Thursday, 14 Dec 2017

Written Answers Nos. 278-290

Farm Safety

Ceisteanna (278)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

278. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the 2018 allocation by the Health and Safety Authority for farm safety initiatives. [53652/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The Health and Safety Authority has recently received notification of its Exchequer funding allocation for 2018 and it will shortly determine funding allocations across its various work sectors including farm safety initiatives. These funding allocations can vary from year to year as the Authority decides on how to prioritise its non-pay funding in line with its overall Programme of Work. It is likely that projected expenditure on farm safety initiatives in 2018 will at least be maintained at 2017 levels i.e. €287,000 approximately. The HSA’s Programme of Work for 2018 is near completion. The funding allocations will be subject to final approval by the Board of the Authority.

It should also be noted that the Authority has recently completed a recruitment campaign for 11 inspector posts, six of which are field inspection posts who will have an involvement in future farm inspection campaigns. Four of these six posts have been filled and will be starting with the Authority in early January 2018.

The priority tasks for the HSA in relation to engagement with the farming sector for 2018 will continue to include the following;

- ongoing delivery of the Farm Safety Partnership Action Plan, 2016 to 2018;

- continuing awareness campaigns through the media, events and advertising targeted at the agricultural sector;

- promotion of good health for farmers;

- roll out of the revised Code of Practice on farm safety;

- finalising an e-learning tool on tractor and machinery safety;

- focusing on child safety on farms through programmes at primary and post-primary school level, letters have already issued to over 3,000 such schools;

- engagement of all representative organisations and stakeholders in the challenge;

In addition, I will continue to work with, and support, the Health and Safety Authority on the development of targeted initiatives in 2018 to seek through a collaborative approach to reduce the level of accidents and fatalities on farms in Ireland.

Health and Safety Inspections

Ceisteanna (279)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

279. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of the sanctioned recruitment of six inspector posts for the farm inspection programme for the HSA that have been filled to date. [53653/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) recently completed a recruitment campaign for 11 inspector posts, six of which are field inspection posts and these six inspectors will have an involvement in future farm inspection campaigns. Four of the six posts have been filled and the inspectors will be starting on January 8th. The HSA is awaiting approval for the contract of one other field inspector from my Department which is currently under consideration and once that approval is obtained a contract will be issued. The remaining field inspector candidate has just completed Garda clearance and this contract will shortly be submitted by the HSA to my Department for approval.

IDA Ireland Offices

Ceisteanna (280)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

280. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the details of each international IDA office abroad; the location of each; the number of full-time and part-time staff employed in each; and the costs of offices and staffing for each international office on an annual basis, in tabular form. [53662/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

At present, IDA Ireland has 21 overseas offices located across the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The Agency does not publicly release the specific cost breakdown of individual offices, as these details are sensitive in the context of international competition for foreign direct investment. The Agency can, however, provide the total costs associated with the network of offices abroad for 2016 which are outlined below:

Staff Costs - €10,802,000

Non Staff Costs - €5,174,000

The table sets out the location of the Agency's offices abroad and the number of IDA employees employed at each:

Office	Staff No
US
New York	12
Boston	3
Mountain View	8
Irvine	6
Austin	2
Atlanta	2
Chicago	5
Europe
London	8
Paris	3
Frankfurt	2
Asia/PAC
Australia	2
Korea	1
Japan	3
Mumbai	4
Bangalore	1
Taiwan	1
Shanghai	3
Shenzhen	2
Beijing	1
Russia	1
Brazil	1

Enterprise Ireland

Ceisteanna (281)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

281. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the details of international Enterprise Ireland offices abroad; the location of each; the number of full-time and part-time staff employed in each; and the costs of offices and staffing for each international office on an annual basis, in tabular form. [53663/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Enterprise Ireland works with Irish companies to help them identify opportunities in new markets. Through its network of 33 overseas offices and its extended Pathfinder (Trade Consultant) network, Enterprise Ireland provides client companies with appropriate support in markets where there are identified opportunities matched by client capability. In addition to incubation and hot-desking facilities, Enterprise Ireland’s client companies receive access to market knowledge on a sectoral basis; introductions to buyers/suppliers/partners; and market intelligence, such as competitor analysis and identification of professional services. Enterprise Ireland client exports grew by 6% in 2016, reaching a record high of €21.6bn.

Enterprise Ireland provides a range of financial and capability development supports in its Dublin and regional offices, aimed at helping client companies to compete and win sales in overseas markets.

The locations of Enterprise Ireland’s overseas offices, the costs involved in running these offices in 2016, and the current number of full and part-time staff employed in each of these offices are set out in the tables below.

