I am happy to work closely with Deputy Butterly on that. Another area I am actively working on is expanding the remit of Fáilte Ireland. One of the first things I did was to take a deep dive of the legislation that underpins the State agency. I want to include a restaurant sector. It is key as regards developing its model. Fáilte Ireland has focused on hotels but if we look further afield, our restaurants are key to our value proposition for tourism and are keen to absorb that capacity. As I come forward with our t…

Wexford will not beat Mullingar.

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government’s position and, indeed, that of the EU is clear: settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the realisation of a two-state solution. While decisions regarding the operations of individual companies rest with those companies, a corporate decision to engage in economic and financial activities in settlements poses potentially significant reputational, legal and financial risk. The Government does not maintain a list of companies operating in Irela…

I am sure the Deputy is aware that in the case she referenced at the International Court of Justice, Ireland was one of the countries that intervened in that determination to ensure Israeli settlements were deemed to be illegal from the point of view of international law. Our Attorney General went to the Hague to take part in that case. That was one of a number of actions taken by Ireland to hold Israel accountable for its current actions and to support the Palestinian people in the face of the genocide that is hap…

Ireland has been a lighthouse internationally in supporting the Palestinian people. We have, as I pointed out, intervened in the case to ensure that Israeli occupation has been deemed illegal through a resolution of the court. We intervened in the South Africa case and supported that very firmly, as requested by the Dáil and my own parliamentary party. We have supported UNRWA and are bringing forward the occupied territories Bill, which is another significant step in terms of Government support. We have moved the d…

I thank the Deputy for this very important question in an area that we are really moving the dial on. Ireland currently holds a strong competitive position globally, ranked seventh overall, and first in the eurozone, in the annual IMD world competitiveness rankings for 2025. However, we cannot be complacent and work remains to be done in many areas. We are aware that there are significant challenges and it is important that we do not take our strengths for granted. In a rapidly changing and uncertain international …

No Government has done as much for workers' rights as the previous Government, of which I was a member, did in terms of banning zero-hour contracts, bringing in tips legislation, introducing more agile practices in the workplace, the fruits of which we have seen and bringing in a statutory sick pay scheme. We turned the dial on a number of areas that had been neglected for years. It is my job and responsibility to ensure businesses remain viable. I have met with union leaders over the past number of weeks in connec…

Let me bust the myth to which the Deputy referred. Our indigenous economy is at record levels. Currently, Enterprise Ireland is supporting 234,000 jobs in our country. Our exports, at €36 billion, are at record levels. Enterprise Ireland companies spend €39 billion in our wider economy. The Deputy referred to the FDI sector. There are some very significant FDI companies in the country that interact with indigenous companies. For example, one company in the semiconductor space has interactions with and has built in …

I convened the inaugural meeting of the cost of business advisory forum on 11 June 2025. In my opening remarks, I shared my vision and expectation that the forum would "create a space where businesses can speak directly to decision-makers about the real-world impact of rules and charges, and identify areas where practical changes can be made". The establishment of the forum delivers on a key commitment in the programme for Government. The forum is a subgroup of my Department's enterprise forum. I was pleased to app…

The key area on which the forum will focus is the cost of regulation and trying to make things more efficient and easier for our small family businesses. I always point out that many of these businesses do not have a HR director or finance director; all their work is done around the kitchen table, trying to vindicate all the efforts they put towards employing two thirds of workers right across the country. That is why it is key that all the regulators, who make so many decisions, are involved. We need to look at th…

The CCPC is a very important independent agency. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, is working very closely with the organisation on inflation in grocery prices. With regard to vacancies, there has been a challenge with recruitment. The budget is there. There has been a significant increase in budgetary capabilities for the CCPC but it is a very competitive landscape and the recruitment process is very difficult. We are doing all we can to fill those vacancies. This is one of the areas that was raised with me by…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 ,10 and 16 together. I thank the Deputies for these important questions on the SME sector. Ireland's SME sector has faced a number of economic shocks in recent years and these have resulted in very significant cost increases. While most of these have been international in nature, with energy price inflation the most significant, there have been costs associated with domestic measures, including policies aimed at improving working conditions. Although there have been improvements i…

I thank the Deputy for mentioning those important areas. I turn first to simplification. I have met Enterprise Ireland and our LEO sector, and we are keen to drive the message home that we need conditions that are simple for family businesses to get those supports, critically in the transition to digitalisation and sustainability. If we do not support our businesses, it will not be possible to meet that transition. We have established a National Enterprise Hub that has more than 250 supports from 29 Government Depa…

Absolutely. Retail is the biggest employer in the economy. It is so important to our vision for enterprise. There are significant supports already in place. One key example I always give is the energy efficiency grant. At the moment, one of the key ways we have to reduce business costs is not to take money off businesses in the first place. Front and centre of that is the energy efficiency grant. I have seen case studies, such as the example of a shop owner in Donegal who has a convenience store with a deli, who, b…

I thank Deputy Gibney for her very important question. Ireland supports the simplification and burden reduction agenda at EU level. Specifically, in relation to the Omnibus on sustainability, the proposals are intended to address disproportionate burdens on businesses, in particular on SMEs, whilst retaining key aspects in relation to corporate responsibility. In relation to the necessity to conduct a risk-based approach, the Commission’s proposal retains the requirement for in-scope companies to conduct risk-based…

I am happy to provide the clarity. First, I agree with Deputy Gibney on the harmonised approach to civil liability. That would be important. We want to be careful about member states having very different responses, which could present a very significant challenge. We have made our view on this known in the co-legislative process that is under way. There is a lot of territory to be covered in this. On the risk-based approach, it is key that in-scope companies have an obligation - I want to be very clear on this - i…

I thank the Deputy and appreciate her concern about this issue. We are happy to engage and work with her as the directive is amended through the Omnibus measures. I am in favour of the thinking on in-scope companies. It is critical that a risk-based analysis be conducted, particularly regarding human rights, the environment and areas critical to the companies’ supply chains, and to ensure principles of good corporate responsibility are upheld in those companies. We are very much focusing on that. The Department has…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and Members for the opportunity to address the House on the important issue of Ireland's international competitiveness and, in particular, on the approach by the Government to strengthen Ireland's competitiveness and productivity performance. This is my first time addressing the Seanad during this Dáil term and I look forward to working with all colleagues across the House in the coming weeks and months. In a time characterised by a rapid pace of change in the global trading environm…

I thank all nine Senators for their contributions. I appreciate the eight areas Senator Nelson Murray focused on in her contribution. She quite rightly pointed out we have a significant employment in our economy. At this point in time, we have put an additional 90,000 jobs into the economy in the past year. That is and additional 90,000 families with an income. We are trying to improve conditions to allow and give everyone the opportunity to realise their potential. Jobs are the best way forward, particularly high-…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bill makes changes to the insolvency payments scheme. This scheme fulfils a vital function. It protects workers in the event of their employer's insolvency. It covers certain pay and pension-related entitlements that an employee may be owed by their insolvent employer. Payments under the scheme are made from the Social Insurance Fund. The scheme is ad…