I thank the Deputy. I know he will acknowledge that our offering or attractiveness to foreign direct investment has always been about more than our low and stable corporation profit tax rate. It is about our talent pool, the availability of qualified staff, our track record in terms of political and economic stability, our infrastructure and our position in the eurozone. We have always been able to offer an attractive package of reasons, if one likes, to invest in Ireland. Our low and stable corporation profit tax …

I am not sure I picked up exactly what the Deputy said there but he can be assured that we will continue to promote Kildare as a place to invest. It has enormous potential, given the assets and infrastructure there and its proximity to Dublin and Dublin Airport. We will continue to press for more investment and jobs in the county.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 30 together. I believe we can achieve a record number of 2.5 million people at work in Ireland by 2024. That means full employment and a job for everyone who wants one. It also means ensuring job opportunities in all parts of Ireland in order to achieve balanced regional development. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and its agencies have a strong role to play in this agenda through direct assistance to businesses, as well as promotion and enhancement of regi…

In Project Ireland 2040 and the national spatial strategy, we took the view that we needed to make sure that the major development centres were not just the five major cities. We identified Athlone, Letterkenny with Derry, Sligo and Drogheda-Dundalk as potential growth centres. It makes enormous sense that Athlone should be one of those, given its location in the middle of the country in the midlands. We have seen major investments in Athlone in recent years. It is becoming a hub for investment and industry. The pi…

I thank the Deputies for their remarks. We have some very good IDA lands and a very good IDA site in Ballinasloe. The priority there would be to get it developed and get jobs into it. I do not know whether we need to expand it or not to include the old St. Brigid’s Hospital lands but I will certainly speak to the IDA about that. Decisions on property transactions are not made by the Minister for very good reasons so I cannot make a commitment on it because that is beyond my powers. However, I will certainly speak t…

Under the new Enterprise Ireland strategy, the traditional ten employees or fewer rule has been relaxed. Increasingly, we are supporting companies financially with loans and grants that are in that space of having more than ten employees but are not IDA or Enterprise Ireland clients. Therefore, we have moved beyond that. However, EU state aid rules apply. EU state aid rules allow micro-companies to be treated differently and that is not something we can change. Also, it does not make sense to give state aid to a co…

The period from early 2020 was a difficult one for many businesses. Some sectors were more severely affected by public health restrictions than others and for a more prolonged period. Throughout this time, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and its enterprise agencies engaged with businesses and put in place a range of financial assistance to help protect as many jobs and save as many businesses as possible. The latest CSO figures for the final quarter of last year show that employment has recovered…

A great deal of analysis has been carried out. We have an analysis unit in my Department on the labour market and future skills. There is also the future skills needs working group. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, does some work on this as well, as does the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, which falls under my Department's remit. As the Deputy rightly pointed out though, it is a comprehensive issue. It is not only an issue for my Department. It is an issue for the Departments of …

I thank the Deputies. This is an interesting debate, and one that we should give more time to. I echo Deputy Durkan's comments. It is only 20 years - it is not that long ago - since there were 3.5 million in the country and 1 million people at work. We now have 5.1 million or 5.2 million people in the country - a 50% increase in population in 20 years or so - and 2.3 million or 2.4 million people at work, a more than doubling of the number of people at work in Ireland. That is extraordinary. With that there are oth…

I thank Deputy Smith for his question. Enterprise centres provide space and training for entrepreneurs, allowing them to work remotely, access training and network with other business leaders, helping them to scale internationally and attract small-scale foreign direct investment. There is a wide range of funding mechanisms available for these centres. To date my Department has provided funding of €250 million, administered by Enterprise Ireland, to assist the establishment of some 270 enterprise centres throughout…

I accept the Deputy's point that for some local authorities, particularly those on a low rates base, it can be difficult to find the co-funding that might be available. It is perhaps something we can examine under the regional enterprise development funds. We will have over €100 million over the next couple of years from that for regional enterprise development. Approximately €100 million has been invested in remote working hubs through the Department of Rural and Community Development, with just €9 million awarded…

When it comes to property solutions, what has worked really well is IDA Ireland's regional property programme. It is involved with building advance factories and office blocks and we can then take investors to see them, getting investment and jobs in much more quickly. There is a programme of them across the country. The Deputy is familiar with them in Cavan and Monaghan, with advance building solutions being developed. For indigenous Irish companies we can do more in that space as well. Perhaps there could be fund…

Digital infrastructure is one of the four dimensions of the Government's national digital strategy, which I launched in February of this year. The new strategy sets out specific targets, including: 75% enterprise take-up of cloud, big data, and artificial intelligence, AI, by 2030; and 90% of small and medium enterprises at a basic level of digital intensity by 2030. A robust broadband infrastructure will be vital in reaching these targets, enabling businesses to take advantage of digital technologies and to increa…

I hear what the Deputy is saying and he has made some very valid points. I meet and engage with many multinational companies all the time. Believe you me, they know what they want and they are very clear about it. Generally it is to build their own campus. They want to be very near an international airport with major conductivity. They want to be near several universities. They want to have a workforce of 1 million or 2 million close to where they develop. It is not so much us telling them what they should want; it…

That is true and a very good example of this is Apple, which has a major facility on the north side of Cork but 20% of its staff work remotely from all parts of Ireland and Munster. It is a very good model. In the world we operate in, where we are competing internationally for investment, it is largely them telling us what they want. They will go elsewhere if we tell them what they should want.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I acknowledge that we face a cost-of-living crisis, that inflation is at levels not seen in a very long time and that people are feeling the pinch and more than a pinch. Many are struggling to make ends meet. It is affecting households and families, as well as businesses in terms of the cost of energy. People see it when they fill their car with petrol or diesel, really see it in their electricity or gas bill and increasingly are seeing it in other areas, such as…

There has been an increase in social welfare rates. That occurred in January and was done in response to the fact that we had a return to inflation. There had not been increases in social welfare rates in some previous budgets. Since then, there have been other increases in social welfare. For example, we brought forward changes to the working family payment and we also brought in an extended fuel allowance period and an additional fuel allowance payment. We had welfare increases in January and, since then, there h…

I thank the Deputy. These are very serious allegations and serious allegations need to be taken seriously and properly investigated, but people are entitled to due process as well. I am sure the Deputy will acknowledge that. His questions are specific and deserve an answer. I might ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to revert to the Deputy with specific answers to his questions because I do not want to give him an answer here that might turn out to be incorrect. While I have been briefed on this matter, it h…

As regards the scope of the investigation and whether it should be widened, that is a matter for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to consider. Obviously, he will need to see whether the additional allegations have substance and, on foot of that, will need to make a decision as to whether the terms of reference need to be changed or the investigation widened. That is really a matter for the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to consider. As regards An Bord Pleanála, I agree that it should respond to media queries but if it cann…

I do not know whether the Secretary of State, Liz Truss, made those remarks or not. It is obviously for her to confirm or deny them. However we all know that Brexit, even with the deal that we have had, has affected people. It has affected businesses adversely with many consequences, although I think without the deal we have it would have been much worse. In respect of legacy, the Irish Government is very concerned about the proposals that have been put forward by the British Government in regard to legacy, amnesty…