Tuarascáil Bhliantúil 2020 - Oireachtas Library

Bealtaine 2021

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Tuarascáil Bhliantúil 2020

Tuarascáil Bhliantúil 2020 An Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta

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Clár na nÁbhar Réamhfhocal................................................................................................................. 3

Achoimre Feidhmiúcháin ................................................................................................ 8

Fís, Misean, Luachanna ............................................................................................... 19

Réámheolas faoin Roinn Fionar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta............................................. 20

Struchtúr na Roinne ................................................................................................... 22

Cairt Eagrúcháin ........................................................................................................ 23

Oif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí na Roinne ....................................................................... 24

Ráiteas Stráitéise 2018-2021........................................................................................ 25

Sprioc 1:Fiontair agus fostaíocht ardchaighdeáin a chruthú agus a chothú i réigiúin uile na

tíre.............................................................................................................. 25

Sprioc 2:Ceannaireacht a thabhairt do chur chuige uile-Rialtais maidir leis an timpeallacht

is iomaíche a fhorbairt d’infheistíocht, táirgiúlacht agus poist inbhuanaithe ........ 38

Sprioc 3: Éire a chur chun cinn mar Cheannródaí Domhanta Nuálach ........................... 47

Sprioc 4: Tacaíochtaí caidrimh dhearfaidh san áit oibre, sásraí réitigh díospóidí a

fheidhmíonn go maith, forfheidhmiú fónta na gceart fostaíochta agus timpeallacht

oibre shábháilte a chur ar fáil ........................................................................ 60

Sprioc 5:A chinntiú go n-éascaíonn rialáil gnó infheistíocht agus forbairt gnó, iomaíochas

sa mhargadh, ardchaighdeáin i dtace le cosaint tomhaltaí agus rialachas

corparáideach.............................................................................................. 68

Sprioc 6: Oibriú go huaillmhianach lenár gComhpháirtithe AE agus Idirnáisiúnta i réimse

leathan leasanna, lena n-áirítear an Breatimeacht........................................... 79

Sprioc 7:Infheistíocht a dhéanamh inár bhfoireann agus ár n-acmhainní go léir a

bharrfheabhsú .......................................................................................................... 91

Aguisín 1 Billí a Achtaíodh in 2020 106

Aguisín 2 Ionstraimí Reachtúla a Rinneadh in 2020 107

Aguisín 3 Soláthar Poiblí Glas. 111

file://///dete/shared/PLAN2/ANNUAL%20REPORTS%20-%20STRATEGY%20STATEMENTS/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%202020/Annual%20Report%20-%203rd%20Draft.docx%23_Toc65166070


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RÉAMHFHOCAL

T Á NA I ST E A GUS A I R E F I O NTA R,

T R Á D Á LA A GUS F O STA Í OC HTA ,

LEO VA RA DKA R, T . D

I dTuarascáil Bhliantúil mo Roinne le haghaidh 2020, leagtar amach na gníomhartha agus

na tionscnaimh a rinne an Roinn in 2020 agus a sainordú á chomhlíonadh aici chomh maith

lena gealltanais faoi Chlár an Rialtais. Tugtar aird sa Tuarascáil seo ar an gclár leathan oibre

a rinneadh i rith thréimhse thar a bheith dúshlánach, agus sinn ag dul i ngleic le dhá

ghéarchéim: paindéim COVID-19 agus ullmhúcháin don Bhreatimeacht. Agus sin á

dhéanamh againn, choinníomar ag díriú ar an dá aistriú; digiteach agus glas.

Chomh luath agus a thosaigh an phaindéim, thug an Roinn f reagra láithreach uirthi lena

chinntiú go mbeadh an tionchar ba lú agus ab fhéidir ar ghnólachtaí agus ar sholáthar

seirbhísí. Bhí ról ollmhór againn ag cuidiú le gnólachtaí i rith na géarchéime, trí bhíthin

fhiontair agus poist inmharthana a chothabháil agus cúnamh breise a thabhairt do

ghnólachtaí chun athoscailt agus chun fanacht ar oscailt.

Leanamar de dheontais agus de scéimeanna ráthaíochta iasachtaí a chur ar fáil chun

cabhrú le sreabhadh airgid agus le pleanáil ghnó. Chuireamar níos mó airgeadais agus

maoinithe ar fáil, agus iad níos inacmhainne f reisin, agus chabhraíomar le gnólachtaí iad

féin a ullmhú don Bhreatimeacht. Dhíríomar ar athléimneacht a fhorbairt ar feadh an fhiontair

agus sinn ag féachaint lena chinntiú go mbeidh téarnamh iomlán ar an ngeilleagar agus ar

an tsochaí i ndiaidh na paindéime, agus fad a bhíomar ag ullmhú don Bhreatimeacht.

Sholáthraíomar bonn agus treoir do ghnólachtaí le hoibriú agus le hathoscailt ar bhealach

slán sábháilte. Leis an bPrótacal um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte, tugadh dearbhú

d’fhostóirí agus d’oibrithe i ndáil le cumas gnólachtaí fanacht ar oscailt agus athoscailt i rith

thréimhse na paindéime. D’athraíomar ár rialáil cuideachtaí chun cuideachtaí a éascú maidir

lena bhfreagrachtaí rialachais. Agus an Straitéis Náisiúnta um Chianobair agus an Beartas

um an gCeart chun Dícheangal a Dhéanamh á bhfoilsiú againn, tógfaimid ar an taobh

dearfach a bhain le bheith ag obair go cianda i rith na paindéime agus déanfaimid na rioscaí

gaolmhara a bhainistiú le go n-oibreoidh sé d’fhostóirí agus d’fhostaithe.

Le linn 2020, bhí an nuálaíocht ina gné láidir de mo Roinn i gcónaí agus, den tríú bliain as a

chéile, tá Éire ar bharr Scórchlár Nuálaíochta an Aontais Eorpaigh le haghaidh tionchair

fostaíochta agus tionchair díolacháin maidir le nuálaíocht. Leanadh de rath Chiste

Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha de chuid na Roinne, agus rinne Fiontair

Bheaga agus Mheánmhéide comhoibriú le cuideachtaí i lnáisiúnta agus le hinstitiúidí taighde

ar thionscadail ollmhóra um thaighde tionsclaíoch atá ar thús cadhnaíochta san athrú

teicneolaíochta.


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Is gné lárnach de bheartais f iontraíochta agus nuálaíochta na Roinne é Gníomhú ar son na

hAeráide agus i gcláir agus i ngníomhaíochtaí ár nGníomhaireachtaí. Rinneamar caidreamh

gníomhach le Plean an Rialtais maidir le Gníomhú ar son na hAeráide agus thugamar

rannchuidiú le forbairt ar an Straitéis Fadtéarmach don gheilleagar uile ina leagtar amach

sprioc neodrachta na hÉireann don bhliain 2050.

Is gné ollmhór de mhisean na Roinne é téarmaí agus coinníollacha a fheabhsú do gach

oibrí. Tá obair ar bun chun scéim reachtúil um shochar breoiteachta a thabhairt isteach le go

mbeidh Éire ar aon dul le tíortha eile san Eoraip. Rinneadh comhairliúchán poiblí iomlán ina

leith anuraidh. Tá sé ar intinn agam reachtaíocht a thabhairt chun cinn faoin scéim in 2021 le

súil agus an scéim a bheith i bhfeidhm faoi dheireadh na bliana. Tá tús curtha leis an obair

chun aistriú chuig Íosphá Maireachtála d’Éirinn f reisin.

In 2020, d’oibrigh an Roinn go dlúth le Coimisiún an Aontais Eorpaigh agus le Ballstáit chun

líon comhaontuithe trádála a thabhairt chun críche go rathúil. Leanadh dár gcuideachtaí a

chur chun cinn thar lear trí obair ár nGníomhaireachtaí Stáit agus a gcuid oifigí idirnáisiúnta.

Le linn 2020, thóg an Roinn ar an obair a rinneadh roimhe seo chun creat cobhsaí,

trédhearcach agus nuachóirithe maidir le dlí na gcuideachtaí in Éirinn a fhorbairt go rathúil.

Leanadh d’fhreagairtí ar dhúshláin nua agus ar dhúshláin a bhí ag teacht chun cinn a

fhorbairt agus a mhúnlú maidir le dlí na gcuideachtaí, iomaíochas agus beartas tomhaltóirí

ar leibhéal an Aontais Eorpaigh agus ar leibhéal náisiúnta, go háirithe maidir leis an

mBreatimeacht agus le COVID-19.

Ó ceapadh chuig an Roinn seo mé i mí an Mheithimh 2020, tá caighdeán, tiomantas agus

díograis na foirne ar fud na Roinne, a cuid Oif igí agus a Gníomhaíochtaí, ag dul i bhfeidhm

go mór orm. Is mian liom aitheantas a thabhairt d’obair an Aire a tháinig romham, an tAire

Heather Humphreys, T.D., agus do na hAirí Stáit Pat Breen, T.D., agus John Halligan, T.D.,

a chuir go mór le gnóthachtálacha na Roinne in 2020. Is mian liom f reisin buíochas a

ghlacadh le mo chomhghleacaithe, na hAirí Stáit Damien English T.D., agus Robert Troy

T.D., as a gcuid oibre leanúnaí agus as a dtiomantas leanúnach.


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RÉAMHFHOCAL

A R D -R ÚNA Í

A N D R O R L A IGH Q UI NN

Is í seo an Tuarascáil Bhliantúil deiridh faoi Ráiteas Straitéise na Roinne 2018 go 2021 agus

tugtar achoimre inti ar an dul chun cinn a roinne an Roinn ar ár spriocanna agus ar ár

gcuspóirí a bhaint amach in 2020. Comhaontaíodh Ráiteas Straitéise nua don tréimhse 2021

go 2023 i mí Eanáir 2021.

Bhí sraith dúshlán gnó nach bhfacthas riamh cheana roimh an Roinn in 2020, go háirithe

maidir le dul i ngleic leis na tionchair ollmhóra a d’eascair as an mBreatimeacht agus as

COVID-19. Bhainistíomar athruithe eagrúcháin agus aistriú feidhmeanna nua i ndiaidh gur

toghadh an Rialtas nua i mí an Mheithimh 2020.

Ag tús na bliana, dhíríomar ar an mBreatimeacht agus ar an trádáil. Thugamar cúnamh do

ghnólachtaí trí bhíthin scéimeanna airgeadais agus seirbhísí comhairleachta; sholáthraíomar

anailís agus comhairle don rialtas ar fad maidir le himpleachtaí idirbheartaíochtaí an Aontais

Eorpaigh. Leanadh den obair sin mar thosaíocht ollmhór agus thugamar aird f reisin ar an

ngéarchéim COVID-19. Bunaíodh Aonad COVID-19 tiomnaithe, rud a chinntigh cur chuige

comhtháite agus comhordaithe ar an bpaindéim agus ar an iliomad dúshlán a chruthaigh sí ar

fud na Roinne. Thugamar f reagra láithreach agus f reagrúil lena chur ar chumas na foirne a

bheith ag obair ón mbaile agus aistríodh ár bhfoirne, ar ghearrfhógra, ó shamhail oibriúcháin

oif ig-bhunaithe go dtí an chianobair beagnach go hiomlán, seachas i gcás foirne mionlaigh

nach raibh in ann a gcuid oibre a dhéanamh go cianda.

Is díol molta do gach ball foirne é gur thugamar f reagra chomh tapa agus chomh solúbtha sin

chun riachtanais phráinneacha na f iontraíochta a chomhlíonadh. Ath-imlonnaíodh baill foirne

agus cruthaíodh róil nua agus scéimeanna airgeadais nua agus seirbhísí comhairleacha nua á

bhforbairt agus á gcur i bhfeidhm againn, chomh maith le hathruithe rialála ar dhlí na

gcuideachtaí, prótacail nua um shláinte agus sábháilteacht san áit oibre agus réimse leathan

tionscnamh maidir le caidreamh san áit oibre agus fostaíocht, amhail seomraí cúirte f íorúla sa

an Coimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre agus sa Chúirt Oibreachais. D’oibríomar i

gcomhar le go leor Ranna Rialtais agus gníomhaireachtaí eile chun cúnamh a thabhairt don

iarracht náisiúnta; thugamar tosaíocht do cheadanna fostaíochta d’oibrithe túslíne sna

seirbhísí sláinte agus rinneamar iad a mhear-eisiúint; bhí ról ceannasach againn i gcuidiú le

FSS trealamh cosanta pearsanta a aimsiú tráth a raibh an-bhrú ann agus rinneamar baill

foirne a ath-imlonnú ar shannacháin shealadacha chuig réimsí den tseirbhís phoiblí ina raibh

gá le hacmhainní breise.

Trí bhíthin ár mbuiséad a mhéadú faoi dhó, bhíomar, ag obair lenár nGníomhaireachtaí agus

lenár nOif igí, in ann cúnamh a raibh géarghá leis a thabhairt d’earnáil na f iontraíochta.

B’éigean mion-anailís a dhéanamh ar scéimeanna iomchuí agus iad a sholáthar chun cuidiú le

gnólachtaí, le hearnálacha agus le réigiúin ag gach céim den phaindéim. Bhunaíomar


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Lárionad Faisnéise Fiontar nua, chomh maith le cuir chuige cumarsáide a chuir ar ár gcumas

aistriú ar líne agus nascadh lenár bpáirtithe leasmhara ar fad. D’fhoilsíomar treoraíocht

fhairsing, ina measc an Treoir maidir le Tacaíochtaí do Ghnólachtaí, an Prótacal um Obair go

Sábháilte agus treoraíocht maidir le siopadóireacht shábháilte. Dhíríomar go leanúnach ar

chaidrimh thrádála agus dhomhanda agus thug ár bhfoireann thar lear cúnamh mór dúinn

lenár gcaidrimh idirnáisiúnta. D’oibrigh siad go dlúth le Coimisiún an Aontais Eorpaigh agus le

Ballstáit chun líon comhaontuithe trádála a thabhairt chun críche go rathúil. Leanamar de gach

réimse tábhachtach eile dár gclár gnó a sholáthar, lena n-áirítear réimsí ollmhóra beartais

amhail cúrsaí digiteacha, aeráide, cianoibre agus an ceart chun dícheangal a dhéanamh.

Ba thosaíocht dúinn i rith 2020 teagmháil fhorleathan agus leanúnach lenár bpáirtit he

leasmhara. Bhuaileamar le fostóirí, fostaithe agus grúpaí ionadaíochta go tráthrialta, ina

measc an Fóram Fiontar, an Fóram Miondíola, Tascfhórsa na bhFiontar Beaga agus

Meánmhéide, Grúpa Athbhreithnithe an Dlí Cuideachtaí agus Fóram Eacnamaíoch Fostóirí is

Lucht Saothair, chomh maith le réimse leathan grúpaí eile chun cúnamh agus bonn eolais a

chur ar fáil d’fhreagairtí leanúnacha na Roinne ar an mBreatimeacht agus ar COVID-19. Bhí

an caidreamh sin uile le páirtithe leasmhara thar a bheith luachmhar ó thaobh riachtanais

gnólachtaí, tionchar ár mbeart agus an tslí a bhféadfaí feabhas a dhéanamh, a chur in iúl

dúinn.

Le linn 2020, i ndiaidh an athraithe Rialtais, athraíodh ainm na Roinne ón Roinn Gnó, Fiontar

agus Nuálaíochta go dtí an Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta. Aistríodh an fheidhm

maidir leis an trádáil a chur chun cinn ón Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha go dtí an Roinn seo, agus

aistríodh an beartas maidir le cearta fostaíochta, iomarcaíocht agus dócmhainneacht ón Roinn

Coimirce Sóisialaí. Ghlac an Roinn f reagracht as an gCoimisiún um Pá Íseal f reisin.

Ghlacamar f reagracht f reisin as an nGrúpa Balance for Better Business ón Roinn Dlí agus Cirt,

agus as Dearbháin do Thrádáil Ar Líne ón Roinn Cumarsáide, Gníomhaithe ar son na

hAeráide agus Comhshaoil. Bhunaíomar foirne le haghaidh gach ceann de na réimsí nua oibre

sin agus cheapamar tosaíochtaí agus pleananna oibre nua, a bhfuil gach ceann díobh á chur i

bhfeidhm anois. Áirítear ar roinnt de na tosaíochtaí nua reachtaíocht maidir le pá breoiteachta

a fhorbairt, beartas iomarcaíochta, cur chun cinn trádála agus for-rochtain neartaithe, agus

béim níos láidre ar shaincheisteanna inscne ar fud ár sainchúraim uile. Le héifeacht ón 1

Eanáir 2021, aistríodh feidhmeanna áirithe taighde agus nuálaíochta, lena n-áirítear

Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus Institiúid Náisiúnta Tyndall, chuig an Roinn

Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta. Aireoimid uainn

ár gcomhghleacaithe eolaíochta agus nuálaíochta ach táimid ag súil le leanúint den obair i

gcomhar agus guímid gach rath orthu ina Roinn nua.

