Alan Dillon

We are doubling down on skills development. Very much part of that is the fact that we are working with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on apprenticeships and training courses, expanding many of the skills within Springboard and Skillnet and working on digital and green skills. The results of IDA Ireland’s most recent report show there were over 18…

Regional development is a key focus of our programme for Government and is central to the work of my Department and our enterprise development agencies. The mid-east region, comprising Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, is home to 126 IDA client companies employing 20,284 people. The mid-east has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across technology, life sciences, international …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I acknowledge her question and her commitment to the people of Louth in regard to high-quality, skilled jobs. The Minister and I recently published the new national development plan and part of that capital plan is an emphasis on regional enterprise and supporting the regional ecosystem. That is around helping SMEs start, grow and scale, while supporting the IDA o…

We are very much focused on working with key State agencies, through Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, to ensure that we can continue investment across regions, including Louth. The most recently published report outlined that over 57% of all IDA investments, that is, 323 investments last year, were in the regions. That delivered huge positivity in the regions to ensure that people can work in their…

As set out in our Department's sectoral capital plan, I and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Burke, published last week, ensuring a vibrant seed and venture capital market that supports high growth and market disruptive businesses at all stages of development from seed to follow-on is a key priority for this Government. The seed and venture capital scheme was established in 1994 and since then h…

I thank the Deputy for his question and interest in this area. We know how important it is. Recently, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched the start-up Ireland programme, along with the seed and venture capital scheme. These two pillars are critical to the strategy to make Ireland one of the best places in Europe to start and scale a business. We have allocated over €28 million to start-up Ireland…

I thank the Deputy for his question. Enterprise Ireland manages the fund. The fund reflects geography and Enterprise Ireland has a target of up to 60%. Funding is very much targeted at manufacturing, internationally traded services and high-growth potential areas in life sciences, healthcare, pharma, fintech, technology, digitalisation and the green and environmental sectors and is very much focus…

Balanced regional development is a Government priority and a central component of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional enterprise development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine regional enterprise plans, REPs. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders that focus on colla…

I acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy for Louth and the north east. That is really significant and important. We want to get the regional enterprise plans back up and running in 2026. As part of that, we have looked at ensuring there are programme managers based in each of the local authorities. That is really important to drive implementation, but also to give the accountability piece. We will be f…

Again, as I said earlier, this Government is very much committed to ensuring we have the skills and talent within each of our regions. We have had a real focus on apprenticeships and upskilling. We very much want that to be a core part of the regional skill set forums, driving investments into areas where it has the talent. Indeed, regional enterprise plans will be a key driver in that regard, wor…

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy O’Callaghan, has complete ownership of matters relating to the granting of visa and immigration permissions and is solely responsible for the administration of its registration appointment service. Queries relating to immigration status or any initiatives or temporary flexibilities in accessing its services during periods of high demand …

I thank the Deputy for bringing this important matter to our attention. Certainly, a healthcare professional should not lose their job or employment on the basis of a backlog. As I said earlier, employment permits allow for the commencement of work while the registration is pending. That is important to factor in. Our immediate priority, as a Government, is to keep hospital staff and ensure patien…

We have made significant strides with regard to our efficiency by transitioning to an online employment permit system. Since its launch, we have processed over 22,000 employment permits and we have issued over 15,000. That has been successful with regard to processing times. We see now critical skills employment permits, including healthcare roles, are being processed within 14 days. That by any y…

On behalf of the Minister for Transport I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the House on this issue tonight. The DART+ programme comprises five different projects in and around the greater Dublin area. It will extend the existing network from the city centre to Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch and Celbridge, and Drogheda, and will improve current DART services from the city centre to…

Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue this evening. I will relay the key important points that the Deputy raised to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. As I stated earlier, to recap some of the recent developments within the DART+ South West project, the NDP sectorial investment plan for transport was published in November last. It enables advancements of various elements of the DA…

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for both policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. As a commercial semi-State body, however, CIÉ is responsible for the provision of pension schemes f…

The Minister for Transport acknowledges the long-standing tradition within the CIÉ Group of ensuring the terms and conditions of employees, which include pension provisions, are negotiated collectively with the recognised trade unions. As I said, the Minister is responsible for policy and operational matters within transport. Pension schemes and provisions are the responsibility of CIÉ and its tru…

I thank the Deputy for her question. In July, the Government approved a €3.5 billion investment in Ireland's electricity infrastructure across 2026 to 2030 as part of the revised national development plan. This represents the largest single investment in the country's electricity network in its history. Some €1.5 billion was transferred this week from ESB Networks to support investment in the onsh…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. My dual roles as Minister of State in the Departments of enterprise and climate and energy are very much aligned in the context of policy. From an enterprise perspective, we have the policy of propelling prosperity. Within that is the provision of unprecedented investment through ESB Networks and Eirgrid. This will provide over 500 projects un…

I could not agree more. This certainly is the most ambitious energy infrastructure programme we have seen in decades. It is akin to the rural electrification scheme. It will certainly put Ireland in a strong position in terms of our competitiveness. It is also required because industry leaders are looking for certainty and security of supply. We also need to build resilience into our network. I a…

I thank the Deputy for his question and interest in this area. As matters stand, there are no official statistics confirming the number of rPET pellets produced or utilised in the State or the amount exported from the State. While statistics for the recycling of plastic packaging waste are reported to Eurostat by the EPA on an annual basis, the EU’s list of waste codes does not isolate individual …

I reassure the Deputy that Re-Turn has collected over 12,000 tonnes of this PET plastic, 34% of which, as I said earlier, is purchased by Irish companies. Separately, we have Repak, which funds the recycling of over 8,300 tonnes of plastic, 42% of which is reprocessed in Ireland. Is it enough? We need to do more and that is widely acknowledged. Certainly, with the introduction of the DRS, we have …

To be clear, the plastic that is recycled is traded on the open market by Re-Turn. The State is constrained in intervening by EU state aid rules. That is why we comply through the EU waste framework, ensuring there is a regulatory environment to support Irish recyclers. All operators in Ireland can play a role in that . It is a complex challenge and we want to continue to provide support. With the…

I thank the Deputy for the question and for his interest in this important area. The warmer homes scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency and warmth of homes owned by people at risk of energy poverty by providing fully-funded retrofits. The scheme is operated through the SEAI on behalf of the Department and is funded through the carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund. …

I completely agree. The first principle of the SEAI warmer homes retrofit scheme is all about reducing bills, improving comfort for householders and ensuring that the vulnerable are part of and very much protected within Ireland's renewable energy transition. We have made significant progress on budgets. We increased the latest budget to record levels with over €230 million now under the warmer ho…