Table 1: Cost (pay and non-pay) of running Enterprise Ireland’s overseas offices in 2016

Office Location	Total(€)
LONDON	2,702,458
DUSSELDORF	1,309,755
STOCKHOLM	755,659
PARIS	964,000
AMSTERDAM	531,740
BRUSSELS	320,934
PRAGUE	256,174
BUDAPEST	50,348
WARSAW	547,863
MOSCOW	374,447
MADRID	344,482
MILAN	584,529
RIYADH	482,123
DUBAI	1,318,331
SOUTH AFRICA	496,618
ISTANBUL	428,881
DOHA	159,598
ABU DHABI	107,286
NEW YORK	2,642,358
BOSTON	652,311
MOUNTAIN VIEW	1,114,383
TORONTO	400,390
BRAZIL	307,361
AUSTIN	518,927
SINGAPORE	762,702
TOKYO	779,881
HONG KONG	362,595
BEIJING	612,275
SHANGHAI	1,425,348
SEOUL	339,480
SYDNEY	859,815
INDIA	381,869
PERTH	17,443
Total	22,912,364

Table 2: Number of full time and part time staff employed in Enterprise Ireland’s overseas offices

Office	Full Time Staff	Part Time Staff	Total Staff Numbers
ABU DHABI	1		1
AMSTERDAM	3		3
AUSTIN	3		3
BEIJING	4		4
BOSTON	3		3
BRUSSELS	3	1	4
CHICAGO	1		1
DOHA	1		1
DUBAI	8		8
DUSSELDORF	12	3	15
HONG KONG	2		2
ISTANBUL	1		1
JOHANNESBURG	2		2
LONDON	15	1	16
MADRID	5		5
MILAN	3	2	5
MOSCOW	3		3
MOUNTAIN VIEW	6		6
NEW DELHI	4		4
NEW YORK	10		10
PARIS	7		7
PRAGUE	4		4
RIYADH	3		3
SAO PAULO	1		1
SEOUL	2		2
SHANGHAI	5		5
SINGAPORE	6		6
STOCKHOLM	6		6
SYDNEY	8		8
TOKYO	5		5
TORONTO	5		5
WARSAW	4		4
Total	146	7	153

Note: The staff numbers include expats, locally hired staff and staff participating in Enterprise Ireland’s International Graduate Programme. The numbers do not include approved vacancies.

Brexit Documents

Ceisteanna (282)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

282. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of companies that have completed the Brexit scorecard to date since it was established, by company size (details supplied), in tabular form. [53664/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The Brexit Scorecard was launched by Enterprise Ireland in March 2017. It is an interactive online platform which can be used by Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit.

Businesses that complete the online questionnaire are assessed on their levels of preparedness under six key pillars - Business Strategy, Operations, Innovation, Sales and Marketing, Finance and People Management. On completion, the Scorecard generates a report which contains a number of suggested actions that businesses can take to prepare for Brexit, alongside other resources such as information on upcoming events across the country.

The Scorecard is available to all companies looking to develop an action plan to help mitigate risks and leverage opportunities which may arise from Brexit. To date 1,909 companies have used the EI Brexit Scorecard to help assess their level of preparedness for Brexit. This included both EI clients and non-EI clients.

For Enterprise Ireland clients, a ‘Be Prepared Grant’ has been introduced, which offers up to €5,000 in funding to support exporting client companies develop a Brexit Action Plan.

The breakdown of the 1909 companies that have completed the Brexit Scorecard, are contained in the table below.

Total Engaged with Scorecard	1909
Number of Employees	Number of Companies
<10	546
10 to 49	435
50 to 150	169
151 to 249	53
>250	78
Not specified	628

Brexit Staff

Ceisteanna (283)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

283. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of full-time and part-time staff in the dedicated Brexit unit within her Department broken down by staff grade; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53665/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

In 2016, my Department established a dedicated Brexit Unit to deal with the challenges of Brexit. This Unit leads on the coordination of the Department’s policy and operational responses to Brexit, including our approach to the negotiations within the EU and bilateral relations with the UK. The Brexit Unit oversees research and analysis being undertaken by the Department and its Agencies and monitors research published by external bodies to better inform our policy response. The Unit also leads on engagement with a broad range of stakeholders to inform and validate our response to Brexit.

The Brexit Unit is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs and Trade Policy Division, and is supported by one Principal, three Assistant Principals, two Higher Executive Officers and one Clerical Officer.