Tá ról ceannaireachta sa nuálaíocht glactha againn ar fud na Státseirbhíse. Trí bhíthin ár

bhfoireann ‘Innovate@ETE’, tá gach ball foirne rannpháirteach go hiomlán agus spreagtar iad

chun athruithe dearfacha a chur ar an tslí a n-oibrímid agus ar an timpeallacht oibre. Ní raibh

tábhacht agus luach an mhéid sin chomh criticiúil riamh cheana, agus an fhoireann ag

f reagairt do shlite nua oibre agus iad a thabhairt isteach i rith 2020. Tionóladh Ócáid

Aitheantais Fhíorúil le haghaidh Ghradaim Feabhais agus Nuálaíochta na Státseirbhíse chun

na tionscnaimh a ceapadh mar fhreagairt ar an bpaindéim a thaispeáint agus chun aitheantas

a thabhairt dóibh. Trí bhíthin glacadh leis an Dearbhú ar Nuálaíocht Seirbhíse Poiblí leanamar

de chultúr nuálaíochta a chur chun cinn inár n-eagraíocht. Thugamar rannchuidiú le comóradh


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náisiúnta Dheich mBliana na gCuimhneachán nuair a d’eagraíomar ‘The 23 Kildare Street

Talks - The Countess, Casualties and The Civil Service’, sraith léachtaí gearra faoin tréimhse

réabhlóideach ó 1919 go 1923.

Sa bhliain seo a chuaigh thart, cé gur bheag an caidreamh aghaidh ar aghaidh a bhí againn

lenár gcomhghleacaithe, thugamar faoi, agus sháraíomar, go leor dúshlán nua nach rabhthas

ag súil leo, rud a léiríonn díograis agus luachanna seirbhíse poiblí na Roinne sin againne.

Táim thar a bheith bródúil as an bhfoireann agus is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil le gach

duine díobh as a dtiomantas leanúnach. Is mian liom f reisin buíochas a ghabháil le mo

chomhghleacaithe ar an mBord Bainistíochta agus leis na ceannairí sinsearacha inár gcuid

Oif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí, agus aitheantas a thabhairt dóibh, as a gceannaireacht agus a

dtacaíocht. Mar fhocal scoir, ní mór dom aitheantas a thabhairt don iliomad páirtithe leasmhara

a d’oibrigh linn ar bhealach dearfach le linn na bliana, is mór againn an méid luachmhar sin.

Táim ag súil le bheith ag obair leo ar an iliomad clár oibre comhroinnte eadrainn agus sinn ag

éalú ón ngéarchéim sa bhliain amach romhainn.


—— 8

Achoimre Feidhmiúcháin Le hocht mí dhéag anuas, tá brú nach beag á chur ar shochaithe ar fud an domhain mar

gheall ar an bpaindéim COVID-19. Sa bhliain 2020, meastar gut thit an t-aschur geilleagrach

domhanda idir 3.25% - 3.4%, atá ina geit i bhfad níos mó do gheilleagair ná an cúlú a tharla i

ndiaidh na géarchéime domhanda airgeadais. I gcás na hÉireann, tugadh cosaint ar an

éifeacht ar aschur geilleagrach mar gheall ar ilnáisiúntaigh atá lonnaithe anseo, agus méadú

3.4% ag teacht ar fhíor-OTI anuraidh. Mar sin féin, mar gheall ar mhéadú láidir in onnmhairí,

a raibh borradh in onnmhairí cógaisíochta agus tréine leanúnach na hearnála IT ina cúis leis

tríd is tríd, ceileadh an laghdú san éileamh intíre de réir mar a imríodh tionchar ar an

ngeilleagar mar gheall ar an bpaindéim. Níor bheag an méid tacaíochta Stáit a cuireadh ar

fáil i rith na bliana chun gnólachtaí agus oibrithe a chosaint ar an gcuid ba mheasa den

phaindéim. B’ionann an costas don Stát i gcaitheamh na bliana agus €25 billiún, lenar

áiríodh €8.8 billiún i dtacaíochtaí ioncaim tríd an Scéim Fóirdheontais Pá Fostaíochta, agus

a réamhtheachtaí an Scéim Fóirdheontais Shealadaigh Pá agus an Íocaíocht Dífhostaíochta

Phaindéime.

Dá bharr sin, imríodh tionchar suntasach ag tús na paindéime COVID-19 ar phlean

straitéiseach na Roinne don bhliain 2020. Cé go raibh an príomhchúram maidir le

hullmhacht don Bhreatimeacht ina thosaíocht mhór i gcónaí, ghníomhaigh an Roinn ag céim

luath ar fud gach gné dár sainchúram chun tacú le gnólachtaí le linn na paindéime. Áiríodh

leis sin earnálacha nach raibh baint ag an Roinn leo go traidisiúnta agus ghníomhaíomar go

leathan i ngach réimse inarbh fhéidir chun tacú le gnó agus leis an iarracht náisiúnta. Bhí ról

tábhachtach ag an Roinn chun tacú le gnólachtaí le linn na géarchéime trí fhiontair agus

gnólachtaí inmharthana a chothú agus cúnamh breise a thabhairt do chuideachtaí athoscailt

agus fanacht ar oscailt. Maidir lenár sainchúram rialála, d'oibrigh an Roinn chun cinnteacht

agus solúbthacht riaracháin a thabhairt do chuideachtaí agus tugadh bearta isteach chun

cuidiú le gnólachtaí gníomhú i leith an dúshláin maidir le rialú cuideachta, sláinte agus

sábháilteacht agus caidreamh san áit oibre.

Chomh maith leis sin, chuir an Roinn anailís agus comhairle fhairsing ar fáil don Rialtas

maidir leis an ngeilleagar agus d’oibrigh an Roinn i ndlúthchomhar le Ranna Rialtais eile ar

réimse scéimeanna chun tacú le gnó agus tuarastail, lena n-áirítear an Scéim Fóirdheontais

Shealadaigh Pá, an Íocaíocht Dífhostaíochta Phaindéime, an Scéim Fóirdheontais Pá

Fostaíochta, na Scéimeanna Atosaithe agus an Scéim Tacaíochta um Shriantaí COVID -19

agus tacaíochtaí earnála eile.

Le linn na bliana 2020, is éard a bhí i gceist le hobair na Roinne ná:

• Cúnamh a thabhairt d’fhiontraíocht trí rannpháirteachas le páirtithe leasmhara, tabhairt

faoi anailís chun tionchar na paindéime ar an ngeilleagar a mheas agus t rí shraith

tionscnamh idir thionscnaimh airgeadais agus neamhairgeadais agus tacaíochtaí rialála

a fhorbairt.

• Beartais a fhorbairt maidir le sábháilteacht san ionad oibre chun muinín a thabhairt

d’fhostaithe, d’fhostóirí agus do chustaiméirí agus chun cur ar chumas gnólachtaí

fanacht ar oscailt agus a athoscailt so sábháilte le linn tréimhsí áirithe den phaindéim.


—— 9

• Leanúnachas iomlán in oibríochtaí na Roinne agus seirbhísí feabhsaithe a chur ar fáil a

chinntiú trí úsáid a bhaint as teicneolaíocht chun éifeachtúlacht a aimsiú agus seirbhís

do chustaiméirí a fheabhsú.

• Nuálaíocht a chur chun cinn chun cuidiú le cuideachtaí gníomhú i leith na paindéime trí

tháirgí agus réitigh nuálacha agus chun tacú leis an iarracht náisiúnta.

• Leanúint d’obair fhairsing chun cur chuige comhordaithe agus comhtháite a chinntiú

maidir leis an mBreatimeacht ar fud na Roinne agus a hOif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí

lena n-áirítear rannpháirtíocht ar fud an Rialtais maidir le hullmhacht don Bhreatimeacht

d’fhonn bheith ullamh do gach toradh i ndáil leis an mBreatimeacht, lena n-áirítear an

Breatimeacht gan mhargadh.

• Féachaint chuige go seasfaidh an geilleagar agus an tsochaí an aimsir i ndáil leis an

aistriú i dtreo geilleagar ísealcharbóin agus dlús a chur le digitiú.

• Oibriú lenár nGníomhaireachtaí forbartha f iontar d’fhonn ceannaireacht a thabhairt

d’fhiontar agus fostaíocht ar ardchaighdeán a chruthú agus a choinneáil.

• Dlúthchaidrimh agus caidrimh leis an AE, an RA agus ar fud an domhain a choinneáil a

théann chun tairbhe gach páirtí.

F R E A GRA A R C O V ID -19 – C ÚNA MH D O GH NÓ

Ag obair i ndlúthchomhar lenár nOif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí, agus lenár

gcomhghleacaithe ar fud an Rialtais agus páirtithe leasmhara f iontraíochta, ghlac an Roinn

páirt in go leor grúpaí tras-rialtais chun dul i ngleic leis na príomhrioscaí a tháinig chun cinn i

gcomhthéacs COVID-19. Sna laethanta tosaigh, thacaíomar le PPE a fháil agus a dháileadh

agus le fadhbanna sa slabhra soláthair a tháinig chun cinn mar thoradh ar an bpaindéim.

D’fhorbair an Roinn réimse leathan beartas agus scéimeanna comhairliúcháin d’fhiontair

agus scéimeanna maoinithe nua, chomhaontaigh an Rialtas leo agus cuireadh iad ar fáil go

mear. Áiríodh leis sin sraith scéimeanna maoinithe agus comhairliúcháin do ghnó, lena n-

áirítear scéimeanna deontais, leachtacha agus maoinithe iasachta chun cuidiú le gnólachtaí

ar imir an phaindéim tionchar orthu. Comhaontaíodh agus achtaíodh leasuithe rialála agus

reachtacha chun tacú le cuideachtaí agus cuireadh obair mhór i gcrích i ndáil le sláinte agus

sábháilteacht san ionad oibre.

Rannpháirteachas le Páirtithe Leasmhara

Sheol an Roinn Ionad Faisnéise d’Fhontraíocht nua, atá ina acmhainn tiomnaithe chun

faisnéis a fháil ar an réimse leathan cúnaimh atá ar fáil do ghnó. Cuireadh an tAonad ar bun

i mí an Mhárta chun déileáil le ceisteanna i ndáil le COVID-19 agus méadaíodh é chun

faisnéis maidir leis an mBreatimeacht a chur ar fáil. D’fhreagair an tIonad níos mó ná 11,200

glaoch agus ríomhphost in 2020.

Lean an Fóram Miondíola lena phríomhchúram maidir le riachtanais forbartha na hearnála

in 2020 agus géaraíodh ar an obair maidir le hullmhacht don Bhreatimeacht, lena n-áirítear

na hiarrachtaí maolaithe atá riachtanach chun cur isteach ar shlabhraí soláthair bhia agus

tionchar COVID-19 ar an earnáil a íoslaghdú.

Ghníomhaigh an Fóram Fiontraíochta um Bhreatimeacht agus Dhúshláin Dhomhanda,

le hionadaithe ó na príomhearnálacha gnó agus eagraíochtaí ionadaíocha, mar comhlacht

comhairliúcháin láidir don Roinn agus tionóladh é go rialta i gcaitheamh na bliana.


—— 10

Bunaíodh Tascfhórsa Fáis FBM in 2020 chun ardán a chur ar fáil do rannpháirteachas

struchtúrtha idir f iontraithe, ionadaithe gnó agus an Rialtas maidir le Plean Náisiúnta Fáis

FBM agus Fiontraíochta a chur ar fáil ina leagfar amach treoirphlean straitéiseach

fadtéarmach uaillmhianach i ndiaidh COVID-19.

Cuireadh faisnéis agus comhairle sárluachmhar ar fáil tríd an bhFóram Eacnamaíoch

Fostóirí Saothair (LEEF), atá ina fhóram d’idirphlé ardleibhéil idir ionadaithe rialtais,

ceardchumann agus fostóirí maidir le saincheisteanna mhargadh an tsaothair, go háirithe

maidir le heispéireas san ionad oibre agus sláinte agus sábháilteacht. I measc na

rannpháirtithe sa phróiseas seo, bhí Ibec, Comhdháil na gCeardchumann agus Cónaidhm

Thionscal na Foirgníochta.

Thionóil an Tánaiste imeacht rannpháirteachais le páirtithe leasmhara don Phlean

Náisiúnta don Gheilleagar i mí Dheireadh Fómhair chun smaointe a mhalartú don Phlean

Náisiúnta don Gheilleagar ina leagfar amach tosaíochtaí treoracha agus cuspóirí beartais an

Rialtais maidir le téarnamh inbhuanaithe. Bhí struchtúr an imeachta bunaithe ar thrí sheisiún

ar leithligh inar tugadh faoi acmhainneacht a fhorbairt inár bhf iontair agus earnálacha;

téarnamh ionchuimsitheach agus cothrom; agus féachaint chuige go seasfaidh ár

ngeilleagar agus sochaí an aimsir.

Le linn 2020, leath an Roinn amach roinnt feachtas cumarsáide dírithe maidir le

Tacaíochtaí Gnó COVID-19, an Feachtas um Shiopadóireacht a Dhéanamh go Sábháilte

agus an Prótacal um Obair go Sábháilte.

Foilsíodh Cód Iompair deonach nua idir tiarnaí talún agus gnó maidir le cíosanna

tráchtála a forbraíodh i gcomhairle le páirtithe leasmhara ábhartha, lena n-áirítear Ibec,

Feabhas Miondíola Éireann, Chambers Ireland, Dublin Town agus Irish Institutional Property

an 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2020. Leagtar amach cur chuige struchtúrtha sa Chód i leith

rannpháirteachas idir tiarnaí talún tráchtála agus tionóntaí araon, bunaithe ar a leas coiteann

leanúint d’oibriú lena chéile.

Anailís Gheilleagrach Rinneadh samhaltú agus anailís fhairsing agus d’fhorbair an Roinn trí pháipéar maidir le

Ceisteanna Geilleagracha chun Gníomhaíocht Gheilleagrach a Thabhairt ar ais ag

céim a haon go céim a trí den Treochlár chun an tSochaí agus Gnó a Athoscailt.

Forbraíodh na páipéir seo i gcomhar leis an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe

agus cuireadh measúnú ar fáil iontu maidir leis an tionchar a imríodh ar an ngeilleagar mar

gheall ar an bpaindéim COVID-19.

Tacaíochtaí Airgeadais Méadaíodh an Scéim Deontais um Fhás sa Todhchaí i mí Iúil 2020 d’fhonn an t-iasachtú

iomlán atá ar fáil faoin scéim a thabhairt go €800m do ghnólachtaí incháilithe in Éirinn agus

do na príomhearnálacha talmhaíochta agus bia mara chun cuidiú le hinfheistíocht

straitéiseach fhadtéarmach.

Tugadh Scéim Caipitil Oibre COVID-19 SBCI isteach i mí an Mhárta 2020 mar fhreagra

láithreach ar dhúshláin leachtachta a bhí roimh FBManna agus cuideachtaí lárchaipitlithe

beaga a bhí buailte ag COVID-19 ag tús na paindéime. In éineacht le Scéim Deontais

Breatimeacht, cuireadh iasachtú €337.5m ar fáil chun cuidiú le riachtanais leachtachta


—— 11

FBManna, amhail dheireadh na bliana 2020, tríd an dá scéim iasachta seo. Tá méadú

breise fós idir lámha chun an t-iasachtú atá ar fáil a mhéadú go €500m.

I mí an Mhárta 2020, ghníomhaigh Microfinance Ireland go mear i leith thionchar COVID-

19 trína Iasacht Gnó COVID-19 a raibh rátaí úis níos lú ag baint leis. Ceadaíodh €27.4m in

iasachtaí chun cuidiú le 2,972 gnó, a bhí ceithre oiread níos mó ná an leibhéal iasachtaithe

in 2019. I mí na Samhna sheol Microf inance Ireland a Iasacht Breatimeacht do Ghnólachtaí

f reisin. Cuireadh an tAcht um an gCiste Iasachta do Mhionfhiontair (Leasú) 2020 trí dhá

theach an Oireachtais lena bhféadfar maoiniú cothromais níos mó a chur ar fáil ón Rialtas

agus d’fhonn Corparáid Baincéireachta Straitéiseach na hÉireann (SBCI) a bheith ina

hiasachtóir do Microf inance Ireland.

Rinne an tUachtarán an Scéim um Ráthaíocht Chreidmheasa COVID-19 a cheapadh, a

reachtú agus a shíniú ina dlí i mí Iúil chun f reagra a thabhairt ar riachtanais ghnólachtaí in

Éirinn i ndáil le leachtacht bhreise agus chun cobhsaíocht a thabhairt don mhargadh

iasachtaithe FBM. Gan aon uasteorainn portfóilió a bheith i gceist agus ráthaíocht stáit 80

faoin gcéad, tá iasachtaí suas le 5.5 bliana agus €1m ar fáil ag rátaí úis laghdaithe. Agus é

níos lú ná 4 mhí i bhfeidhm, bhí maoiniú níos mó ná €98m tarraingthe anuas ag 1,890 gnó

faoi dheireadh na bliana. Is ionann sin agus méadú níos mó ná 600% ar an €14.8m a

tarraingíodh anuas in 2019 ar fad faoin Scéim Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa.

