I thank Deputy Connolly for her question. The Department of Foreign Affairs and my Department established a dedicated business and human rights stakeholder forum with the participation of individuals with relevant expertise and responsibilities from key organisations across business, civil society, trade unions and academia to assist with the development of a second national action plan on business and human rights. The stakeholder forum has met on two occasions so far. The first meeting took place on 14 December 2023. Following this meeting, the two Departments presented a set of draft action points forming the basis of the new national plan. Stakeholders and members provided written feedback to be considered on 6 June. This feedback continues to be reviewed across all relevant Departments to ensure the actions are deliverable during the lifetime of the plan. I understand that officials from my Department met Deputy Connolly last July to discuss the plan and create a channel of communication for inputs. As many of the suggested actions relate to the work of other Departments, it is important that their feedback is received to understand their respective positions and to put in place a set of actions that are feasible, actionable and specific. Officials from my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs continue to liaise with relevant officials right across government. It is taking time to work through the suggested updated actions with these officials as some of the updates are technical in nature. The work is ongoing and we are nearing completion. While it is taking a bit longer than would be expected to complete this work, I believe it is important that time has been taken to ensure we can present an ambitious plan with clear deliverable actions. The updated actions will be presented to a third stakeholder forum, which is expected to take place in the coming months. The finalised plan will cover a multiannual timeframe and will reflect new developments in the international understanding of business and human rights, including new EU instruments. It will have key performance indicators attached to it, which will have assigned responsibilities and timelines to adhere to. I expect to bring human rights to the forefront of the minds of Irish businesses so they can demonstrate their conscientious performance as required by the public.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank Deputy Connolly for her intervention. A lot of the new EU instruments that are coming into context, and which this plan will have to respond to, are very technical in nature and we are trying to work these and bring them into the action plan. A significant number of the actions contained in this plan are under the purview of other Departments so obviously we are trying to work and liaise with them to ensure we have key deliverable actions agreed right across government. We are taking this very seriously. We know our obligations in terms of the UN to ensure we have the highest level of standards in human rights right at the heart of business. I assure the Deputy that we are taking it very seriously. I had a very significant discussion with officials yesterday on foot of the Deputy tabling this question for this morning. I will ensure that the action plan is published as quickly as possible, that key performance indicators are attached to it, that there are deliverables, and that it is monitored. We need to get it right to ensure we can deliver it in a timely manner.
Sentiment score: 0.26
It is this Government that brought forward the idea in the programme for Government to deliver on this because we take our human rights obligations very seriously. One can see that from all our actions in multilateral forums, particularly the UN. I met Volker Türk, the head of UN human rights, on many occasions in my last brief. We take very seriously our obligations. With regard to the report, some of the areas are very technical in nature because new EU instruments have come on board that we have to respond to. Secondly, it is always very dangerous for a politician to come in and give a date when some of the actions are not under the purview of my Department. I cannot force other Departments to respond immediately.
Sentiment score: -0.15
I will endeavour to come back to the Deputy with a timeline as soon as I can get a clear line of sight across government as to when we can deliver it. I do not want to come forward with a plan that I cannot deliver, or which does not have actionable points or delivery dates on it. That is the most important point that I want to have as a stamp of my Ministry.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank Deputy Scanlon for his kind wishes on behalf of myself and my Ministers of State, Deputies Smyth and Dillon. The number of jobs in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in County Leitrim has increased by 67% since 2020, with 978 people now employed in the county by these companies. In 2024 there were 110 new jobs created in the county by Enterprise Ireland-supported clients, helping the county achieve 11% growth in 2024. In County Sligo, we have seen an increase of 19% in employment among Enterprise Ireland-supported companies since 2024. Employment now stands at 2,377 people among Enterprise Ireland-supported companies. There were 246 jobs created in Sligo in 2024 by these companies, which contributed towards 3% growth in the county during 2024. This growth was in line with the national average for Enterprise Ireland-supported companies where employment grew on average by 3% also. I continue to emphasise the importance of regional development and the role of Enterprise Ireland in driving economic growth right across Sligo and Leitrim. I want to highlight the agency's efforts to provide businesses with the resources and the support they need to thrive, particularly in the areas outside the capital. By focusing on innovation, collaboration and sustainability, Enterprise Ireland aims to create a more resilient and competitive business environment in the north-west region. These initiatives reflect the broader commitment to fostering balanced economic growth right across Ireland, ensuring that all regions can contribute and benefit from the nation's prosperity. I thank Deputy Scanlon for his question and assure him that we are doing everything right across government to ensure balanced regional development and make sure our regions grow; for example by supporting tertiary education, which is key in the north west, and by having many partnerships with industry to give the region the opportunity to grow and prosper.
Sentiment score: 0.57
I thank the Deputy for his question and for his advocacy on behalf of his constituency. Enterprise Ireland has established the advanced manufacturing unit in Sligo, which is very important. It is an innovation that is a key support to industry working in partnership. It is a huge advantage in terms of doing things that in many instances industry cannot. On Enterprise Ireland and its wider strategy, last year we had over 67% growth in the regions. This is outside of the capital, which is very important. We are looking at key areas in sustainability and in artificial intelligence - there is a huge amount of opportunity contained in that area. We are working with the indigenous sector to enhance exports. We have seen a very significant growth in exports over recent years. We want to continue that growth through Enterprise Ireland and by working with so many good and valued companies in Sligo and Leitrim.
