early June with a closing date of 21st July. Phase 2 has been expanded to include businesses working from a non rateable premises and those whose turnover is below €50,000.
Businesses who are working from non rateable premises and meet all other eligibility criteria will receive a €4,000 grant and businesses whose turnover is below €50,000 and meet all other eligibility criteria will receive €1,000 grant. These businesses have been ineligible for schemes in the past and it is my intention to ensure that these businesses receive some state support during these difficult time. The purpose of these grants are to help meet fixed costs associated with running a business.
Further details of this expanded SBASC scheme will be available shortly on my Department's website and on Local Authority websites, who will administer the scheme.
11. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason pubs and restaurants are not reopening for indoor dining at the same time that hotels are reopening for indoor dining. [29369/21]
View answerThe Government has approved measures, based on public health advice, allowing for the planned reopening of the hospitality sector, this summer. As the roll out of the vaccination programme progresses over the coming months, restrictions can be relaxed which will enable the hospitality sector to open up on a phased and safe basis, to avoid losing the progress society has made over the last 6 months.
From 2nd June, hotels can reopen for overnight guests and provide indoor restaurant service, followed by outdoor service at restaurants and pubs from 7th June. On 5th July, bars and restaurants will be able to serve customers indoors again.
This approach is in line with NPHET advice. We have never closed hotels' dining rooms. During level 5, when we were all locked down at home, hotels remained open for essential reasons, such as for people who had to stay there because they had nowhere else to stay, and we never closed their restaurants or dining rooms.
The Government is conscious of the challenges faced by the hospitality sector and, in particular, for pubs and bars that do not serve food. This phased reopening supports a safe and gradual approach, for employers, employees, and customers, underpinned by the guidance in the Work Safety Protocol and the sectoral Guidance developed by Fáilte Ireland.
Our pubs and bars are an important economic driver, social outlet and a popular element of our tourism and hospitality offering. My colleague, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, has announced new outdoor service supports for the hospitality industry. The Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme provides assistance to transform appropriate outdoor spaces as welcoming vibrant places, helping businesses to recover and people to return to work. To help the sector reopen successfully, for businesses reopening in June and coming off the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), there will be a payment on reopening, as a double payment for three weeks.
In addition, Fáilte Ireland has developed a suite of comprehensive sectoral guidances for the re-opening of hospitality and tourism businesses, these are available on their website.
13. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has conducted a risk analysis on the implications that the investor court system as part of CETA will have on current and future environmental legislation in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13250/21]
View answerChapter 24 of CETA dealing with “Trade and the Environment” commits both the EU and Canada to ensure that their laws and policies provide and encourage high levels of environmental protections. It further commits both Parties to strive to continue to improve such laws and policies. These environmental provisions are enforceable through the Agreement, including review by an independent panel of experts and a high degree of transparency and monitoring. CETA also includes a commitment on the part of all governments to ensure that there is no relaxation of environmental law in efforts to promote trade or attract investment.
CETA also includes commitments towards the sustainable management of forests, fisheries and aquaculture. It reinforces the Parties' commitments to multilateral environmental agreements to which it is a party, including the Paris Agreement, which is an important shared responsibility for the European Union and its Member States, as well as Canada.
Importantly, in CETA both sides also agree that more trade and investment should not be at the expense of environmental protection and labour rights. On the contrary, the EU and Canada are committed to ensuring that CETA helps ensure that economic growth, social development, and environmental protection go hand in hand.
Furthermore, CETA reaffirms the EU and Canada’s right to regulate to achieve legitimate policy objectives, including the environment, so Ireland’s right to regulate in sensitive areas in a non-discriminatory, WTO-compliant way is protected.
In relation to the Investor Court System – or ICS – within CETA, the full terms of the Agreement ensure the government’s “right to regulate”, and they are specifically directed at so-called “regulatory chill” while also ensuring that investors can raise legitimate claims under CETA’s Investor Court System.
Historically, most investment claims do not challenge a government’s ability to legislate or regulate, rather they are administrative in character, challenging discriminatory treatment of an individual investor in the context of a particular license, permit, or in cases of expropriation.
CETA does not restrict either the EU or Canada from passing new laws in areas of public interest such as the environment, and health and safety, among others. Nor does CETA affect the Government’s scope for developing new laws in response to the needs and priorities of Irish citizens. Therefore, I see no need for the risk assessment suggested by the Deputy.
16. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he is taking to support job creation in regional towns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28807/21]
View answerDelivering balanced regional growth is a core objective in the Programme for Government.
Overseen by my Department, nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 are currently being developed by regional stakeholders which will identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job creation across the regions.
These Plans reinforce and build on the core activities of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs and the wider range of State Bodies involved in regional enterprise development. Each Plan is overseen by a Regional Steering Committee chaired by a senior level businessperson. Along with Minister Robert Troy I will drive the delivery of the new Plans nationally. The new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 are expected to be completed in Quarter 3 this year.
The Government has provided funding to assist enterprise development and regional jobs growth. For example, my Department’s Regional Enterprise Development Fund and Border Fund has allocated over €117 million across 79 enterprise strengthening projects in every region over a series of competitive calls since 2017, through Enterprise Ireland. These Funds enable significant collaborative and innovative regional projects to provide a timely impetus to job creation in regional locations.
