Results 1-20 of 1,139,083 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Holly Cairns OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick OR speaker:Ciarán Cannon OR speaker:John Brady OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Eoin Ó Broin OR speaker:Frank Feighan OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Leo Varadkar OR speaker:Louise O'Reilly OR speaker:Emer Higgins OR speaker:Maurice Quinlivan OR speaker:Paschal Donohoe OR speaker:James Lawless OR speaker:Charlie McConalogue OR speaker:Micheál Martin OR speaker:Darragh O'Brien OR speaker:Michael Ring OR speaker:David Stanton OR speaker:Pippa Hackett OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Mark Ward OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Michael McGrath OR speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice OR speaker:Willie O'Dea OR speaker:Brian Stanley OR speaker:Thomas Pringle OR speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire OR speaker:Thomas Byrne OR speaker:Chris Andrews OR speaker:Ossian Smyth OR speaker:Thomas Byrne2 OR speaker:Ivana Bacik OR speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan OR speaker:Brian Leddin)
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Maurice Quinlivan: I thank members and witnesses for participating in today's meeting. Anyone joining remotely needs to do so from within the Leinster House complex, as they know. We will now proceed with our consideration of the 2024 Supplementary Estimate for Vote 32. To discuss the matter today, I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: I thank the committee for the opportunity to present our Department’s Supplementary Estimate to the members of the select committee this evening. As the Cathaoirleach did, I would like to use this opportunity to express the Minister's apologies for not being able to attend the committee today due to a family bereavement and to let him know his is in our thoughts and prayers. I know...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Maurice Quinlivan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins. I invite members to contribute as per the speaking rota. First, is Deputy Louise O'Reilly who has 14 minutes.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: I wish to add my own voice of sympathy to the Minister, Deputy Burke, who is not here. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, for being here albeit under sad circumstances. I have a number of questions. I have not brought the Estimate with me but I should be able to do it from my notes. If I get a bit lost, bear with me. Regarding the funding under jobs and enterprise...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: Yes, the Estimate includes the power up grant. This grant is being provided by the jobs and enterprise programme. The finer details of it are being worked out at the moment. The ambition is that we will have €4,000 straight into the accounts of SMEs in the retail and hospitality sector over the next couple of months between now and the end of this year. That is subject to the same...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: PRSI is a matter for the Department of Social Protection but having said that, this is something which we are working closely with the Department on. Earlier this year, my Department, in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection, produced a report on the increased cost of doing business and PRSI was one of the things that was flagged in that. It is something on which there is...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: Can I ask about the funding decreases for the jobs and enterprise development programme and the enterprise, innovation and commercialisation programme? My notes show decreases of 26% and 4%, respectively. Will the Minister of State account for these decreases? I know some of them will be because there is no ICOB scheme in the budget. Beyond that, is there a different or another reason for...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: They are savings for Enterprise Ireland and IDA. The Enterprise Ireland savings relate to two programmes, namely, the capital investment scheme for agriculture, which is something on which we work in collaboration with the Department of agriculture and the other one is the smart regions funding. I assure everybody we fully intend to fully draw down the EU ERDF funding for that scheme. We...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: That will be rolled over to next year.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: Correct.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: It was due to the evaluation of the projects. We had so many applications that the evaluations took a little bit longer than expected.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: That is good. I had thought that but I wanted to be sure.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: Then the IDA savings relate to delays regarding property transactions which were not completing as expected. Obviously, we had budgeted for them to happen in the hope that they would.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: There is an estimated 39% increase in spending on policy reviews, consultancy services and research. That seems like a fairly hefty increase. Will the Minister of State give us a flavour of what kind of work will be funded and why that work cannot be done in-house? She is here with her officials, all very capable, competent people, as we know. Why can that work not be done in-house? What...
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: The reason for that is it is in areas in which we do not have expertise; for example, in AI and where we want to make sure we are getting the best advice and the best expertise in the development of our offshore wind strategy.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: On that, we have had hearings on AI and you would nearly terrify yourself. I understand AI moves very fast, etc. Is there work under way in the Department to skill people up? This is not an area I suspect will be a flash in the pan. I do not think this is a passing fad. I suspect this is something for the future.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: I agree with the Deputy. It is certainly not going to be a flash in the pan. This is something we have to prepare for, both as a Department and a Government and also as an economy and a society. We have a dedicated unit within Enterprise Ireland that is doing exactly that. It is providing upskilling and investing in it for that exact reason.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: How does that work then in terms of that 39% increase in spending? Is that going to EI or is that expertise coming from somewhere else?
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Emer Higgins: It is also coming from within our Department as well. We are also doing it within the Department. We have worked with the Department of Finance to produce a report on AI and that was also part of what the consultancy fees are for.
- Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 32 - Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Supplementary) (17 Oct 2024) Louise O'Reilly: I do not want to be peppering the Minister of State with questions here. Could we get a breakdown of where that spend is? It would probably be helpful in written form, if that was okay.