Sentiment score: 0.49
I would be happy to. We see four growth areas at this time. First is digital. We are trying, in line with the White Paper on enterprise, to get to 90% digital intensity by 2030. In healthcare, cell and gene therapy is a huge growth area, as well as other healthcare mechanisms. We hope to bring AI into that sphere, which will be key. In sustainability, we have had about 93 investments through IDA in its last strategy. That will be key to reducing our emissions by 35% by 2030. Customers of significant employers demand that. We see in the CSRD and other reporting requirements how important that will be. On semi-conductor activity, we are looking at establishing three large-scale sites to attract investment. The north west is a key area we will be looking at regarding the next Intel for Ireland. We need utility-rich strong sites that can reduce lead times and provide certainty for big employers and investors looking at our country.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I thank the Deputy for his warm remarks and his important question on Cork County Council. The ongoing replenishment of stock is essential to ensuring the portfolio remains fit-for-purpose and meets the evolving needs of the FDI, Enterprise Ireland and LEO client base. A ready supply of appropriately zoned land for development is required for IDA to fulfil its remit and continued success in attracting FDI to Ireland. IDA, therefore, maintains a focus on land banks to future-proof the ability of its property portfolio to support the project pipeline, most notably large-scale, capital-intensive projects which have significant regional and national economic impact. IDA Ireland continually engages with key stakeholders and service providers, including Cork County Council, to ensure an understanding of IDA's land requirements and the availability of suitable lands for client investment across all activities and sectors as they arise. In this connection, the IDA has an extensive property footprint in many towns across County Cork, and there are currently 219 IDA client companies directly employing almost 50,000 employees in the city and county. Given the importance of property availability to winning investments into regional locations, and owing to ongoing market challenges, IDA’s continued intervention in delivering and maintaining a portfolio of advanced property solutions across our regions to support investments remains paramount and is reflected in the new IDA strategy, which we launched yesterday. We are looking at having 23 new regional advance factory units, which will be very important, and three large-scale sites to attract investment. We are liaising strongly with Cork city and county councils to ensure we can have significant land banks to attract this investment.
Sentiment score: 0.59
The Deputy raises a valid point and that is why we are launching in the coming weeks Enterprise Ireland's new strategy for the next five years. We need a stronger relationship with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA to make sites available to smaller indigenous enterprises which have grown significantly in recent years. I have raised this with the Department and my fellow Ministers. It is an area we will zone in on because there are significant smaller enterprises which have a land requirement, particularly in the light manufacturing sector. We will be doing work on that. IDA has assured me it is working with Enterprise Ireland to make land available should it be required. We have to do more in that space. It is important we focus heavily on our regions in the next Enterprise Ireland strategy, just as the IDA has. We will have a significant target in our indigenous base for Enterprise Ireland, building on the 67% of regional investments we have seen in growth in the past five years.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I would be happy to facilitate a meeting with Deputy Moynihan and to work on the land banks that need to be made available through Údarás na Gaeltachta or Enterprise Ireland for smaller agencies. It is something we need to improve upon. I would be happy to work with the Deputy in that regard. I do not have specific figures on the work carried out with Údarás but I will come back to the Deputy. I worked hard with Deputy Clendennen to deliver a significant land bank in County Offaly. These issues are commercially sensitive, given the ongoing negotiations with IDA. I am acutely aware of the work the Deputy has done on Cardinal Health and the big challenge we have there. As a midlands Minister, I will be to the forefront in working with the Deputy on delivering high value jobs to the regions, building on the 54% outside of our capital city we saw IDA deliver last year - the figure was 67% for Enterprise Ireland. The future is bright with all the good work we will be doing.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank the Deputy. I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 , 19 and 20 together. In total, the increased cost of business and power up grant schemes paid out a very significant sum, totalling more than €400 million, to support SMEs throughout the country. This total of €400 million included €154 million in the first phase of ICOB, €90 million in the second phase of ICOB and €158 million through the power up scheme. The take-up rate for ICOB was very significant, with 68% of eligible businesses registering for the grant. To get payments to businesses before the end of 2024, the power up grant was aligned with the increased cost of business scheme. A business must have received the second ICOB grant and be in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors to receive the power up grant. The Deputies asked about three specific areas: Cork, Tipperary and Dublin city. In Cork, the first ICOB payment Cork City Council paid out was €9.2 million to 3,602 businesses. Cork County Council paid out €9.8 million under the first phase of the scheme to 5,533 businesses. On the power up grant, Cork City Council approved 1,773 businesses to the value of €7 million and Cork County Council approved 2,804 applications to the value of €11.2 million under the scheme. In Tipperary, 1,847 businesses registered for the power up grant and 1,803 businesses were approved for the second value of €7.2 million. In Dublin 2, 4 and 6, which fall under the remit of Dublin City Council, 3,845 businesses received power up grants to a total value of €15.4 million.
Sentiment score: 0.38
It is obviously critical that businesses get the support that they need and qualify for. We are working with the Department of public expenditure and reform on rectifying the issue relating to the misclassification. It is critical to demonstrate how much this Government is supporting our SME sector. The forthcoming programme for Government outlines changes we will be implementing in VAT and PRSI to support businesses trading through very significant challenges in terms of the regulatory burden that has been placed on them over recent years. We are there to support them. We will continue to grow our economy and employment numbers. Critically, and we launched the IDA strategy yesterday, we will see 550 new investments into regional Ireland over the next five years.
Sentiment score: 0.16
We are working on the reclassification issue.
Sentiment score: 0.00