Grade	Full-Time/Part-Time	Number
Principal Officer	Full-Time	1
Assistant Principal Officer	Full-Time	3
Higher Executive Officer	Full-Time	2
Clerical Officer	Full-Time	1

Responding to Brexit is a key priority for my Department given its impact across most policy and operational areas. As such, work is underway across the Department to identify impacts of different scenarios and responses required to mitigate risks and maximise opportunities associated with Brexit.

EU Meetings

Ceisteanna (284)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

284. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the details of each specific EU Competitiveness Council Ministers meeting in which she or her predecessors made the case for the need for a revision of state aid rules to protect Irish enterprises and related jobs during the UK's two-year exit phase from the EU and subsequent transition phase; the date of each meeting in which this was raised, in tabular form; the progress made at EU level to increase state aid thresholds to support Irish enterprises from a hard Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53666/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Since the Brexit Referendum, my predecessor, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, attended meetings of the Competitiveness Council on 29th September 2016, 28th November 2016 and 20th February 2017. State Aid rules did not feature on the agenda of these meetings. The Competitiveness Council is a consultative committee and is not a forum for direct representations from Member States. Nor does the Council propose changes to State Aid rules.

Brexit was a central part of the discussions at meetings my predecessor, Frances Fitzgerald, had with both EU Commissioners and Ministers from other Member States. This included a meeting with the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier in July 2017 where the difficulties Ireland is facing as a result of Brexit were discussed.

In addition, Officials of my Department have had discussions with senior officials from DG Competition to sensitise them to the potential difficulties to be encountered by Irish businesses in the UK market arising from the Brexit referendum result. Furthermore, in November 2017, the then Tánaiste met with Commissioner Vestager. An outcome from this meeting was the establishment of a Working Group comprising representatives from DG Comp, the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and Department of Agriculture. The objective of the Group is to scope and design schemes to support enterprise impacted by Brexit in line with current applicable State Aid rules. The work of this Group has already commenced and will continue into 2018. Should issues arise that require an approach that does not fit within the existing State Aid rules, this will be raised as part of the Working Group discussions.

A lot can be done within the existing EU State Aid Framework. In October 2017, the then Tánaiste announced a Brexit Loan Guarantee scheme for SMEs and in November 2017 the EU Commission approved a Rescue and Restructuring scheme for Ireland. Both these schemes will operate within existing State Aid rules.

Brexit Expenditure

Ceisteanna (285)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

285. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of full-time and part-time staff hired since 1 January 2017 under the budget allocation (details supplied) to each State agency to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53668/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

As part of Budget 2017, my Department secured an additional €3 million in respect of Pay to assist in responding to the challenges and opportunities associated with Brexit.

The funding was allocated to the Department (€250,000) and the following State Agencies as follows:

- Enterprise Ireland (€1,700,000)

- IDA Ireland (€750,000)

- Science Foundation Ireland (€150,000)

- The Health and Safety Authority (€150,000)

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland received sanction to recruit an additional 39 full-time Brexit specific posts to work alongside existing staff within the agency. Of the 39 Brexit-related posts, which includes providing assistance to the Local Enterprise Offices, 36 have been filled to-date and the agency is actively working to recruit the remaining three posts.

IDA Ireland

IDA Ireland identified an immediate requirement for an additional ten full-time client-facing posts to supplement existing staffing numbers, and to assist the Agency in responding to Brexit and to capitalize on opportunities that may arise. All 10 of the posts allocated to IDA have now been filled after IDA Ireland undertook a rigorous recruitment process across a wide variety of channels to ensure that the best candidates were identified for these roles.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) identified three full-time posts. They have made one appointment, which commenced in November and will have an emphasis on Brexit related opportunities. A second appointment has been made with an anticipated start in January, with one further post anticipated to be filled shortly thereafter.

These additional appointments will supplement an existing six members of staff who hold specific Brexit responsibilities. These positions include high-level political and strategic engagement activity led by the SFI Director General and other members of the SFI Executive Committee (2 x Directors), 1 Public Affairs Senior Executive, level D (20%) and 1 Unit Head, level F (20%) plus 2 Level E Scientific Programme Managers. These staff members have been employed by Science Foundation Ireland since before January 2017.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA)

The Health and Safety Authority obtained sanction for the recruitment of two full-time staff, which include: a Socio-Economic Manager (AP level) to deal with the socioeconomic aspects of chemicals regulation in the lead-up to, and following, Brexit; and a Chemical Risk Management Advisor (GIII Inspector level) to deal with risk management of chemicals at the national and EU level also before and after Brexit. A recruitment campaign for these posts is currently underway with the aim of having both staff in place early in 2018.