Tríd an Ciste um Fhiontraíocht a Chothú tugadh cúnamh maidir le gnólachtaí a chothú

ionas gur féidir leo f illeadh ar inbhuanaitheacht agus cur le téarnamh gheilleagar na

hÉireann. Trí mhaoiniú €124m a chur ar fáil faoin gCiste um Fhiontraíocht a Chothú, tugadh

cúnamh maidir le 418 cuideachta agus 17,710 ar fud na tíre a chothú.

Trí oibriú le húdaráis áitiúla, cuireadh €685m ar fáil le níos mó ná 108,000 deontas tríd an

Deontas Atosaithe agus an Deontas Atosaithe Breise. Chuir sé sin leis an gcostas a

bhaineann le hathoscailt nó gnó a choinneáil ag feidhmiú agus athcheangal le fostaithe agus

custaiméirí.

Cuireadh maoiniú ar fáil do bheagnach 1,000 cuideachta chun plean airgeadais láidir a

fhorbairt trí an Deontas um Phleanáil Airgeadais do Ghnólachtaí COVID-19.

D’fhonn a láithreacht ar líne a fhorbairt tríd an Scéim Miondíola Ar Líne, cuireadh deontais

ar fáil do 330 miondíoltóir in 2020, arbh ionann é agus €11.8m san iomlán,

Leanadh de scéimeanna agus cláir chun déileáil leis an timpeallacht sheachtrach

athraitheach lena chinntiú go gcuideoidís le gnólachtaí dul i ngleic leis na dúshláin

gheilleagracha reatha agus na dúshláin gheilleagracha ag teacht chun cinn a fhorbairt agus

a chur in oiriúint. Tríd an scéim Dearbhán Leanúnachais Ghnó, a tugadh isteach i mí an

Mhárta 2020, cuireadh dearbháin ar fáil do chuideachtaí agus trádálaithe aonair straitéisí

gearrthéarmacha agus fadtéarmacha a fhorbairt chun gníomhú i leith na paindéime tosaigh

COVID-19 agus pleanáil a dhéanamh don téarnamh ar deireadh thiar agus an geilleagar a

athoscailt. Tríd an Scéim Dearbháin um Thrádáil ar Líne, cuireadh oiliúint i scileanna,

meantóireacht agus cúnamh airgeadais ar fáil chun cuidiú le gnólachtaí beaga agus

micreaghnólachtaí a gcumas ríomhthráchtála a fhorbairt. Tríd an Ciste Cúnaimh do

Mhicrifhiontair, díríodh ar na micrifhiontair sin nach raibh in ann leas a bhaint as bearta

reatha an rialtais.


—— 12

Tacaíochtaí Rialála Achtaíodh Acht na gCuideachtaí (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) (Covid -19), 2020 an 1 Lúnasa

2020 ina ndéantar leasuithe sealadacha lena chinntiú gur féidir le 240,000 cuideachta agus

950 cumann tionsclaíoch agus coigiltis a Cruinnithe Cinn Bliana agus cruinnithe ginearálta

a thionól trí mheán leictreonach. Chomh maith leis sin, déantar foráil i ndáil le

sócmhainneacht ghnó tríd an tréimhse scrúdaitheoireachta a mhéadú go 150 lá agus an

tairseach ina meastar cuideachta gan a bheith in ann a chuid f iacha a íoc a mhéadú go

€50,000.

B EA RTA IS A FH O RB A IRT MA IDIR LE S Á B H Á ILTEA C H T S A N IO N A D

O IB RE Chuir an Roinn suirbhé i gcrích i mí Bealtaine i gcomhar le NPHET chun cumas agus

inniúlacht gnó a chinneadh maidir le bearta coisctheacha COVID-19 a chur i bhfeidhm go

f isiceach san ionad oibre. Trí sin, cuireadh léargas ar fáil maidir le riachtanais gnólachtaí atá

ag iarraidh treoirlínte sláinte phoiblí COVID-19 a chur i bhfeidhm.

Mar thoradh ar na srianta Sláinte Phoiblí a cuireadh i bhfeidhm mar gheall ar an bPaindéim

COVID-19, rinneadh cinneadh an Rialtais maidir leis an ngeilleagar a oscailt i bpáirt ón 18

Bealtaine 2020 ar aghaidh in éineacht le Prótacal um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte

a thabhairt isteach. Sa Phrótacal, leagadh amach go soiléir agus go cuimsitheach na

céimeanna agus próisis nár mhór do ghnólachtaí a ghlacadh d’fhonn scaipeadh COVID -19

san ionad oibre a laghdú. Forbraíodh é ar bhonn comhoibríoch, bhí an Roinn i gceannas air

agus bhí an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta, an Roinn Sláinte agus an HSE

rannpháirteach ann. Chomh maith leis sin, bhí baint mhór ag comhaltaí den Fhóram

Eacnamaíoch Fostóirí Saothair maidir le hoibriú ar an bPrótacal agus é a chomhaontú.

Rinneadh an Prótacal a athbhreithniú agus a athsheoladh mar An Prótacal um Oibriú go

Sábháilte i mí na Samhna 2020, ina raibh faisnéis agus comhairle phraiticiúil fós maidir le

réimse topaicí ar nós ráigeanna a bhainistiú agus a rialú, díghalráin lámh a roghnú, maisc a

chaitheamh, ionaid oibre a aerú agus siomptóim. San athbhreithniú, tugadh le chéile an t-

eolas a forbraíodh sna réimsí sin de réir mar a lean an phaindéim ar aghaidh agus measadh

go raibh sé tábhachtach go léireofaí sna treoracha an chomhairle sláinte phoiblí ba

chothroime le dáta a bhí ar fáil.

Ghníomhaigh an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta ar an bPríomhghníomhaireacht maidir

le comhlíonadh an Phrótacail um Oibriú go Sábháilte a chomhordú. Cuidigh cigirí ó réimse

Ranna Rialtais agus Gníomhaireachtaí Stáit eile sa ról sin (An Coimisiún um Chaidreamh

san Áit Oibre; Oif igigh Sláinte Chomhshaoil; An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara; An

Roinn Oideachais, An tÚdarás um Chosaint Iascaigh Mhara agus Tusla). Cuireadh breis

agus 24,000 cigireacht COVID-19 i gcrích idir mí Bealtaine agus deireadh mhí na Nollag

2020. Trí sin, tugadh cinnteacht d’fhostóirí agus cuireadh ar chumas gnólachtaí fanacht ar

oscailt le linn tréimhse na paindéime.

Chuir An tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann sraith doiciméad agus

treoracha úsáideacha ar fáil chun cuidiú le FBManna, go háirithe iad sin san earnáil

mhiondíola, iad féin a chur ar a mbonn sula n-osclófaí an tsochaí arís. Tá na treoracha seo

éasca a leanúint agus cuirtear céimeanna soiléire ar fáil faoi mar is féidir le hoibritheoirí

miondíola a n-áitreabh, foireann agus custaiméirí a dhéanamh sábháilte i dtimpeallacht iar-


—— 13

COVID. Áiríodh leo sin An Treoir um an tIonad Oibre a Chosaint agus a Fheabhsú

COVID-19; an Treoir um Miondíol a Chosaint agus a Fheabhsú COVID-19; agus an

Treoir um Ionad Siopadóireacht a Thabhairt ar Ais agus a Fheabhsú.

O I BR Í O C HT AÍ NA R O I NNE I ND Á I L L E C O V I D -19

Cuireadh isteach go mór ar obair na Roinne mar gheall ar an ngéarchéim COVID-19, inar

aistrigh an Roinn ar ghearrfhógra ó shamhail a bhí ag feidhmiú ar bhonn oif ige go cianobair

ar fad do na baill foirne ar fad seachas líon beag daoine a bhí ag teastáil ar an láthair.

D’éirigh linn feidhm a bhaint as cianobair i measc breis agus 800 ball foirne a bhain úsáid as

ríomhairí glúine agus ríomhairí deisce. Chomh maith leis sin, cuireadh go mór leis na

seirbhísí f íschomhdhála d’fhonn éascaíocht a dhéanamh ar chomhoibriú leanúnach idir na

baill foirne, go háirithe i bhf ianaise méaduithe suntasacha in go leor ualaigh oibre mar gheall

ar an bpaindéim.

Chomh maith leis sin, ghníomhaigh an Roinn go luath agus go mear trí go leor baill foirne a

athlonnú chuig réimsí eile laistigh den Roinn lena chinntiú go raibh, agus go bhfuil, tacaíocht

chuí á tabhairt do sheirbhísí reatha agus réimsí ina bhfuil gá ríthábhachtach ag teacht chun

cinn.

I mí an Mhárta 2020, chuir an Rannóg Ceadanna Fostaíochta plean teagmhais COVID-19 i

bhfeidhm lena chinntiú go bhféadfadh an réimeas ceadanna fostaíochta leanúint d’oibriú le

linn na géarchéime trí oibríochtaí a aistriú chuig timpeallacht cianoibre iomlán. Coigeartaíodh

cleachtais oibríochta chun teacht in ionad gnéithe páipéar-bhunaithe den tseirbhís d’fhonn

próiseas go hiomlán ar líne a bheith ann. Thángthas ar chomhaontú leis an Soláthar

Seirbhíse Inimirce sa Roinn Dlí agus Cirt chun cineál de ‘cead ríomhfhostaíochta’ a thabhairt

isteach ar bhonn sealadach. Tugadh tús áite d’iarratais ar chead fostaíochta ó phearsanra

leighis agus ceadaíodh 4,490 cead ó lár mhí an Mhárta go deireadh na bliana 2020.

Ag an Imeacht Aitheantais Fíorúil do Ghradaim Barr Feabhais agus Nuálaíochta na

Státseirbhíse chun tionscnaimh a forbraíodh i ndáil leis an ngéarchéim COVID-19 i

dtimpeallacht atá dúshlánach agus ag athrú go mear a aithint agus a chur i láthair, ba é an

tionscadal a roghnaigh an Roinn ná Leanúint de Chóras Ceada Fostaíochta na hÉireann a

Chinntiú. Chuir Oif igí na Roinne seirbhís fóin íosghlao an Choimisiúin um Chaidreamh san

Áit Oibre Seirbhís Faisnéise maidir le Cianobair agus Seirbhís do Chustaiméirí, agus

Seomra Cúirte Fíorúil na Cúirte Oibreachais isteach. Ar thionscadail nuálacha eile a bhí i

gceist, áirítear an tIonad Faisnéise d’Fhiontraíocht agus Cianagallaimh Físe.

I suirbhé foirne a cuireadh i gcrích i mí an Mheithimh, cuireadh sonraí cothrom le dáta ar fáil

maidir le riachtanais na foirne agus bhíothas in ann gníomhartha f reagrúla a dhéanamh dá

bharr. Bunaíodh Grúpa Oibre COVID-19 chun maoirseacht a dhéanamh ar dhul chun cinn i

dtionscnaimh/gníomhaíochtaí maidir le Trealamh agus Eirgeanamaíocht, Baill Foirne a

Bhainistiú i gCéin, Sláinte agus Sábháilteacht, Cumarsáid d’Fhoirne agus do Chianobair

anois agus i ngnáthamanna.

N UÁ LA ÍO C H T A C H UR C H UN C IN N Tosaíocht i gcónaí in 2020 ab ea nuálaíocht a chur chun cinn d’fhiontraíocht agus go

hinmheánach.


—— 14

Chruthaigh Aistriú Eolais Éireann Ceadúnas Neamheisiach Saor ó Ríchíosanna COVID-

19 (NERF), a bhfuil sé mar aidhm leis dlús a chur le maoin intleachtúil a bhaineann le

COVID-19 a scaipeadh ó Institiúidí Ardoideachais in Éirinn chuig cuideachtaí. Cuireann an

NERF COVID-19 IP ceannródaíocht ar fáil saor in aisce d’eagraíochtaí atá i mbun

gníomhaíochtaí taighde agus forbartha ríthábhachtacha chun críocha an víreas a

dhiagnóisiú, a chosc, a chóireáil agus/nó tionchar an víris a íoslaghdú agus chun na gcríoch

sin amháin.

I gcaitheamh na bliana, forbraíodh an Scéim Táirgí COVID-19 faoi Chreat Sealadach an

Choimisiúin Eorpaigh trínarbh fhéidir le Ballstáit AE cúnamh breise a dheonú do

chuideachtaí atá i mbun táirgí leighis a úsáidtear sa troid in aghaidh COVID-19 a fhorbairt nó

a tháirgeadh. Tríd an Scéim Táirgí, a chuirtear ar fáil trí GFT Éireann agus Fiontraíocht

Éireann, is féidir suas le €200m i gcúnamh Stáit spriocdhírithe a chur ar fáil chun éascaíocht

a dhéanamh ar thaighde a dhéanamh ar tháirgí COVID-19 agus iad a fhorbairt. Is tríothu sin

atáthar in ann bonneagair tástála nó méadaithe a chuireann le táirgí atá ábhartha do

COVID-19 agus ina gcuidítear le táirgeadh na dtáirgí atá ag teastáil chun gníomhú i leith na

paindéime a thógáil nó a uasghrádú.

Fuarthas 62 iarratas ar an iomlán faoi Ghlao 3 den Chiste Nuálaíochta um

Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha a dhéanfar a mheasúnú maidir le maoiniú in 2021.

Le linn 2020, chuidigh Fiontraíocht Éireann le 936 tionscnamh comhoibríoch idir

cuideachtaí agus Institiúidí Ardoideachais in Éirinn mar chuid den iarracht béim níos mó

a leagan ar fhorbairt gnó.

Laistigh den eagraíocht, trínár ngrúpa ‘Innovate@ETE’, spreagtar baill foirne chun athruithe

dearfacha a dhéanamh ar mar a oibrímid agus ar an timpeallacht oibre. Tionóladh Imeacht

Aitheantais Fíorúil do Ghradaim Barr Feabhais agus Nuálaíochta na Státseirbhíse

chun tionscnaimh a forbraíodh i ndáil leis an ngéarchéim COVID-19 i dtimpeallacht atá

dúshlánach agus ag athrú go mear a aithint agus a chur i láthair.

Mar chuid den Dearbhú maidir le Nuálaíocht sa tSeirbhís Phoiblí , leanamar de chultúr na

nuálaíochta a chur chun cinn inár n-eagraíocht. Mar chuid de Dheich mBliana na

gCuimhneachán, d’eagraíomar ‘The 23 Kildare Street Talks - The Countess, Casualties

and The Civil Service’, atá ina sraith léachtanna gearra faoi thréimhse na réabhlóide idir

1919 agus 1923.

Leanann an Roinn de ról lárnach a bheith aici maidir le Beart 6 ‘Ár Seirbhís Phoiblí 2020’ a

threorú, a bhfuil sé mar aidhm leis ‘Cultúr na Nuálaíochta a Chur Chun Cinn sa tSeirbhís

Phoiblí’. Ghníomhaíonn an tArd-Rúnaí, an Dr Orlaigh Quinn agus Julie Sinnamon,

Príomhoif igeach Feidmhiúcháin Fhiontraíocht Éireann mar cheannairí tiomnaithe, agus is í

an Rúnaí Cúnta Pauline Mulligan atá ina Urraitheoir don Bheart, a dhéanann cathaoirleacht

ar fhoireann Bheart 6 ina gcuimsítear ceannairí earnála ó ar fud na Seirbhíse Poiblí.

A G UL L MH Ú D O N BH R EA TI MEA C HT

In 2020, lean an Roinn dá hobair fhairsing d’fhonn cur chuige comhordaithe agus

comhtháite a chinntiú ar fud na Roinne agus a hOif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí lena n-

áirítear rannpháirtíocht ar fud an Rialtais maidir le hullmhacht don Bhreatimeacht d’fhonn a

bheith ullamh do gach toradh i ndáil leis an mBreatimeacht, lena n-áirítear Breatimeacht gan

mhargadh. Áiríodh leis sin rannpháirteachas tréan le páirtithe leasmhara na Roinne chun


—— 15

cuidiú le gnólachtaí a bheith ullamh don Bhreatimeacht faoi dheireadh na bliana 2020.

Áiríodh leis sin rannpháirteachas an Aire trí ghrúpaí leasmhara barrthábhachtacha ar nós an

Fóram d’Fhiontraíocht maidir leis an mBreatimeacht agus Dúshláin Dhomhanda agus an

Fóram Miondíola mar aon le rannpháirteachas le Gníomhaireachtaí f iontraíochta agus rialála

na Roinne.