Almost two thirds of new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2020 were in regions outside of Dublin. During 2020 IDA Ireland created 10,082 new jobs outside of Dublin. IDA Ireland’s strategy 2021-2024 targets half of FDI investments overall, as going to regions outside of Dublin. The Local Enterprise Offices continue to provide a first stop shop to individuals who want to start or grow their micro enterprise in every county. Currently there are 35,236 people employed in over 7,500 LEO client companies nationally. The Deputy would be aware of recent moves by Chanelle Pharma to take over the Aptar facility in Ballinasloe, highlighting the attractiveness of our regional towns for job creation.
The Government is also committed to the development of a ‘Town Centre First’ policy focused on regeneration of rural towns and villages. My Department’s Retail Forum also developed a Framework for Town Centre Renewal which is a useful tool to assist Town Teams in how to improve footfall and customer experience in their towns. Through the Government’s National Planning Framework, the main cities are to develop as viable alternatives to Dublin with funding channeled through Project Ireland 2040.
Question No. 17 answered orally.
18. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the progression of his plans to introduce a living wage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29960/21]
View answerOne of the legacies of the pandemic must be a more inclusive society that rewards work and enterprise better. That means better terms and conditions for lower paid workers. Moving to a living wage is an important part of this. Of course, in doing so we need to recognise that many businesses are closed and are now loss-making, so we must do it in way that that does not cost jobs or cause people’s working hours to be reduced. That would be counter-productive.
The current Programme for Government makes the commitment to “progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government”.
This commitment forms part of a balanced approach to achieving an improved standard of living for the most vulnerable in our society.
I have asked the Low Pay Commission to begin examining the issues around this commitment and to make recommendations on the best approach to achieving it within the lifetime of the Government, as part of its work programme for 2021. That work has started and the Low Pay Commission will provide a report to me in the second half of this year.
The report will consider the policy, social and economic implications of a move to a living wage and the process by which Ireland could progress towards a living wage.
It will do this by looking at international evidence on living wages, examining different calculation methods and examining the policy implications of moving to a living wage in Ireland.
Following its completion, the Commission will submit the report to me for consideration.
The recommendations in the Commission’s report will inform the Government on the best practical approach to progress to a living wage in Ireland.
While the living wage initiative is being considered, the Government will continue to be guided by the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission with regard to any future changes in the minimum wage.
The minimum wage was established in 2000 at £4.40 (€5.58). Since then it has risen to €10.20.
In every year since its founding in 2015, the Low Pay Commission has recommended an increase in the minimum wage and this recommendation has always been accepted and implemented by the Government.
19. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he plans to implement the Duffy Cahill report in order to give workers preferential status as creditors and help prevent a similar situation to that of workers (details supplied) arising again. [30030/21]
View answerA 'Plan for Action on Collective Redundancies following Insolvency' was presented by myself and Minister Troy to the social partners last week. It was well-received. I intend for the Plan to be published shortly.
The Plan details short and medium-term measures that will further enhance the protection of employees who find themselves in a redundancy situation due to company insolvency, in a way that does not overly impede businesses and their operations.
The Plan includes commitments to:
- Introduce amendments to a range of legislation in areas of employment law and company law dealing with matters relating to collective redundancies following company insolvency,
- Develop a Guidance Document which will provide clear and accessible information in relation to the rights and remedies available to employees facing a collective redundancy situation following a company insolvency,
And, separately, in the area of employment law more broadly to:
- Establish an independent Employment Law Review Group, comprising expert stakeholders, which will help shape the formulation of policy and legislation to ensure that Ireland’s employment law framework remains fit for purpose and adapts to the evolving contemporary workplace.
This complementary range of measures will promote the provision of quality information, enhance participation and transparency for those workers facing a collective redundancy following company insolvency, and will also provide for continued development of employment law in general.
Work will continue, with ongoing engagement with trade unions and business representative groups, against the timeframes outlined in the Plan for Action. Government will be ready to respond as the plan progresses.
20. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports he will give to enterprises who have difficulties reopening after lockdown. [29370/21]
View answerSince the start of the pandemic, the government has responded rapidly, putting in place an extraordinary range of funding and advisory assistance schemes for workers and businesses including through the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).
These schemes have been vital in sustaining businesses and workers, and getting us to the point we have now reached.
With the economy now re-opening in clear phases, and vaccine roll-out comprehensively underway, the Economic Recovery Plan sets out renewed package of assistance, investments and policies for a new stage of economic recovery, providing a clear pathway for the labour market and enterprise towards new opportunities.
The Plan includes in excess of €3.5 billion in further labour market and enterprise schemes and just under €1 billion additional funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
This Plan comprehensively expands EWSS and PUP, and provides clarity and certainty for businesses and employees over the period ahead by outlining next steps.
In addition, it extends CRSS as well as enhances the SBASC payment; extends the Commercial Rates Waiver until the end of September 2021; provides for a new additional Business Resumption Support Scheme; extends Tax Debt Warehousing until the end of 2021; and further extends the 9% tourism VAT rate until September 2022.
Information on the wide range of schemes can be found on my Department’s website.
We are committed to the economic recovery of the country and work is ongoing across Government to ensure the assistance which will be in place are sufficient, targeted and sustainable. The National Economic Recovery Plan charts the pathway forward for our country by helping people back into work by extending labour market supports and through intense activation and skilling, and re-building Sustainable Enterprises through targeted investments and policies to make enterprises more resilient and productive.