Brexit Issues

Ceisteanna (286)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

286. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Enterprise Ireland exporting client companies that have availed of Be Prepared grants to date, by county, in tabular form. [53669/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Brexit presents the most significant economic challenge of the past 50 years and long-term, structural and disruptive change will emerge. Following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the need to accelerate and implement competitiveness, innovation and market diversification strategies at a national and company level cannot be underestimated. This is at the crux of Enterprise Ireland’s 2017-2020 Build Scale and Expand Reach strategy and its new Eurozone Strategy to assist Irish exporters increase exports in Eurozone countries by 50% by 2020.

The devaluation and volatility of sterling, and the uncertainty that has unfolded in the business environment since the UK vote to leave the EU cannot be underestimated. Enterprise Ireland’s clients are actively utilising the agency’s financial and non-financial supports to meet the innovation, competitiveness and market diversification challenges of Brexit as part of their strategic growth plans.

In March 2017, Enterprise Ireland launched a ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’, a new interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to Brexit under six business pillars. Based on answers supplied by the user, the Scorecard generates an immediate report which contains suggested actions and resources, and information on events for companies to attend, to prepare for Brexit. To date approximately 1,500 companies have utilised the Brexit SME Scorecard.

Enterprise Ireland’s Be Prepared Grant provides client companies with the cost of preparing a plan to mitigate risks and optimise opportunities arising from Brexit. This grant support, of up to €5,000, can be used to help cover consultancy, travel and out of pocket expenses associated with researching the direction of their Brexit action plan.

To date 70 companies have received approval for support under this initiative, and a strong pipeline of companies have applications undergoing review for approval. The number of applications at this stage means that a county by county analysis is not particularly meaningful. Approximately 49% of applications are from the Dublin region and the rest from the other regions. Enterprise Ireland will continue to promote the Scorecard and the Be Prepared Grant to all counties and regions to ensure that the maximum number of clients are engaged in preparing for the impact of Brexit.

Brexit Issues

Ceisteanna (287)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

287. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of Brexit readiness vouchers from InterTradeIreland that have been availed of since being established, by county; and the value of such vouchers, in tabular form. [53670/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Since the establishment of its Brexit Advisory Service, InterTrade Ireland has approved 24 vouchers for companies in Ireland. In addition, there are 17 voucher applications currently pending. The value of each voucher is €2,000 and details by County are set out in the table below.

County	Approved	Pending
Cavan	2	2
Clare	1	2
Donegal	2
Dublin	6	5
Galway	2
Kildare		1
Kilkenny	1	1
Louth	2	2
Mayo	1
Meath	1	3
Monaghan	2	1
Sligo	1
Tipperary	2
Wicklow	1
Totals	24	17

Brexit Issues

Ceisteanna (288)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

288. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of companies that have sought help via the Brexit advisory service of InterTradeIreland since the UK referendum to leave the EU in June 2016. [53671/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

To date, InterTrade Ireland has engaged directly with over 1,000 SMEs through the various elements of its Brexit support service.

The Body has also organised a total of 60 engagements to raise awareness of Brexit-related commercial issues. More such events will be held throughout 2018. In addition, since last May, nearly 37,000 visitors have consulted the Brexit section of the InterTrade Ireland website.

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Ceisteanna (289)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

289. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of annual budget expended on staff salaries and remuneration since the CCPC was established in euro and in percentage terms; and the amount of annual budget not expended on staff salaries and remuneration in euro and in percentage terms. [53672/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table.

Year	CCPC Pay Allocation	CCPC Pay Allocation Spent	% Pay Allocation Spent	Pay Not Spent	% of Pay Allocation Not Spent
2015	€7.556m	€5.691m	75.32%	€1.865m	24.68%
2016	€7.467m	€5.673m	75.97%	€1.794m	24.03%
2017	€7.694m

The above table captures the relevant figures for the CCPC annual budgets in the full years since the CCPC was established on 31st October 2014. The outturn figures for 2017 are not yet available.

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Ceisteanna (290)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

290. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff since the CCPC was established working on competition enforcement in absolute terms and as a percentage of total staff. [53673/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation

The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the table.

Year	No. of Staff	Full Time	Part Time	No. of staff working on competition enforcement in absolute terms	Percentage of total staff
2017	90	90	0	27	30.00%
2016	89	89	0	23	25.84%
2015	89	89	0	17	19.01%
2014	86	86	0	21	24.42%

*Please note that a number of these people also work on car crime and pyramid selling.