D L ÚS A C H UR L E D I G I T I Ú

Ardaíodh Éire go dtí 6ú háit ar Innéacs maidir le Geilleagar agus Sochaí Dhigiteach

2020 an AE agus an chéad áit maidir le teicneolaíocht dhigiteach a chomhtháthú agus tá sí

ar an reathaí cinn digiteach is sciobtha fáis ar an innéacs agus ina léiriú barrthábhachtach

d’iomaíochas náisiúnta. Síníodh an chéad reachtaíocht maidir le hardán náisiúnta – an

tArdán um Ghnó a Rialáil – ina dlí i mí Iúil 2020 trí I.R. Uimh. 256/2020 – Rialacháin 2020 ón

Aontas Eorpach (Cothroime agus Trédhearcacht a Chur Chun Cinn d’Úsáideoirí Gnó a

Bhaineann Úsáid as Seirbhísí Idirghabhála ar Líne). Ainmníodh an Coimisiún um Iomaíocht

agus Cosaint Tomhaltóirí ina chomhlacht forfheidhmithe don Rialachán in Éirinn.

Forbraíodh aighneachtaí náisiúnta cuimsitheacha trasrialtais maidir leis na pacáistí Acht um

Sheirbhísí Digiteacha AE agus an tAcht um Margaí Digiteacha agus tugadh léiriú orthu i

moltaí Choimisiún an AE.

Forbraíodh aighneacht náisiúnta trasrialtais maidir le Páipéar Bán um Intleacht Shaorga AE

agus i gcomhréir le Ballstáit eile atá ina reathaí cinn digiteacha.

Cuireadh tús le hobair maidir leis an Straitéis Intleachta Saorga náisiúnta a fhorbairt a

sheolfar i lár na bliana 2021. Leagfar amach f ís sa Straitéis ina mbeidh Éire ina ceannasaí

idirnáisiúnta maidir le intleacht shaorga a úsáid chun tairbhe a dhéanamh don daonra, trí

chur chuige i ndáil le intleacht shaorga a fhorbairt, a ghlacadh agus a úsáid atá bunaithe ar

dhaoine agus eiticiúil.

I D T R E O GE I L LE A GA R I NBH UA NAI TH E I SE A L CH A RBÓ I N

Ghlac an Roinn páirt ghníomhach i Plean Gnímh don Aeráid 2019 an Rialtais, a phróisis

rialachais agus rinneadh monatóireacht ar dhul chun cinn agus cuireadh ionchur ar fáil

maidir leis an Straitéis Fadtéarmach ar fud an gheilleagair a fhorbairt ina leagtar amach

sprioc neodrachta na hÉireann do 2050. Tugadh gealltanas i leith gníomhartha aeráide na

Roinne agus trasghníomhaireachta don tréimhse eatramhach go dtí Plean Gnímh don

Aeráid 2021 a fhorbairt agus cuireadh tús le hobair ar ionchuir ón Roinn don Plean Gnímh

don Aeráid 2021.

Ghlac an Roinn páirt i gcainteanna leis an gCoimisiún Eorpach maidir le gnéithe

f iontraíochta cháis thagartha an Choimisiúin a bheidh mar bhunús do sprioc chomhroinnte

díchill na hÉireann i ndiaidh méadú in uaillmhian an AE gáis ceaptha teasa a laghdú 55%

faoin mbliain 2030.

Rinneadh taighde ar theicneolaíochtaí a d’fhéadfaí a ghlacadh i bhfo -earnálacha ar leith den

earnáil mhonaraíochta chun astaíochtaí a laghdú agus i gcomhthéacs spriocanna earnála a

fhorbairt, rinneadh anailís chun laghdú CO2 a mheas dá ndéanfaí infheistíocht sna

teicneolaíochtaí seo le linn na tréimhse i dtreo 2030. Cuireadh gníomhartha na Roinne ón

Plean Gnímh don Aeráid 2019 maidir leo sin a bhaineann leis na hearnálacha

bia/deochanna agus stroighne agus cuireadh ionchur ar fáil do na tuarascálacha ar dhul


—— 16

chun cinn a fhoilsítear go ráithiúil maidir leis an bPlean Gnímh don Aeráid maidir le

gníomhartha lena n-áirítear gníomhartha ar thug GFT Éireann, Fiontraíocht Éireann,

Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann

fúthu. I gcaitheamh na bliana, chuir an Roinn anailís agus ionchur beartais ar fáil maidir le

ceisteanna a bhaineann le beartas um ghníomhú i leith na haeráide agus rinneadh cinnte de

go gcuirf í tionchair iomaíochta ar roghanna beartais san áireamh.

A G TA C Ú LE FO S TA ÍO C H T A C H RUTH Ú TRÍN Á R

N G N ÍO MH A IREA C HTA Í

Fiontraíocht Éireann Bhí cruthú fostaíochta an-ghar don fheidhmíocht in 2019, agus 16,496 post nua á gcruthú i

gcuideachtaí atá tacaithe ag Fiontraíocht Éireann. Mar sin féin, bliain dhúshlánach a bhí i

gceist ina raibh tionchar suntasach ag COVID-19, agus mhéadaigh caillteanais poist go dtí

17,368 a raibh caillteanais poist glan de 872 i gcliantchuideachtaí. B’ionann fostaíocht

iomlán i gcuideachtaí atá tacaithe ag Fiontraíocht Éireann agus 220,613 ag deireadh na

bliana 2020. B’ionann an céatadán iomlán fostaíochta agus fostaíocht lasmuigh de Bhaile

Átha Cliath.

GFT Éireann D’fheidhmigh GFT Éireann go láidir in 2020 agus 20,123 post nua comhlán á gcruthú ag

cliantchuideachtaí ar an talamh. B’ionann an glanghnóthachan agus 8,944 post breise.

B’ionann infheistíocht dhíreach eachtrach iomlán in Éirinn ag deireadh na bliana 2020 agus

257,394, an líon ab airde daoine riamh a fostaíodh san earnáil ilnáisiúnta, rud a sháraigh na

spriocanna a bhí leagtha síos ag an Rialtas atá i Straitéis GFT Éireann – Buachan:

Infheistíocht Eachtrach Dhíreach 2015-2019. Ar na 246 infheistíocht nua a baineadh amach

in 2020, bhí 128 (52%) lonnaithe i limistéir réigiúnacha.

Oifigí Fiontair Áitiúla Le linn 2020 dhírigh na hOif igí Fiontair Áitiúla (LEOnna) ar chuidiú le húinéirí gnó na

tionscnaimh a bhí ar fáil dóibh a aithint chun gníomhú i leith na géarchéime gan fasach agus

cúnamh a thabhairt dóibh a ngnólachtaí a choinneáil inmharthana. Le linn bliana a bhí ina

bliain dhúshlánach, chruthaigh cliaint LEO líon iomlán de 5,585 post nua (comhlán), le

glanlaghdú de 1,494 post.

A G O I BR I Ú GO D O MH A NDA

D’oibrigh an Roinn thar ceann na hÉireann i ndlúthchomhar le Coimisiún an Aontais

Eorpaigh agus Ballstáit chun roinnt comhaontuithe trádála a thabhairt chun deiridh rathúil.

Tháinig an Comhaontú Saorthrádála AE-Vítneam i bhfeidhm an 1 Lúnasa 2020 i ndiaidh é a

shíniú an bhliain roimhe sin. Thug an AE agus Meicsiceo an ghné dheiridh a bhí fós le

réiteach chun deiridh an 28 Aibreán 2020 inar clúdaíodh oscailt cómhalartach margaí

soláthair phoiblí, san idirbheartaíocht don FTE nua idir an AE agus Meicsiceo.

An 21 Lúnasa 2020 d’fhógair an AE agus SAM comhaontú maidir le pacáiste laghduithe

taraife ar fud líon onnmhairithe SAM agus AE, na chéad laghduithe i ndleachtanna dá

leithéid a ndearnadh idirbheartaíocht orthu le breis is f iche bliain. Coimisiúnaíodh Measúnú

Tionchair Geilleagrach agus Inbhuanaitheachta don mhargadh trádála AE-Mercusor d’Éirinn

agus tíortha is comhpháirtithe. Shínigh an AE agus an tSín comhaontú déthaobhach chun

na 100 Sonraí Geografacha Eorpacha (Ginna) a chosaint sa tSín, lena n-áirítear Uisce


—— 17

Beatha na hÉireann agus Uachtar na hÉireann agus chun 100 GI Síneach a chosaint ar

fhorghabháil agus aithris san AE. Tiocfaidh an comhaontú i bhfeidhm sa bhliain 2021.

Ag deireadh na bliana 2020, thug an AE agus an tSín idirbheartaíochtaí chun deiridh i ndáil

le Comhaontú Cuimsitheach maidir le hInfheistíocht trína bhfeabhsófar rochtain ar mhargadh

na Síne, ina bhfuil 1.4bn duine ar fud earnálacha geilleagracha, ag infheisteoirí Éireannacha

agus Eorpacha nuair a dhaingneofar é.

Chomh maith leis sin, ghlac an AE le Rialachán nua maidir le Forfheidhmiú inar féidir leis an

AE leasa Ballstát a chosaint i gcás ina sáraíonn tríú páirtí a gealltanais nó oibleagáidí faoin

dlí idirnáisiúnta trádála i gcás ina seasann Painéal um Réiteach Díospóidí WTO le gearán a

dhéanann an páirtí díobháilte (AE).

SA I NC H E I ST EA NNA SUNT A SAC HA E I L E

Leanadh de théarmaí agus coinníollacha a fheabhsú do na hoibrithe ar fad in 2020. I mí

Mheán Fómhair, chuir an Roinn tús le Straitéis Náisiúnta Cianoibre a fhorbairt leis an bhf ís

cianobair a bheith ina gné bhuan den ionad oibre in Éirinn ar bhealach ina mbaintear an leas

is mó agus is féidir as na tairbhí geilleagracha, sóisialta agus comhshaoil. Foilsíodh í go

luath i mí Eanáir 2021.

Tá obair faoi lánseol chun Scéim Pá Breoiteachta Reachtúil a thabhairt isteach. Seoladh

comhairliúchán poiblí an 16 Samhain 2020 agus cuireadh deireadh leis an 18 Nollaig 2020.

Cuireadh tús leis an obair ar an mbeartas Ceart chun Dícheangal a Dhéanamh in 2020,

agus seoladh an Cód Cleachtais maidir leis an gCeart chun Dícheangal a Dhéanamh go

luath in 2021.

Is ag an gCoimisiún um Pá Íseal a bhfuil an phríomhfheidhm maidir le hiniúchadh a

dhéanamh agus moltaí a thabhairt don Tánaiste maidir leis an leibhéal cuí don íosphá

náisiúnta agus nithe gaolmhara. Áirítear lena chlár oibre faoi láthair taighde maidir leis an

aistriú chuig Pá Maireachtála.

Is i dtús na bliana 2020 a foilsíodh na chéad Tuarascálacha ar Dhul Chun Cinn maidir leis

na Pleananna Fiontraíochta Réigiúnaigh go 2020. Leanadh de na Pleananna a chur i

bhfeidhm le linn 2020 agus chuir gach aon réigiún a dTuarascáil Deiridh ar Dhul Chun Cinn

isteach ag deireadh na bliana 2020 lena bhfoilsiú go luath sa bhliain 2021.

Faoin Ciste Forbartha um Fhiontraíocht Réigiúnach, bronnadh maoiniú breis agus €45m

ar 26 thionscadal comhoibríoch agus nuálach sa bhliain 2020. Tugann sé sin líon iomlán na

dtionscadal a mhaoinítear faoin gCiste go 68, le maoiniú €100m ceadaithe ar fud na dtrí

glaoch go dtí seo. Faoin Ciste Forbartha Fiontar na Teorann nua, ceadaíodh 11

tionscadal i gcomhair maoiniú breise agus €17m in 2020.

Sheol an Tánaiste an tríú tuarascáil ó Cothromaíocht do Ghnó Níos Fearr i mí na Nollag

2020. Léirítear sa tuarascáil go bhfuil dul chun cinn maith á dhéanamh i réimsí áirithe agus

go bhfuil an bhearna idir meán na hÉireann agus an Aontais Eorpaigh maidir le mná a bheith

ar bhoird ag laghdú i gcónaí, ó 8% in 2018 go 1.2% in 2020 agus go bhfuil Éire rangaithe

anois sa 13ú háit, i gcomparáid le 17ú háit in 2018.

Cheadaigh an Rialtas nua an Scéim Ghinearálta don Bhille um Dhíol Ticéad (Imeachtaí

Cultúir, Siamsaíochta, Áineasa agus Spóirt) 2020 lena dhréachtú an 29 Meán Fómhair


—— 18

2020. Príomhfhoráil an Bhille is ea cosc ar thicéid nó pacáistí ticéad a dhíol ná fógraíocht a

dhéanamh orthu ag praghas níos airde ná an praghas díola bunaidh d’imeachtaí in ionaid

ainmnithe a bhfuil toilleadh iontu do 1,000 duine nó níos mó. Áirítear leis f reisin cosc ar

thicéad a athdhíol go neamhúdaraithe do chluichí agus imeachtaí a bheidh ar siúl le linn

craobhchomórtas peile EURO 2020.

Foilsíodh Fócas ar Earnálacha 2020 i mí Lúnasa 2020. Tá an tsraith tuarascálacha earnála

seo ina gcuirtear forléargais achomair i láthair maidir le 16 earnáil bharrthábhachtach den

gheilleagar ann chun cuidiú le maoirseacht chothrománach a dhéanamh ar fheidhmíocht

gheilleagrach ar fud na n-earnálacha sin agus le bheith mar ardán chun comhoibriú a éascú.

Aithnítear i dtuarascálacha 2020 roinnt comharthaí tosaigh maidir le tionchar COVID -19 ar

na hearnálacha sin.


—— 19

Fís

C I N N T E O I M I D G U R B Í É I R E A N Á I T I S F E A R R D Á B H F U I L A N N L E R A T H A

B H E I T H A R G H N Ó A G U S S O L Á T H R Ó I M I D L Á N F H O S T A Í O C H T I N B H U A N A I T HE

A G U S C A I G H D E Á I N N Í O S A I R D E M A I R E A C H T Á L A I N G A C H R É I G I Ú N S A T Í R .

Misean

C R U T H Ú A G U S C O T H A B H Á I L L Á N F H O S T A Í O C H T A A R D C H A I G H D E Á I N A G US

I N B H U A N A I T H E A S P R E A G A D H I n G A C H R É I G I Ú N S A T Í R , T R Í N A B H E I T H

I N Á R g C R A N N T A C A A R S O N N A F I O N T R A Í O C H T A A G U S N A N U Á L A Í O C H TA

A R F U D A N R I A L T A I S , T A C Ú L E B O N N G N Ó I O M A Í O C H C H U N D A O I N E A

D H R E A S Ú I d T R E O N A h O I B R E , N A F I O N T R A Í O C H T A , N A T R Á D Á L A , NA

N U Á L A Í O C H T A A G U S N A h I N F H E I S T Í O C H T A , A G U S F O S T A Í O C H T A G US

M A R G A Í A T Á C Ó I R A G U S I O M A Í O C H A C H U R C H U N C I N N C H O M H M A I T H LE

D E A - C H L E A C H T A S G N Ó T R Í O B A I R R I A L Á L A A G U S F O R F H E I D H M I Ú C H Á I N NA

R O I N N E , A h O I F I G Í A G U S A G N Í O M H A I R E A C H T A Í .

Luachanna

M A R R O I N N , C O T H A Í M I D C U L T Ú R A R C U I D L Á R N A C H D E I A D F R E A G R A C H T ,

É I F E A C H T Ú L A C H T A G U S L U A C H A R A I R G E A D , A T Á F R É A M H A I T H E I N É I T E AS

S E I R B H Í S E P O I B L Í L E N A M B A I N E A N N N E A M H S P L E Á C H A S , I O N R A C A S,

N E A M H C H L A O N T A C H T , O S C A I L T E A C H T , D Í N I T A G U S M E A S .

M A R S T Á T S E I R B H Í S I G H , S E A S A I M I D N E L E I S N A C A I G H D E Á I N I S A I R DE

G A I R M I Ú L A C H T A , M A C Á N T A C H T A , O I B I A C H T Ú L A C H T A A G U S C Á I L Í O C H T A,

A T Á D E N R I A C H T A N A S I N Á R R Ó I L A G T A C Ú L E I S A N b P R Ó I S E AS

D A O N L A T H A C H A A G U S F R E A S T A L A R A N b P O B A L .


—— 20

Réamheolas faoin Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta

Athraíodh teideal agus sainchúram na Roinne ón Roinn Gnó, Fiontar agus Nuálaíochta go

dtí an Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta, nuair a bunaíodh Rialtas nua i mí an Mheithimh 2020. Ceapadh an Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, TD ina Aire agus chuaigh beirt Airí Stáit, an tAire English agus an tAire Troy i mbun róil nua sa Roinn. Ullmhaíodh sainchúram cuimsitheach don Tánaiste agus do na hAirí. I gcomhréir leis an Acht um Bainistíocht na Seirbhíse Poiblí 1997, forbraíodh Ráiteas Straitéise nua agus cuireadh faoi bhráid an Tánaiste í roimh dheireadh 2020. I gcomhréir le Clár an Rialtais, leagtar amach Misean, Spriocanna Straitéiseacha agus treo foriomlán athchóirithe don Roinn don trí bliana amach romhainn. Roimh mhí an Mheithimh, ba í an tAire Heather Humphreys, TD agus na hAirí Stáit Pat Breen TD agus John Halligan, TD, a bhí i gceannas ar an Roinn.

