Written Answers Nos. 1-2
1. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of business innovation districts in place; and if the take-up of this opportunity has matched expectations for the initiative. [59575/21]
View answerBusiness innovation districts are a novel initiative supported by my Department through our agency Enterprise Ireland (EI). Details of some projects which are currently underway and are at varying stages of development include, for example, Ghala Project, sponsored by Trinity College Dublin and also funded by Government under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF). This was to be the initial project in the development of an Innovation district in the Grand Canal Quay and Pearse Street area of Dublin. Following refurbishment difficulties with the listed Tower Building, Ghala has now acquired two adjacent buildings in the past few months. It has obtained planning permission and has gone to tender for the development of these buildings. This will be the first steps in the delivery of this Innovation District. Ghala has also had initial pre-planning discussions on the delivery of another phase of this initiative which will commence in the next few years.
In Galway, the Chamber of Commerce has developed a subsidiary company called the Galway City Innovation District (GCID) which operates the PorterShed facility since 2016. There are early stage plans to align and collaborate with other incubation, scaling and research facilities in the city and to be the driver/innovation district for enterprise in the West. These include Galway Technology Centre; GMIT and NUIG. My Department, through Enterprise Ireland, approved grant aid to develop a scaling space for projects which are progressing out of PorterShed and other incubation facilities in Galway and the West.
Regional Enterprise Development funding was also approved to relocate the PorterShed itself to the new Bowling Green facility. The contractors are currently on-site in this building with an expected completion timeframe of July/August 2022.
At present the Midlands Innovation District in Athlone is progressing by way of a feasibility study from the National Just Transition Fund. It is envisaged that this study will be completed by year end 2021.
The Boyne Valley Innovation District was also approved funding under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund and thus far has progressed to the design stage.
2. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to an anomaly (details supplied) in respect of redundancy calculations for persons that were in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment; and the steps that he has taken or will take to address these matters. [59585/21]
View answerWhere an employee is laid off for periods during their last three years of employment, those periods do not constitute reckonable service for the purposes of redundancy calculations. In light of the extensive periods of lay-off some people will have experienced during the pandemic emergency period, this may have a significant impact on their redundancy entitlement if they are made redundant within the next three years.
Accordingly, on 27th October, Government approved the drafting of a Bill to enable an exceptional additional payment to be made from the Social Insurance Fund to employees who were laid off as a result of pandemic-related restrictions and are subsequently made redundant. The General Scheme of the Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny on the first of December, and the Bill will be advanced as soon as possible thereafter.
The Department of Social Protection is working on the necessary administrative systems to provide for the application and payment processes, and is liaising closely with my officials.