Rinneadh caibidlíocht agus obair mhór i ndáil le haistriú feidhmeanna, lenar bhain cúig

shruth oibre ar leithligh; ceithre cinn díobh a bhain le feidhmeanna nua a tháinig isteach sa

Roinn agus ceann amháin a bhain le hobair a bhí ann cheana féin a aistriú amach aisti.

Aistríodh an fheidhm maidir le cur chun cinn na trádála ón Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha go dí

an Roinn seo agus aistríodh cearta fostaíochta agus beartas um iomarcaíocht agus

dócmhainneacht ón Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí. Ghlac an Roinn f reagracht as an g Coimisiún

um Pá Íseal f reisin, a bhfuil mar phríomhfheidhm aige iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar an leibhéal

cuí íosphá, agus moltaí a chur chuig an Tánaiste faoi agus ar chúrsaí a bhaineann leis.

Ghlac an Roinn f reagracht as an nGrúpa Balance for Better Business ón Roinn Dlí agus Cirt

agus as Dearbháin do Thrádáil Ar Líne ón Roinn Cumarsáide, Gníomhaithe ar son na

hAeráide agus Comhshaoil. Tugadh obair chun críche ar fhreagrachtaí i ndáil le heolaíocht a

aistriú amach, lena n-áirítear le Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus Institiúid Náisiúnta

Tyndall. Le héifeacht ón 1 Eanáir 2021, aistreofar an obair sin chuig an Roinn

Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta nuabhunaithe.

Is é misean na Roinne ceannaireacht a thabhairt ar fhostaíocht a chruthú agus a chothabháil

i ngach earnáil agus réigiún sa tír. Tá ról lárnach againn ó thaobh chur i bhfeidhm bheartais

an Rialtais maidir le cumas táirgthe an gheilleagair a spreagadh, tacú le f iontar agus trádáil

agus timpeallacht a chruthú ina gcabhrófar le cruthú agus cothabháil post. Tá mar

shainchúram ag an Roinn f reisin iomaíochas cóir sa mhargadh a chur chun cinn, tomhaltóirí

a chosaint agus oibrithe a chosaint.

Ag oibriú i gcomhar lena hOif igí agus Gníomhaireachtaí, tá raon leathan gníomhaíochtaí i

gceist le sainchúram na Roinne, lena n-áirítear:

▪ Ceannaireacht a thabhairt ar chuidiú le f iontraithe agus le gnólachtaí fostaíocht ardcháilíochta a chruthú agus a chothabháil i ngach réig iún sa tír, trí bhíthin bonn láidir f iontraíochta dúchasaí a chruthú, infheistíocht dhíreach choigcríche a mhealladh agus trádáil a mhéadú.

▪ Fostaíocht ardcháilíocht, caidreamh dearfach san áit oibre, sásraí réitigh díospóidí a fheidhmíonn go maith agus timpeallacht oibre shlán a chur chun cinn.


—— 21

▪ Cultúr láidir f iontraíochta a chruthú.

▪ Cuidiú le lucht f iontraíochta lena riachtanais taighde agus forbartha chun poist nua a chruthú agus a chothabháil agus chun rannchuidiú le sochaí níos fearr a thógáil.

▪ Scileanna a bheidh riachtanach don fhiontraíocht amach anseo a shainaithint agus

oibriú ar feadh an Rialtais chun beartais a fhorbairt chun f reastal ar na riachtanais sin, lena n-áirítear trí uas-sciliú.

▪ Cur chuige uile-Rialtais a stiúradh maidir le timpeallacht iomaíoch a fhorbairt don infheistíocht, don táirgiúlacht agus do phoist inbhuanaithe.

▪ A chinntiú go n-éascaíonn ár rialáil ghnó infheistíocht agus forbairt, iomaíochas sa mhargadh, ardchaighdeáin um chosaint tomhaltóirí agus um rialáil chorparáideach, agus go dtugtar buntáiste iomaíoch d’Éirinn sa mhargadh domhanda.

▪ Oibriú go huaillmhianach ar feadh an Rialtais chun dul chun cinn ar fhóraim an Aontais Eorpaigh agus Idirnáisiúnta a bhaint amach, maidir le raon leathan saincheisteanna, an Breatimeacht ina measc.

▪ Ionadaíocht a dhéanamh ar leasanna na hÉireann agus idirbheartaíocht a dhéanamh

maidir leo ar fhóraim ábhartha an Aontais Eorpaigh, ina measc:

- An Chomhairle Iomaíochais (a chuimsíonn an Margadh Inmheánach, Spás Tionscail agus Taighde),1

- An Chomhairle Gnóthaí Eachtracha (ag teacht le chéile ina foirmíocht Ghnó)

- An Chomhairle Fostaíochta, Beartais Shóisialta, Sláinte agus Gnóthaí Tomhaltóirí

(EPSCO)2

agus comhlachtaí idirnáisiúnta ábhartha eile;

- An Eagraíocht Dhomhanda Trádála (WTO),

- An Eagraíocht Idirnáisiúnta Saothair (ILO),

- An Eagraíocht um Chomhar agus Fhorbairt Eacnamaíochta (OECD),

- An Eagraíocht Dhomhanda um Maoin Intleachtúil (WIPO).

- Comhairle na hEorpa (Cairt Shóisialta)3

1 Aistríodh freagracht as taighde sa Chomhairle Iomaíochais ón Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta chuig an Roinn an

Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta an 1 Eanáir 2021

2 Aistríodh freagracht as EPSCO ón Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí chuig an Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta an 14

Deireadh Fómhair 2020 3 Aistríodh freagracht as Comhairle na hEorpa (Cairt Shóisialta) ón Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí chuig an Roinn Fiontar, Trádála

agus Fostaíochta an 14 Deireadh Fómhair 2020


—— 22

Struchtúr na Roinne

An Bord Bainistíochta Tá Bord Bainistíochta na Roinne comhdhéanta den Ard -Rúnaí, seachtar Rúnaithe Cúnta

agus Ceann an Aonaid Tacaíochta Bainistíochta, Rialachais agus Faisnéise.

Tháinig an Bord Bainistíochta le chéile gach seachtain i bpearsa agus ansin go f íorúil, i rith

2020.

A N B OR D B A I N I ST Í OCH T A A I R EA CH TA Tionóladh cruinnithe den Bhord Bainistíochta Aireachta go rialta in 2020. D’fhreastail an

tAire, na hAirí Stáit agus Comhairleoirí Speisialta don Aire ar na cruinnithe sin, chomh maith

le comhaltaí an Bhoird Bainistíochta.

OI F I G Í A G U S G N Í OMH A I R EA CH TA Í Tá seacht nOif ig agus ocht nGníomhaireachta ag an Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus

Fostaíochta. Lé héifeacht ón 1 Eanáir 2021, aistríodh Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann chuig

sainchúram na Roinne Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus

Eolaíochta.


—— 23

Cairt Eagrúcháin


—— 24

Oifigí agus Gníomhaireachtaí na Roinne

Annual Report 2020 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

—— 25

Ráiteas Straitéise 2018-2021 R Á I T E A S ST RA I TÉI SE 2 018 -2021

Leagtar amach i Ráiteas Stráitéise na Roinne 2018-2021 seacht sprioc ardleibhéil

uileghabhálacha a léiríonn tosaíochtaí straitéiseacha thar raon leathan na réimsí a bhfuil an

Roinn f reagrach astu. 4

Sprioc 1: A B H EITH C H UN TO S A IG H MA IDIR LE F IO N TA IR

A G US FO S TA ÍO C H T A RDC H AIG H DEÁ IN A C H RUTH Ú A G US A

C H O TH Ú I RÉIG IÚ IN UILE N A T ÍRE A C H TA C A ÍO C H T A TH A B H A IRT

DO B H O N N LÁ IDIR F IO N TRA ÍO C H TA DÚC H A IS , LEA N ÚIN T

D’ IN FH EIS TÍO C H T DH ÍREA C H C H O IG RÍC HE A MH EA LLA DH A G US

LE C ULTÚR LÁ IDIR F IO N TRA ÍO C H TA.

Meastar gur thit aschur eacnamaíoch domhanda idir 3.25% - 3.4% in 2020, rud a léiríonn

turraing i bhfad níos mó do gheilleagair ná an cúlú eacnamaíochta a tharla i ndiaidh na

géarchéime airgeadais domhanda. Ag an mbuaicthréimhse, in Aibreán 2020, ba é an ráta

dífhostaíochta, arna choigeartú le haghaidh COVID, 30.5%, agus fuair níos mó ná 1.2m den

lucht saothair tacaíocht ioncaim de chineál éigin. Tháinig laghdú ar an ráta dífhostaíochta le

linn na bliana seo caite, agus ag deireadh na bliana bhí an ráta dífhostaíochta, arna

choigeartú le haghaidh COVID,5 ag 20.4%.

Bhí leibhéal na tacaíochta Stáit i rith na bliana tathagach chun gnólachtaí agus oibrithe a

chosaint ón chuid is measa den phaindéim. Ba é an costas don Stát i rith na bl iana €25bn,

ina raibh €8.8bn de liúntais tacaíochtaí ioncaim tríd an Scéim Fóirdheontais Pá Fostaíochta,

an Scéim a tháinig roimhe sin, an Scéim Fóirdheontais Pá Sealadaigh, agus an Íocaíocht

Dífhostaíochta Phaindéime.

Tugann na hionchais, maidir leis na réamhaisnéisí a rinneadh le déanaí don bhliain atá le

teacht, le tuiscint gur éirigh an gheilleagar teacht tríd an chuid is measa den phaindéim

COVID-19, agus tugann réamhaisnéisí le tuiscint go bhfásfaidh OTI (GDP) na hÉireann idir

4.4% agus 4.9% in 2021, agus idir 4.5% agus 5.2% in 2022.

R A NNP H Á I RTEA C HA S L E P Á I RT IT HE L E ASMHA RA

L ár ionad F a is né is e F iont ar Nuair a fógraíodh an chéad dhúnadh i mí Márta mar gheall ar an bpaindéim, tháinig méadú

suntasach ar líon na nglaonna chuig an Roinn ó ghnólachtaí a bhí ag lorg comhairle agus

cúnaimh. Bunaíodh Lárionad Glaonna Tacaíochta Gnó COVID-19 láithreach chun faisnéis a

sholáthar faoi na scéimeanna agus na bearta airgeadais nua agus reatha a cuireadh ar fáil.

Bunaíodh uimhir ghutháin líne chabhrach agus seoladh ríomhphoist tiomnaithe don lárionad

4 Foilsíodh Ráiteas Straitéise nua 2021 go dtí 2023 i mí Eanáir 2021 mar a cheanglaítear tar éis Aire nua a

cheapadh agus is féidir é a fháil ag www.enterprise.gov.ie 5 https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/labourmarket/monthlyunemployment/monthlyunemploymentandcovid-

19adjustedestimatesmarch2020technicalnote/


—— 26

agus fógraíodh na sonraí seo ar shuíomh idirlín agus ar mheáin shóis ialta na Roinne.

D’fhreagair an Lárionad os cionn 11,200 glao agus ríomhphost in 2020.

Tugadh faoi deara gur áis luachmhar a bhí ann, in éineacht leis an tseirbhís phoiblí a

thairgeann an Roinn, agus socraíodh leanúint ar aghaidh agus feidhm an Lárionaid Glaonna

a leathnú agus go ndéanfaí é a fhás ina sheirbhís faisnéise gnó ina dtabharfaí aghaidh ar

gach tionscnamh agus beart gnó sa timpeallacht i ndiaidh Covid, lena n-áirítear iad siúd a

bhaineann leis an mBreatimeacht. Soláthraíonn an Lárionad pointe teagmhála lárnach

laistigh den Roinn do ghnólachtaí chun foghlaim faoin gcúnamh agus na seirbhísí atá ar fáil

ón Roinn, a hOif igí agus a Gníomhaireachtaí agus ar fud an Rialtais agus cá háit agus

conas rochtain a fháil orthu.

Cuireadh an Lárionad san áireamh sa mbailiúchán Sármhaitheas i gCás-Staidéir Seirbhíse

do Chustaiméirí a foilsíodh i mí na Nollag 2020 mar chuid dár Seirbhís Phoiblí 2020 mar

shampla den chaoi a bhfuil an Roinn ag obair go leanúnach chun seirbhís do chustaiméirí a

fheabhsú agus saoránaigh a chur i gcroílár leagan amach agus seachadadh seirbhíse.

F óram Miondíola Lean an Fóram Comhairliúcháin Miondíola de bhéim a chur ar riachtanais forbartha na

hearnála sa bhliain 2020. Threisigh a cuid oibre ar ullmhacht don Bhreatimeacht, lena n-

áirítear sna maolaithe a theastaíonn chun aon chur isteach ar shlabhraí soláthair bia a

íoslaghdú agus chabhraigh sé leis an earnáil ó thaobh tionchar COVID-19, na tréimhsí dúnta

miondíola neamhriachtanacha agus an treoir leanúnach sláinte poiblí. Maidir le hullmhacht

don Bhreatimeacht, d’éascaigh an Fóram, le tacaíocht ón Aonad Breatimeachta, teagmháil

le raon Ranna Rialtais agus comhlachtaí ábhartha lena n-áirítear Ranna Talmhaíochta, Bia

agus na Mara agus Iompair, Coimisinéirí Ioncaim, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann,

Seirbhísí Sláinte Comhshaoil, Port Bhaile Átha Cliath. Chomh maith leis na trí chruinniú

sceidealaithe den Fhóram Miondíola, bhuail an tAire English, an tAire Humphreys roimhe

seo, mar Chathaoirleach ar an Fhóraim Chomhairliúcháin Miondíola, leis an Earnáil

Grósaeireachta, Miondíola agus Dáileacháin go rialta i rith 2020 chun cúrsaí COVID -19 agus

Breatimeachta a phlé.

Chuir COVID-19 dlús le hathruithe struchtúracha san earnáil miondíola, lena n-áirítear an t-

aistriú go digiteach agus ar líne. Is bealach an-tábhachtach é an trádáil ar líne do mhiondíol

chun a ngnó a fhás agus a fheabhsú sa ghéarchéim reatha agus beidh sé ina ghné

thábhachtach don téarnamh sa bhfadtéarma. In 2020 tugadh isteach Scéim Miondíola Ar

Líne COVID-19, atá á riaradh ag Fiontraíocht Éireann thar ceann na Roinne, agus é mar

aidhm cabhrú le miondíoltóirí dúchasacha na hÉireann a ngnó a chothú tríd an ngéarchéim

agus sa todhchaí trína dtairiscint ar líne a neartú, a mbonn custaiméirí a mhéadú, agus gnó

níos athléimní a thógáil sa mhargadh baile agus domhanda ar líne agus as líne. Le linn

2020 fógraíodh dhá ghlao faoin Scéim Miondíola Ar Líne COVID-19 agus bronnadh €11.9m

ar 330 miondíoltóir.

I measc na saincheisteanna breise a bhreithnigh an Fóram in 2020 bhí athnuachan lár an

bhaile, costas árachais, riachtanais scileanna, rátaí tráchtála, cíosanna tráchtála agus na

tionscnaimh ghnó éagsúla COVID-19.

Cód iompair idir tiarnaí talún agus gnólachtaí le haghaidh cíosanna tráchtála


—— 27

Foilsíodh Cód Iompair deonach nua idir tiarnaí talún agus gnólachtaí le haghaidh cíosanna

tráchtála ar an 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2020. Forbraíodh an Cód, a bhí mar ghealltanas i gClár

an Rialtais, i gcomhairle le páirtithe leasmhara ábhartha, lena n-áirítear Cónaidhm

Ghnólachtaí agus Fhostóirí na hÉireann (IBEC), Feabhas Miondíola Éireann, Chambers

Ireland, Dublin Town agus Irish Institutional Property. Tá sé bunaithe ar chur chuige a

glacadh i ndlínsí eile, lena n-áirítear an Astráil, an Fhrainc agus an Ríocht Aontaithe. Tá

feidhm ag an gCód go dtí an 31 Iúil 2021 agus leagtar amach ann cur chuige struchtúrtha le

haghaidh rannpháirtíochta idir tiarnaí talún tráchtála agus tionóntaí, bunaithe ar a leas

choitinn ó thaobh leanúint ar aghaidh ag obair le chéile.

Leagtar amach sa Chód roinnt prionsabal ar cheart don dá pháirtí tiomantas a thabhairt cloí

leo, lena n-áirítear trédhearcacht agus comhoibriú. Iarrtar ar thiarnaí talún tráchtála

lamháltais a sholáthar nuair is féidir leo agus nuair nach féidir é sin a dhéanamh, iarrtar

orthu na cúiseanna leis seo a leagan amach go soiléir. Liostáiltear ann cuid de na

saincheisteanna atá le breithniú agus tionchar COVID-19 agus na srianta sláinte poiblí ar

ghnólachtaí á chinneadh agus an gá le lamháltas. Sa chás go bhfuil lamháltas á mheas,

soláthraítear sa Chód roinnt roghanna a mholtar le haghaidh socruithe nua. Moltar sa Chód

f reisin gur chóir go mbeadh tionóntaí tráchtála, atá ag lorg socruithe nua, soiléir maidir leis

an fáth a bhfuil cúnamh ag teastáil agus lamháltais á lorg ón tiarna talún.

R annpháir t íocht le Poba l na nG nólacht a í B eaga Cuidítear le rannpháirtíocht na Roinne i bPobal na nGnólachtaí Beaga mar go mbíonn

rannpháirtíocht fhorleathan ar bun i bhfóraim idirnáisiúnta ar ábhair bheartais FBManna. Ar

leibhéal na hEorpa, bíonn ionadaithe na Roinne rannpháirteach go gníomhach i gcónaí mar

chomhalta de Líonra Toscairí na bhFiontar Beag agus Meánmhéide ag cur le forbairt

Straitéis nua FBM an AE in 2020. Bhí an Roinn rannpháirteach go gníomhach arís i bPáirtí

Oibre an OECD ar FBManna agus Fiontraíocht agus, ar leibhéal na nAirí, ina

chomhchathaoirleach ar thionscnamh Digiteach do FBManna an OECD ag a imeachtaí in

2020. Chabhraigh an teagmháil seo le caidrimh láidre a thógáil lenár gcomhpháirtithe

idirnáisiúnta agus ba acmhainn luachmhar í le haghaidh na samplaí beartais idirnáisiúnta is

fearr.

Le linn 2020, chuir an suíomh idirlín supportingsmes.gov.ie faisnéis chriticiúil cothrom le dáta

ar fáil do FBManna maidir le tionscnaimh ghnó COVID-19, Treoirlínte an Bheartais um

Fhilleadh ar Obair, tacaíochtaí maidir leis an mBreatimeacht agus saoráidí comharthaíochta

do thionscnaimh ghnó agus do sheimineáir gréasáin oiliúna.

I mí Meán Fómhair 2020, bhunaigh an Roinn Tascfhórsa Fáis le haghaidh FBManna chun

Plean Náisiúnta Fáis FBManna a leagan amach agus a sheachadadh, plean straitéiseach

fadtéarmach do FBManna agus d’fhiontraithe a d’fhéachfadh níos faide ná an Breatimeacht

agus COVID-19. Roghnaíodh comhaltaí an Tascfhórsa do FBManna ó raon leathan

ionadaithe ó phobal na ngnólachtaí beaga, lena n-áirítear f iontraithe rathúla, comhlachtaí

ionadaíocha, agus ceannairí gnó eile.

Tháinig an Tascfhórsa, a raibh an Tánaiste ina chathaoirleach air, le chéile i seisiún

iomlánach ceithre huaire idir Meán Fómhair agus Nollaig. Bhí 18 gcruinniú eile ann de

cheithre fhoghrúpa, a d’oibrigh ar mholtaí a fhorbairt i réimsí téamacha. I measc na tograí a

forbraíodh bhí bearta chun cabhrú le FBManna margaí eachtracha a bhunú, a mhéadú agus

rochtain a fháil orthu, chomh maith le moltaí atá d írithe ar chabhrú le FBManna a bheith níos

https://supportingsmes.gov.ie/


—— 28

táirgiúla agus réidh le haghaidh an aistrithe go geilleagar digiteach, glas. Ina theannta sin, tá

fócas ar leith ar líonraí agus braislí gnó áitiúla a chruthú agus a fhás, agus iad mar dhul chun

cinn thábhachtach ó thaobh forbairt réigiúnach.

Cuireadh obair an Tascfhórsa i gcrích nuair a críochnaíodh an dréacht -Tuarascáil, ina

leagtar amach níos mó ná 80 gníomh a bhfuil sé mar aidhm acu a chinntiú go leanfaidh

FBManna agus f iontraithe na hÉireann ag fás agus ag éirí níos táirgiúla sna blianta amach

romhainn. I mí na Nollag, thug an Rialtas aitheantas don Phlean Fáis agus ceadaíodh a

fhoilseachán, a chuirfear ar fáil go luath.

ROCHTAIN AR AIRGEAD

Scéim Caipitil Oibre SBCI COVID-19 Seoladh Scéim Caipitil Oibre SBCI COVID-19 ag deireadh mí Márta 2020 chun f reagairt

láithreach a sholáthar do riachtanais leachtachta FBManna agus cuideachtaí beaga

meánchaipitlithe a raibh tionchar ag COVID-19 orthu. Faoin scéim seo cuirtear méideanna

iasachta idir €25,000 agus €1.5m ar fáil ag rátaí iomaíocha ar feadh tréimhsí idir bliain agus

trí bliana, agus níl aon urrús ag teastáil ar iasachtaí níos lú ná €500k.

Idir Scéim Caipitil Oibre SBCI agus Scéim Iasachta an Bhreatimeachta, faoi dheireadh 2020

bhí luach €337.5m d’iasachtaí curtha ar fáil chun cabhrú le riachtanais leachtachta

FBManna. Tá leathnú breise ar siúl chun iasachtaí faoin dá scéim seo a mhéadú go dtí

€500m. Sna cúig mhí go dtí deireadh Mheán Fómhair 2020, sular sheol an Roinn seo agus

an Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara scéim iasachta leachtachta saincheaptha do

FBManna a raibh tionchar ag COVID-19 orthu (Scéim Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa COVID-19

- tuilleadh sonraí thíos), cuireadh 808 iasacht faoi Scéim Caipitil Oibre SBCI COVID -19, arbh

fhiú €103.5m iad, ar aghaidh chun ceadú a fháil ag leibhéal bainc. Cuireadh 150 iasacht eile

ar aghaidh chun ceadú a fháil, arbh fhiú €22m iad, de réir mar a rinne iasachtóirí

athbhreithniú ar a bpíblíne iarratas idir Meán Fómhair agus Nollaig 2020. San iomlán

ceadaíodh 958 iasacht, arbh fhiú €126.5m iad, thar tréimhse naoi mí le linn 2020.

Scéim Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa COVID-19 Cheadaigh an dá Theach an Oireachtais an tAcht um Ráthaíocht Creidmheasa (Leasú) agus

shínigh an tUachtarán é ina dhlí i mí Iúil 2020. De réir an Achta leathnaítear an Scéim

Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa COVID-19 go dtí deireadh 2021. Foráiltear le Scéim Ráthaíochta

Creidmheasa COVID-19 luach €2bn iasachtaí do ghnólachtaí Éireannacha agus is í an

scéim ráthaíochta is mó i stair an Stáit í. Is í an fheidhm atá leis an scéim cinnteacht a

thabhairt do ghnólachtaí go bhfuil maoiniú ar fáil chun críocha caipitil oibre agus

infheistíochta. Tá iasachtaí suas le €1m ar fáil ar feadh tréimhsí suas le cúig bliana go leith

ag rátaí úis laghdaithe. Ní theastaíonn ráthaíochtaí comhthaobhachta nó pearsanta ó

iasachtaí faoi €250,000. Tá an Scéim ar fáil do FBManna, do fhiontair mheánchaipitlithe

beaga agus do tháirgeoirí tosaigh.

Mar thoradh ar an nGlao Oscailte ar an Scéim, arna oibriú ag SBCI, bhí an líon is mó

iarratas riamh ó sholáthraithe airgeadais in Éirinn agus faoi dheireadh na bliana bhí an

próiseas dlí agus oibríochta críochnaithe ag níos mó ná 20 soláthróir airgeadais nua nó

bhíodar ag dul tríd na céimeanna deiridh. Léiríonn sé seo an idirghníomhaíocht rathúil is mó

riamh ag soláthraithe airgeadais príobháideacha le scéim stáit agus cuirf idh sé iomaíocht,


—— 29

leathadh réigiúnach agus éagsúlacht ar fáil sa mhargadh iasachtaí do FBManna sa

todhchaí.

Sheol AIB, BOI agus Banc Uladh an Scéim i Meán Fómhair 2020, agus tháinig Comhair

Chreidmheasa agus iasachtóirí neamhbhainc isteach sa scéim i mí na Nollag 2020. Tar éis

níos lú ná ceithre mhí ag feidhmiú, bhí maoiniú de luach os cionn €98m tarraingthe anuas ag

1,890 gnólacht faoi dheireadh na bliana. Is ionann é seo agus méadú 600% ar an €14.8m a

tarraingíodh anuas ina iomláine in 2019 faoin Scéim Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa. Bunaíodh

an Scéim i dtosach le feidhmiú go dtí deireadh 2020 ach cuireadh síneadh léi go dtí 30

Meitheamh 2021 tar éis chinneadh an rialtais i mí na Samhna 2020.

Scéim Iasachta Fáis Amach Anseo Seoladh an Scéim Iasachta Fáis Amach Anseo ar f iú €300m í i mí Márta 2019 chun rochtain

ar iasachtaí a sholáthar do ghnólachtaí incháilithe Éireannacha agus do na

príomhearnálacha talmhaíochta agus bia mara chun cabhrú le hinfheistíocht fhadtéarmach

straitéiseach. Leathnaíodh an scéim i mí Iúil 2020 chun iasachtaí a mhéadú go dtí €800m.

Tá sé níos éasca teacht ar airgeadas a chuirtear ar fáil faoin scéim seo, ar phraghas níos

iomaíche, agus á tairiscint ar théarmaí níos fabhraí ná iasachtaí eile do ghnólachtaí den sórt

sin. Cuirtear iasachtaí idir €100,000 (€50,000 don talmhaíocht) go €3m agus iasachtaí

neamhurraithe suas le €500,000 ar fáil. Cuirtear iasachtaí ar fáil ar feadh tréimhsí idir

seacht mbliana agus 10 mbliana - ag tabhairt aghaidh ar bhearna sa mhargadh le haghaidh

maoiniú níos fadtéarmaí. Tá an scéim cómhaoinithe ag an Roinn seo, an Roinn

Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara agus ag an mBanc Eorpach Infheistíochta.

Glacadh chomh maith sin leis an scéim seo sa mhargadh go raibh 2,742 iasacht curtha ar

aghaidh ag deireadh 2020 chun ceadú a fháil ar leibhéal bainc, ar luach iomlán €555m, agus

gur ceadaíodh 2,023 de na hiasachtaí sin dar luach €415.1m in 2020 amháin.

A n Scé im Cis t e I as acht a do Mh icr i f h iont a ir Tugadh isteach an Scéim Ciste Iasachta do Mhicrifhiontair, arna fheidhmiú ag Micrea-

Airgeadas Éireann, in 2012. Is é cuspóir an chiste iasachtaí a thabhairt do mhicrifhiontair, a

shainmhínítear mar ghnólachtaí ag a bhfuil níos lú ná deichniúr fostaithe agus/nó

láimhdeachas níos lú ná €2m.

In 2020, cheadaigh Micrea-Airgeadas Éireann maoiniú €27.4m do 2,202 ghnólacht beag ar

fud na tíre, rud a thacaigh le 2,972 post a chruthú nó a chothabháil agus tugadh 74% de na

hiasachtaí do mhicrifhiontair lasmuigh de Bhaile Átha Cliath.

Ó cuireadh tús leis an Scéim Ciste Iasachta do Mhicrifhiontair in 2012 go dtí deireadh 2020,

tarraingíodh anuas 3,199 iasacht arbh fhiú €53.9m iad san iomlán rud a thacaigh le 9,002

post.

De bhreis ar an Acht um an gCiste Iasachta do Mhionfhiontair (Leasú) 2020, cuireadh tús le

hathbhreithniú rialachais chun an t-athrú féideartha ar úinéireacht/tuismíocht na cuideachta

ar leis an scair aonair in Micrea-Airgeadas Éireann a mheas. Rinneadh é seo in éineacht le

hathbhreithniú díchill chuí seachtrach ar an eagraíocht thar ceann SBCI chun a gcumas a

bheith ina iasachtóir le Micrea-Airgeadas Éireann a chur chun cinn.


—— 30

DEONTAS ATOSAIGH Ag obair leis na húdaráis áitiúla, sheol an Roinn an Deontas Atosaigh agus na Scéimeanna

Deontais Atosaithe Móide a chuidigh leis an gcostas a bhaineann le gnó a athoscailt nó a

choinneáil ag feidhmiú agus ceangal a dhéanamh arís le fostaithe agus custaiméirí.

Cuireadh leithdháileadh iomlán €685m ar fáil trí na scéimeanna seo in 2020, agus eisíodh

níos mó ná 108,000 deontas.

P L E A NA NNA F I ONTA I R R É I GI ÚNA CH A

Is é cuspóir na bPleananna Fiontraíochta Réigiúnach, a seoladh i dtosach in 2019 le

maoirseacht á dhéanamh ar leibhéal náisiúnta ag an Roinn, deiseanna fáis a aithint,

leochaileachtaí a aithint, agus mar fhreagairt air sin, éiceachóras na bhf iontar réigiúnach a

neartú chun cruthú post a chumasú sna réigiúin.

Arna fhorbairt ag páirtithe leasmhara réigiúnacha, tá líon beag Cuspóirí Straitéiseacha

tosaíochta comhaontaithe agus gníomhartha sonracha i ngach Plean chun cabhrú le forbairt

f iontar agus cruthú post thar chlár oibre dhá bhliain.

Comhlánaíonn na Pleananna na gníomhaíochtaí atá ann cheana atá á ndéanamh ag IDA

Éireann, Fiontraíocht Éireann, na OFAnna agus an raon níos leithne Comhlachtaí Stáit a

bhfuil baint dhíreach acu le cuidiú le forbairt f iontar sna réigiúin agus gineann siad breisluach

ó ghníomhaithe réigiúnacha agus áitiúla atá ag obair i gcomhar lena chéile.

Cuireann naoi gCoiste Stiúrtha Réigiúnach 'ó bhun aníos' agus comhoibritheach na

Pleananna Fiontair Réigiúnacha i bhfeidhm. Faoi chathaoirleacht duine ón earnáil

phríobháideach, áirítear leis an mballraíocht: na Gníomhaireachtaí f iontar, OFAnna, údaráis

áitiúla, comhlachtaí ardoideachais agus breisoideachais, an earnáil phríobháideach agus

eile.

Ag teacht leis an bhfócas ar fhorbairt réigiúnach chothromaithe i gClár an Rialtais, déanfar

na Pleananna Fiontair Réigiúnacha a athnuachan le haghaidh clár oibre ilbhliana eile tar éis

cleachtadh comhairliúcháin agus tosaíochta leis na Coistí Réigiúnacha a ndéanfaidh an

Roinn maoirseacht air ag tosú in 2021.

C I ST E F O R BA RTHA F I O NTA IR R É I G I ÚNA I GH

Is uirlis éifeachtach beartais é an Ciste Forbartha Fiontair Réigiúnaigh, arna riar ag

Fiontraíocht Éireann, chun tionscnaimh chomhoibritheacha ón mbun aníos a spreagadh

agus tacú leo ó thaobh airgeadais de, tionscnaimh a fhéachann le héiceachórais réigiúnacha

f iontar agus an cumas poist a chruthú sna réigiúin a neartú. Cuireann an Ciste le

haidhmeanna agus le cuspóirí na bPleananna Fiontraíochta Réigiúnacha.

I mí Eanáir 2020, ar an tríú glao den Chiste, bronnadh luach €45m de mhaoiniú ar 26

tionscadal. Tá luach beagnach €100m de mhaoiniú ceadaithe anois do 68 tionscadal thar trí

ghlaoch iomaíoch faoin gCiste go dtí seo, le tionscadail ceadaithe i ngach réigiún, ag dul ó

fhorbairt moil nuathionscanta/f iontar go taighde feidhmeach agus nuálach atá dírithe go

náisiúnta ar earnáil saoráidí a thógann ar speisialtóireachtaí réigiúnacha ar leith. I measc na

dtionscadal rathúil faoin tríú glao tá Future Mobility Campus Ireland, atá bunaithe i Sionainn

Co. an Chláir, ar bronnadh maoiniú luach €4.7m air chun leaba tástála iompair a bhunú agus

mol Bia Premier Lakelands, ar ceadaíodh maoiniú luach os cionn €1.3m dó chun mol bia

úrscothach atá lonnaithe sa Longfort a fhorbairt.


—— 31

Seoladh Ciste Forbartha Fiontar Teorann (SCFFT) go luath in 2020 chun cúnamh a

sholáthar do thionscadail chomhoibritheacha, a fhorbraíonn cumais f iontraíochta, chun

f iontraíocht, táirgiúlacht agus nuálaíocht a chur chun cinn i réigiún na Teorann. Bhí an Ciste

mar chuid de phacáiste spreagtha eacnamaíochta an Bhreatimeachta le luach €28m a

fógraíodh le haghaidh sé chontae na teorann sé sin Lú, Muineachán, an Cabhán, Sligeach,

Liatroim agus Dún na nGall. I mí Meithimh 2020, faoin SCFFT, ceadaíodh maoiniú do 11

tionscadal le luach níos mó ná €17m agus ceadaíodh tionscadail i ngach ceann de na

contaetha Teorann. I measc na dtionscadal rathúla faoin SCFFT tá tionscadal nuálaíocht -

mar-sheirbhís i nDún na nGall a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aige dlús a chur faoi ghlacadh le réitigh

teicneolaíochta bunathraitheacha ag FBManna, chomh maith le hArd -Ionad Oiliúna

Déantúsaíochta agus Teicneolaíochta á bhunú i nDún Dealgan, Co. Lú.

F I O NT R AÍ OC H T É I RE A NN

Thuairiscigh cliaintchuideachtaí Fiontraíocht Éireann gur tháinig meath ar an bhfostaíocht

iomlán, rud a léiríonn tionchar na paindéime ar gheilleagar na hÉireann agus ar mhargaí

domhanda in 2020. Thuairiscigh suirbhé fostaíochta 2020 de chuid Fiontraíocht Éireann go

raibh 220,613 duine fostaithe i gcuideachtaí a fhaigheann tacaíocht ó Fhiontraíocht Éireann,

laghdú 0.4%, ag cur gnóthachain agus caillteanais post san áireamh agus ansin cailleadh

872 post glan san iomlán. Tháinig fás suntasach ar chliaintchuideachtaí Fhiontraíocht

Éireann i roinnt earnálacha in 2020, lena n-áirítear Eolaíochtaí Beatha (6.8%), Cleantech

(6%) agus Tógáil (méadú fostaíochta 4.7%). Chaith cliaint Fhiontraíocht Éireann €28bn in

2019 i ngeilleagar na hÉireann ar phárolla, earraí agus seirbhísí.

Eagraíodh os cionn 60 'Imeacht Idirnáisiúnta do Cheannaitheoirí Fíorúla'. I mí Dheireadh

Fómhair, d'fhreastail 1,651 duine go f íorúil ar sheoladh ‘Seachtain Idirnáisiúnta na Margaí’.

Ag an imeacht onnmhaireora is mó in Éirinn bhuail níos mó ná 700 cuideachta le 140

comhairleoir margaidh ó 40 oif ig thar lear ag 2,000 cruinniú f íorúil duine le duine chun a

straitéisí maidir le COVID-19, an Breatimeacht agus éagsúlú margaidh a phleanáil.

Sheol Fiontraíocht Éireann Céim 2 den chlár 'Iontráil limistéar an euro' do ghnó na hÉireann,

atá leagtha amach chun deiseanna do ghnó na hÉireann a uasmhéadú sa dara margadh is

mó do chliaintchuideachtaí Fiontraíocht Éireann. Le fás 15% in 2019 agus luach €5.6bn

d’onnmhairí, is ionann limistéar an euro agus 22% d’onnmhairí iomlána.

In 2020 ba é an dúshlán a bhí ag Fiontraíocht Éireann ná cabhrú le cuideachtaí theacht slán

as tionchar COVID-19 agus an Breatimeacht. Baineadh é seo amach go príomha tríd an

gcúnamh leachtachta a cuireadh ar fáil do chuideachtaí tríd an gCiste Fiontar Cothaitheach

a rinne an Roinn idirbheartaíocht ina leith. Is é príomhchuspóir an chiste gnó a chothú ionas

gur féidir le cuideachtaí f illeadh ar inmharthanacht agus cur le téarnamh gheilleagair na

hÉireann. Chuidigh maoiniú €124m le 418 cuideachta agus 17,710 post a chothú ar fud na

tíre.

Áiríodh i measc an mhaoiniú spriocdhírithe COVID-19 a cuireadh ar fáil chun cabhrú le

cuideachtaí cobhsú, athshocrú agus aisghabháil:

▪ 8,650 cuideachta (lena n-áirítear cliaint nach cliaint de chuid Fiontraíocht Éireann iad) a

tairgeadh comhairle dóibh agus a cuireadh i dtreo roghanna maoinithe.

▪ 989 cuideachta a soláthraíodh maoiniú €4.9m dóibh chun plean láidir airgeadais a

fhorbairt tríd an Deontas Pleanála Airgeadais Gnó COVID-19.


—— 32

▪ 330 miondíoltóir a soláthraíodh deontais €11.8m san iomlán dóibh, chun a láithreacht ar

líne a fhorbairt tríd an Scéim Miondíola Ar Líne.

▪ €5.4m a cuireadh ar fáil do chuideachtaí atá i mbun nuálaíochta agus ag scálú chun

earraí a tháirgeadh chun f reagairt don phaindéim COVID-19 faoi Scéim Táirgí COVID-

19.

▪ Bronnadh €8.24m san iomlán ar 95 ionad fiontar réigiúnach ar fud na tíre trí Chiste na

nIonad Fiontar. Fuair na moil ghnó réigiúnacha deontais idir €10k agus €150k chun

cabhrú leo leanúint ar aghaidh ag tairiscint seirbhísí do ghnólachtaí réigiúnacha ar fud

na hÉireann.

▪ 531 ionadaí cuideachta a chríochnaigh Máistir-Rang Díol Idirnáisiúnta Fíorúil - ag

soláthar scileanna ríthábhachtacha do ghnólachtaí chun leanúint ar aghaidh ag fás a

lorg onnmhaire le linn na paindéime.

Scála Foirgníochta:

▪ In 2020 fuair 125 gnólacht nuathionscanta san iomlán cúnamh tríd an gclár HPSU agus

trí thionscnaimh an Chiste um Thús Iomaíoch.

▪ I mí na Nollag, fógraíodh 15 ban-fhiontraí mar rannpháirtithe sa Chiste um Thús

Iomaíoch.

▪ Le linn 2020 bhunaigh Fiontraíocht Éireann comhpháirtíochtaí do HPSUnna le Amazon

agus Microsof t.

Tá sonraí faoi fhreagairt straitéiseach Fiontraíocht Éireann ar an mBreatimeacht san

áireamh faoi Sprioc 6.

O I F I G Í F I O NT A IR Á I T I ÚLA

Is éard atá sa 31 Oif ig Fiontair Áitiúil ná ‘siopa céad staid’ le haghaidh comhairle agus

treorach, cúnamh airgeadais agus tacaíochtaí eile do dhaoine ar mian leo a ngnólacht féin a

thosú nó a fhás. Le linn 2020 díríodh ról na OFÁnna níos mó ar chabhrú le húinéirí gnó na

tionscnaimh atá ar fáil dóibh a aithint chun f reagairt don ghéarchéim seo, nach bhfacthas a

leithéid cheana, agus chun cabhrú leo a ngnóthaí a choinneáil inmharthana. I rith na bliana:

• chruthaigh cliaint na nOif igí Fiontair Áitiúla 5,585 post nua lánaimseartha agus

páirtaimseartha (comhlán) san iomlán;

• bhí laghdú glan de 1,494 post (lánaimseartha agus páirtaimseartha); agus

• bhí punann OFÁ in 2020 comhdhéanta de 7,529 cliantchuideachta, le fostaíocht iomlán

de 35,236 (poist lánaimseartha agus páirtaimseartha).

Bearta COVID-19 Mar phríomhpháirtí i bhfreagra an rialtais ar COVID-19, d’fhorbair na OFÁnna bearta nua

agus rinne siad bearta atá ann cheana a oiriúnú chun cúnamh airgeadais a sholáthar do

FBManna ar fud na tíre.

• Chuir scéim An Dearbháin Leanúnachais Gnó, a tugadh isteach i mí Márta 2020, dearbhán ar fáil, ar f iú suas le €2,500 é i gcostais chomhairliúcháin tríú páirtí, le húsáid

ag cuideachtaí agus trádálaithe aonair chun straitéisí gearrthéarmacha agus


—— 33

fadtéarmacha a fhorbairt chun f reagairt don phaindéim COVID-19 ag a thús agus chun

pleanáil a dhéanamh ó thaobh athshlánú agus athoscailt an gheilleagair ar deireadh

thiar. Ghlac an scéim, a dúnadh i mí Bealtaine 2020, le 14,871 iarratas sa tréimhse seo

agus ceadaíodh 12,077, arbh fhiú beagnach €26m iad.

• Cuireann An Scéim Dearbhán Trádála Ar Líne oiliúint scileanna, meantóireacht agus cúnamh airgeadais suas le €2,500 ar fáil chun cabhrú le gnóthais bheaga agus

mhicrifhiontair a gcumas ríomhthráchtála a fhorbairt. Tugadh solúbthacht nua isteach sa

Scéim i mí Aibreáin, lena n-áirítear an riachtanas maidir le cómhaoiniú a laghdú ó 50%

go 10% agus cead a thabhairt do ghnólachtaí iarratas a dhéanamh ar an dara dearbhán

suas le €2,500 sa chás gur éirigh leo an chéad cheann a úsáid. Ó tharla an phaindéim

COVID-19, tá an-tóir ar an scéim seo a osclaíonn margaí nua do ghnólachtaí atá ag

streachailt agus rinneadh 17,197 iarratas agus ceadaiodh 12,946 díobh i mbliana arbh

fhiú €30.7m iad.

• Tugadh isteach An Ciste Cúnaimh do Mhicrifhiontair i mí Mheán Fómhair, agus díríonn sé ar na micrifhiontair sin nach raibh in ann leas a bhaint as bearta rialtais atá ann

cheana. Chuir an Ciste Deontais seo dearbhán suas le €1,000 ar fáil do ghnólachtaí

incháilithe maidir le caiteachas dearbháin, mar ranníocaíocht i leith an chostais a

bhaineann le gnó a athoscailt nó a choinneáil ag feidhmiú agus ceangal a dhéanamh le

fostaithe agus custaiméirí arís. Go dtí seo ceadaíodh rinneadh 428 iarratas agus

ceadaíodh 196 díobh arbh fhiú €185,000 san iomlán iad.

Bearta Lárnacha Lean na OFÁnna ag soláthar comhairle agus cúnaimh d’fhiontraithe chun tabhairt faoina

gcuid smaointe gnó agus deiseanna a lorg chun gnólachtaí nua a chur ar bun.

In 2020, d’íoc na OFÁnna cúnamh airgeadais díreach le 1,216 tionscadal gnó, arbh fhiú

€13.2m é. Ina measc seo, bhí 336 ag lorg deontas do chuideachtaí nua-thionscanta arbh

fhiú beagnach €5m iad.

Chomh maith leis na bearta airgeadais a bhí á dtairiscint, d’fhreagair na OFÁnna do na srianta a bhaineann le dianghlasáil trína gcuid clár oiliúna, ceardlanna agus cruinnithe líonraithe a mhacasamhlú ar ardán ar líne a chlúdaíonn réimsí mar:

• bainistíocht airgid le linn géarchéime;

• do ghnó a threorú trí COVID-19; agus

• comhairle d’fhostóirí a ndeachaigh an ghéarchéim i bhfeidhm orthu.

Chuir na OFÁnna cúnamh meantóireachta saor in aisce ar fáil do 16,231 rannpháirtí le

meantóir a bhfuil taithí acu chun réitigh ar réimsí neamhchosanta laistigh dá ngnó a aithint.

Le comhairle agus treoir óna meantóir, déanann cliaint straitéisí a fhorbairt atá níos láidre, a

thugann aghaidh ar shaincheisteanna agus a uasmhéadaíonn deiseanna féideartha lena n-

áirítear iad siúd a bhaineann le dúshláin COVID-19.

Ghlac 77,466 rannpháirtí páirt sna cláir oiliúna COVID-19 f reisin.

Sheol na OFÁnna an Tionscnamh Oiliúna Cliant OFÁ, sraith nua seimineár gréasáin oiliúna

beo 'Lón & Foghlaim', oscailte agus inrochtana do gach cliantchuideachta OFÁ agus cliant

ionchasach ar fud na tíre, gan aon chlárú ná síniú ag teastáil. Tá sé i gceist leis an tsraith


—— 34

seo na cláir oiliúna agus seimineár gréasáin ar líne atá i bhfeidhm cheana féin do chliaint a

chomhlánú. Is comhrá idirghníomhach é seo le saineolaí dif riúil gach seachtain faoi mhúnla

‘Lón & Foghlaim agus tá sé ar fáil ar Leathanach náisiúnta Facebook OFÁ agus trí chainéal

YouTube OFÁ.

Toradh dearfach ar infheistíocht agus cúnamh OFÁ is ea dul chun cinn 133

cliantchuideachta LEO chuig punann Fhiontraíocht Éireann in 2020. Tá na cliaint seo i

measc na cuideachtaí is fearr feidhmíochta i bpunann cliant an OFÁ (agus mar gheall ar an

aistriú go Fiontraíocht Éireann ní léirítear a bhfeidhmíocht sa toradh 2020 thuas).

GF T É I R E A NN

D’fheidhmigh GFT Éireann go láidir in 2020 le cliaintchuideachtaí ag cruthú 20,123 post

comhlán nua ar an talamh. Is de chuid cliaintchuideachtaí GFT Éireann anois 12.4% den

fhostaíocht náisiúnta arna choigeartú le haghaidh COVID-19.

B'ionann fostaíocht iomlán Infheistíochta Dírí Eachtraí in Éirinn ag deireadh 2020 agus

257,394, an líon is airde riamh a fostaíodh san earnáil ilnáisiúnta.

As na 246 infheistíocht nua a baineadh amach in 2020, bhain 128 (52%) le suíomhanna

réigiúnacha.

Tháinig méadú ar fhostaíocht i ngach réigiún, seachas réigiún na teorann, in 2020. Léirigh

an Oirthear láir an ráta fáis is airde ag 6.2%.

Tríd an gClár Réigiúnach Maoine, tá GFT Éireann ag forbairt réitigh réadmhaoine iomchuí in

áiteanna réigiúnacha ainmnithe chun cabhrú le hinfheistíocht thar lear a mhealladh.

Straitéis GFT Éireann: Téarnamh agus Fás Inbhuanaithe a chur chun cinn 2021-2024 I measc chomhthéacs na neamhchinnteachta eacnamaíche a bhaineann le COVID -19 agus

an Breatimeacht, d’fhorbair GFT Éireann straitéis nua le linn 2020. Tá an straitéis seo, dar

teideal 'Téarnamh agus Fás Inbhuanaithe a chur chun cinn 2021-2024', tógtha ar chúig

philéar idirnasctha - fás, claochlú, réigiúin, inbhuanaitheacht agus tionchar. Tá sé mar aidhm

ag GFT Éireann 800 infheistíocht san iomlán a bhaint amach agus 50,000 post a chruthú sa

tréimhse 2021-2024. Is é uaillmhian na straitéise cruthú substaintiúil post a sheachadadh

agus gníomhaíocht eacnamaíoch a chur chun cinn, ag díriú ar mhéadú 20% ar chaiteachas

cliant chun tionchar na hinfheistíochta dírí eachtraí a uasmhéadú. Ag tacú leis an bPlean

Gníomhaíochta Aeráide, tá sé mar aidhm leis an straitéis 60 infheistíocht inbhuanaitheachta

a bhuachan thar an tréimhse go dtí 2024 agus cuideoidh sí le fás sa todhchaí trí 170

Taighde, Forbairt & Nuálaíocht agus 130 infheistíocht oiliúna, rud a chuirf idh ar a chumas

téarnamh claochlaitheach dírithe ar inbhuanaitheacht agus cuimsitheacht a bhaint amach.

Seoladh an straitéis i mí Eanáir 2021.

Tá mionsonraí faoi fhreagairt straitéiseach GFT Éireann don Bhreatimeacht faoi Sprioc 6.

I D I R -T HRÁ DÁ I L É I R EA NN

Tá Idir-Thrádáil Éireann ar cheann de na sé Chomhlacht Forfheidhmithe Thuaidh/Theas a

bunaíodh le Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta in 1998. Ó shin i leith, tá Idir-Thrádáil Éireann ag

cabhrú le gnóthaí beaga in Éirinn agus i dTuaisceart Éireann margaí nua trasteorann a fhiosrú,

táirgí, próisis agus seirbhísí nua a fhorbairt, a ngnó a fhás agus a bheith faoi réir le haghaidh

infheisteoirí. Tá punann spriocdhírithe de chláir agus seirbhísí ag an gComhlacht a bhfuil


—— 35

d’aidhm léi cabhrú le gnóthaí buntáiste iomaíoch a fhorbairt i réims í f íorthábhachtacha na

trádála agus na nuálaíochta, iad ar fad bunaithe ar thaighde f ianaise-bhunaithe geilleagrach

agus gnó. Tá an Roinn ag méadú an mhaoiniú a chuirtear ar fáil d’Idir-Thrádáil Éireann, le

méaduithe gach bliain, lena n-áirítear €675k breise curtha ar fáil le haghaidh 2021. Mar

thoradh air seo mhéadaigh an maoiniú a chuirimid ar fáil d’Idir-Thrádáil Éireann ó thart ar €7.5

milliún in 2017 go dtí os cionn €11 milliún in 2021.

I measc ghníomhaíochtaí Idir-Thrádáil Éireann in 2020 bhí: ▪ Deiseanna agus acmhainní airgeadais a chur ar fáil do thionscail aistrithe

teicneolaíochta Thuaidh/Theas chun táirgí nuálacha agus seirbhísí nua a fhorbairt lena

mbeifear in ann onnmhairiú a fhás;

▪ Réimsí nua comhoibrithe idir gnólachtaí sa Tuaisceart agus sa Deisceart a bhreithniú;

▪ Deiseanna díolachán agus margaíochta a thabhairt do ghnólachtaí le go mbeidh siad in

ann margaí nua trasteorann a aimsiú;

▪ Rochtain a chur ar fáil d’fhiontair bheaga agus mheánmhéide ar mhargadh soláthair

phoiblí €12bn uile-Éireann

▪ Leanúint ar aghaidh ag cabhrú le Trasteorann ullmhú agus oiriúnú don chaidreamh trádála

nua i ndiaidh an Bhreatimeachta; agus

▪ Freagairt thapa a thabhairt ar ghnó a bhfuil tionchar ag COVID-19 air.

Príomhthorthaí Idir-Thrádáil Éireann in 2020:

▪ Bhí cruthú post ag 1,597 i gcomparáid le sprioc 1,500 don bhliain;

▪ Bhí Luach Forbartha Gnó do chuideachtaí ag €79m i gcomparáid le sprioc €75.6m

▪ Bhí cuideachtaí nuálacha céad uaire ag 63 i gcomparáid le sprioc 67; agus

▪ Bhí onnmhaireoirí céad uaire ag 92 i gcomparáid le sprioc 55

C O T H R OMA ÍO CH T L E H A GH A IDH GNÓ NÍ O S F E A RR

Sheol an Tánaiste an tríú tuarascáil ón ngrúpa Cothromaíocht le haghaidh Gnó Níos Fearr

ag ócáid fhíorúil an 16 Nollaig 2020. Sheol an Taoiseach ag an am, Leo Varadkar TD,

Cothromaíocht le haghaidh Gnó Níos Fearr in 2018, chun cothromaíocht inscne sa

cheannaireacht shinsearach in Éirinn a fheabhsú.

Is iad Brid Horan agus Gary Kennedy comh-chathaoirligh ar an nGrúpa Athbhreithnithe

Cothromaíocht le haghaidh Gnó Níos Fearr agus tá an grúpa comhdhéanta de dhaoine

sinsearacha i ngnó na hÉireann agus sa tseirbhís phoiblí. Scrúdaíonn an Grúpa

Athbhreithnithe neamhspleách seo an meascán inscne lais tigh de rialachas agus

bainistíocht shinsearach cuideachtaí in Éirinn agus na saincheisteanna a thagann chun cinn

maidir le ceapadh stiúrthóirí cuideachta agus lucht bainistíochta sinsearaí.

Déanann an Grúpa Athbhreithnithe moltaí maidir le conas is féidir le níos mó ban a bheith

páirteach i gcinnteoireacht ag an leibhéal is airde gnólachtaí in Éirinn lena n-áirítear éileamh

ar athchóiriú ar an gcóras reatha chun a chinntiú go mbeidh ról ag níos mó ban ag leibhéal

an bhoird agus i bhfoirne ceannaireachta sinsearacha. Tá spriocanna forásacha leagtha síos


—— 36

aige go dtí 2023 f reisin chun cothromaíocht inscne níos fearr a bhaint amach ar bhoird agus

ar bhainistíocht shinsearach na gcuideachtaí seo.

Déanann an tríú tuarascáil seo monatóireacht ar dhul chun cinn i gcoinne na spriocanna go

1 Meán Fómhair 2020 agus áirítear anois ann cuideachtaí móra ilnáisiúnta atá ag feidhmiú

in Éirinn chomh maith le cuideachtaí atá liostaithe ar Euronext Dublin (Stocmhalartán na

hÉireann roimhe seo) agus cuideachtaí príobháideacha móra Éireannacha eile.

Taispeánann an tuarascáil go bhfuil dul chun cinn spreagúil á dhéanamh i roinnt réimsí lena

n-áirítear:

▪ Ar an iomlán i measc na gcuideachtaí liostaithe, is mná iad 22.4% de na stiúrthóirí, suas

ó 19.1% in 2020 (agus suas ó 14% in 2018);

▪ Sháraigh cuideachtaí ISEQ20, le 27.4% stiúrthóirí mná ar an meán, an sprioc

eatramhach 2020 de 25% agus táthar ar an mbóthar chun sprioc 2023 de 33% a bhaint

amach. Is feabhas suntasach é seo ó 18% in 2018;

▪ Tá boird déanta suas de 50% mná ag dhá chuideachta ISEQ20;

▪ Mhéadaigh líon na mban ar fhoirne ceannaireachta cuideachtaí ISEQ20 ó 17% in 2019

go 22% in 2020; agus

▪ Lean an bhearna idir Éire agus meán an AE28 do mhná ar bhoird ag cúngú, ó 8% in

2018 go 1.2% in 2020 agus tá Éire anois sa 13ú háit, i gcomparáid le 17ú háit in 2018.

A N T ÚD A R ÁS UM C H A I GH D EÁ I N NÁ I S I ÚNTA NA H É I R E ANN

Is é an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann an Ghníomhaireacht Stáit atá

f reagrach as caighdeánú, measúnú ar chomhréireacht agus tomhas. Bhí éileamh leanúnach ar sheirbhísí an Údaráis in 2020 i gcomhthéacs fheidhmíocht láidir ag geilleagar na hÉireann. Bhí spéis mhór i gcaighdeáin agus ar feadh an raon níos leithne seirbhísí maidir le measúnú ar chomhréireacht agus tomhas agus gnólachtaí ag féachaint lena bhfeidhmíocht a fheabhsú agus pleananna a dhéanamh don Bhreatimeacht.

Bhí trí phríomhphointe fócais i bhfreagra an Údaráis ar COVID-19: bainistíocht airgeadais

agus airgid, gníomhaíocht oibríochtúil leanúnach agus gníomhaíocht oibríochtúil bhreise

chun cuidiú le f reagairt COVID-19. Díríodh an bhéim go hoibríochtúil ar chabhrú le gnó san

fhadtéarma trí ghníomhaíochtaí Aistriú Eolais méadaithe a bhfuil sé mar aidhm acu cur leis

an eolas teicniúil fairsing laistigh den Údarás chun cabhrú le cuideachtaí 'atosú' agus tógáil i

ndiaidh COVID-19 agus an Breatimeacht.

D’fhoilsigh an tÚdarás 1,349 caighdeán le linn 2020. D’fhorbair an tÚdarás roinnt treoracha

COVID-19 go tapa i réimsí mar mhiondíol, aisghabháil ionad siopadóireachta, TCP, agus

sonraíochtaí bacainní maisc. Ba é cuspóir na treorach do Dhéantúsóirí agus Mhiondíoltóirí

ligean don fhoireann f illeadh go sábháilte ar an ionad oibre, agus bearta a chur i bhfeidhm

freisin a chosnaíonn an pobal. Tugann na cáipéisí comhairle phraiticiúil maidir le conas

measúnuithe riosca a dhéanamh agus prótacail sábháilteachta a chur i bhfeidhm bunaithe ar

fhaisnéis reatha ó NPHET, FSS agus eile. Ó thaobh TCP míochaine de, cuireadh

caighdeáin ar fáil saor in aisce chun gur féidir trealamh TCP a thabhairt isteach sa tír go

tapa.


—— 37

D’fhoilsigh an tÚdarás IS 10101 - Rialacha Náisiúnta maidir le Suiteálacha Leictreacha

(Rialacha Sreangaithe) i mí Márta 2020. Is é an doiciméad seo an chéad athbhreithniú mór

ar an gcaighdeán le breis agus 10 mbliana agus tá sé bunaithe ar chaighdeáin a

comhaontaíodh go hidirnáisiúnta maidir le sábháilteacht suiteálacha leictreachais lena n-

áirítear teicneolaíochtaí nua mar fheithicil leictreach a mhuirearú, córais fhótavoltach gréine

agus treoir ar éifeachtúlachtaí fuinnimh.

Tá breis is 24,000 caighdeán ar fáil i gcatalóg an Údaráis anois. Rinne úsáideoirí na

hÉireann rochtain ar níos mó ná 224,769 caighdeán (ardú 30% ar 2019) agus tháinig ardú

351 ar líon na n-úsáideoirí atá cláraithe le tairseach na Gníomhaireachta, ‘Your Standards,

Your Say’,

Rinneadh claochlú mór ar an timpeallacht deimhniúcháin in 2020 leis an gceanglas

iniúchadh a dhéanamh i dtimpeallacht oibre f íorúil, ina raibh cliaint rannpháirteach chun

iniúchtaí iargúlta a éascú rud a chuir ar chumas eagraíochtaí leanúint ar aghaidh ag baint

úsáid as caighdeáin le haghaidh buntáiste iomaíoch. Taispeánadh tiomantas gnó do

chaighdeáin de réir mar a rinne eagraíochtaí iarracht a n-athléimneacht a fheabhsú i

bhf ianaise thionchair COVID-19 agus iad ag ullmhú ag an am céanna do thimpeallacht i

ndiaidh an Bhreatimeachta. Le linn 2020, lean an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na

hÉireann ag deimhniú eagraíochtaí de réir caighdeán gnó den scoth:

▪ Eisíodh níos mó ná 1,900 deimhniú Caighdeán Bainistíochta Cáilíochta; agus

▪ Deimhniú táirge de réir cheanglais an AE le haghaidh: Mótarfheithiclí (8,118);

Foirgníocht (866) agus Feistí Leighis (188). In ionad an tsearmanais deimhniúcháin leathbhliantúil, rinneadh ceiliúradh ar líne le feachtas

míosa ar na meáin shóisialta, #NSAICertif ied le linn mhí na Nollag 2020. D'éirigh go

hiontach leis an bhfeachtas le cliaint agus leantóirí an Údaráis a bhailigh os cionn 50,000

taispeáint ar fud ardáin meán.


—— 38

Sprioc 2: C EA N N A IREA C H T A TH A B H A IRT DO C H UR C H UIG E

U ILE- R IA LTA IS MA IDIR LEIS A N T IMP EA LLA C H T IS IO MA ÍC H E A

FH O RB A IRT D’ IN FH EIS TÍO C H T, TÁ IRG IÚLA CH T A G US P O IS T

IN B H UA N A ITH E

ST R A I T ÉI S T I O NSC A I L 4 .0

Foilsíodh Straitéis Tionscail 4.0 2020-2025 na hÉireann i mí na Nollag 2019. Is é an fhís

lena mbuntacaítear an straitéis ná, faoin mbliain 2025, go mbeidh Éire ina mol monaraíochta

iomaíoch atá bunaithe ar nuálaíocht agus ar thús cadhnaíochta maidir leis an gceathrú

réabhlóid thionsclaíoch agus ar thús cadhnaíochta maidir le Tionscal 4.0 a fhorbairt agus a

ghlacadh.

Tá 5 sprioc agus 18 gníomh straitéiseacha sa Straitéis agus tá na gníomhartha

straitéiseacha leagtha amach thart ar sé théama. Aithnítear sa Straitéis go bhfuil Éire i riocht

maith chun tabhairt faoi dheiseanna a thiocfaidh chun cinn mar gheall ar Thionscadal 4.0,

agus gur cheart go mbeadh deis ag gach gnólacht – bíodh sé ina ghnólacht beag, mór,

eachtrannach nó dúchasach – a bheith rannpháirteach i dTionscadal 4.0. Chomh maith leis

sin, aithnítear gur ceann de na príomhdhúshláin bheartais is ea spreagadh a thabhairt chun

teicneolaíochtaí nua a scaipeadh agus a bheith á nglacadh ag gach gnólacht, go háirithe

gnólachtaí a bhfuil acmhainn íseal ionsúiteach acu.

In 2020, leanadh den obair maidir le dhá phríomhchúis spreagtha na Straitéise:

▪ ‘Future Manufacturing Ireland’ (FMI) a bhunú – tríd an meicníocht comhordaithe seo,

cinnteofar comhleanúnachas agus barr feabhais maidir le bearta Taighde, Forbairt agus

Nuálaíocht (RD&I) a chur ar fáil ar fud ionaid taighde móra arna maoiniú go poiblí. Trí

FMI, cinnteofar ailíniú gníomhaíochtaí uasta ar fud ionaid Taighde agus Forbartha agus

seachnófar dúbláil agus scoilteadh iarrachta nach bhfuil gá leis d’fhonn cur chuige

comhordaithe a chur ar fáil ina mbaintear amach riachtanais thionscal monaraíochta na

hÉireann.

▪ Fóram do Pháirtithe Leasmhara Thionscal 4.0 a bhunú chun cur i bhfeidhm na straitéise

a mhaoirsiú agus chun comhairle agus treoir a chur ar fáil agus eolas a dhéanamh

d’fhorbairt beartais amach anseo. Áireofar le comhaltaí an Fhóraim ionadaithe ón

slabhra luacha monaraíochta, saineolaithe Thionscal 4.0, Institiúidí Ardoideachais,

comhlachtaí tionscail, comhlachtaí stáit ábhartha agus Bainisteoir Tionscail FMI.

T R E O I R A GUS ST R A IT ÉI S MA I D I R L E C I A NOBA I R

▪ I ndiaidh thorthaí na tuarascála Cianobair in Éirinn i mí na Nollag 2019, dhírigh an Roinn

ar threoir a chur ar fáil d’fhostóirí agus d’fhostaithe maidir le Cianobair. Cuireadh Grúpa

Idir-Rannach (IDG) maidir le Cianobair le chéile chun treoir a chur ar fáil maidir le

Cianobair.

▪ I mí Iúil 2020, sheol an Roinn leathanach gréasáin ‘Treoir maidir le Cianobair’. Sa

leathanach gréasáin seo, tugadh faisnéis, treoir agus reachtaíocht le chéile a bhí

ábhartha do chianobair ó ar fud Ranna agus Gníomhaireachtaí an Rialtais. Sa mhí

chéanna, seoladh comhairliúchán poiblí agus ina dhiaidh sin, rinneadh an leathanach


—— 39

gréasáin a nuashonrú chun déileáil leis an aiseolas a fuarthas agus chun seicliosta

d’fhostóirí a chur san áireamh. Sa seicliosta, cuirtear bealach sciobtha ar fáil d’fhostóirí

chun dul trí na socruithe atá ann maidir le tabhairt f aoi chianobair i leagan amach do

ghnólachtaí atá éasca a úsáid.

▪ I mí Mheán Fómhair, chuir an Roinn tús le Straitéis Náisiúnta Cianoibre a fhorbairt faoi

stiúir an IDG maidir le Cianobair. Foilsíodh an Straitéis i dtús mhí Eanáir 2021 agus is é

an fhís atá inti cianobair a bheith ina gné bhuan den ionad oibre in Éirinn ar bhealach ina

mbaintear an leas is mó agus is féidir as na tairbhí geilleagracha, sóisialta agus

comhshaoil. Áirítear leis 15 gníomh atá le tabhairt fúthu d’fhonn cianobair a chur chun

cinn in Éirinn.

C IS TE N UÁ LA ÍO C H TA UM TH EIC N EO LA ÍO C HTAÍ

B UN A TH RA ITH EA CH A

Le linn 2020, lean tionscadail an Chiste um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha (DTIF)

d’uaillmhianta atá leagtha amach i Future Jobs Ireland 2019 a bhaint amach. Tá 74 FBM ag

glacadh páirt in RD&I tríd an gCiste, ag comhoibriú le cuideachtaí ilnáisiúnta agus institiúidí

taighde maidir le tionscadail taighde tionsclaíocha ar scála mór. Tá na tionscadail seo ar

thús cadhnaíochta san athrú teicneolaíochta i réimsí ar nós géinteiripí, intleacht shaorga

agus carbón a laghdú. Tríd an obair seo, ní hamháin go dtabharfar cuidiú i ndáil le

táirgiúlacht a mhéadú ar fud na gcuideachtaí seo ach cuideofar f reisin le tallann nua a

mhealladh chuig na hearnálacha sin in Éirinn. Féach tuilleadh faoin DTIF faoi Sprioc 3.

SC I L E A NNA A C H UR A R F Á I L D O GH E I LLE AGA R I MBUN F Á I S

Soláthraíonn an Roinn an rúnaíocht don Sainghrúpa ar Riachtanais Scileanna sa Todhchaí

(EGFSN) agus rinneadh na tuarascálacha seo a leanas a thosú agus a fhoilsiú in 2019 agus

2020.

Forbairt a Dhéanamh ar Scileanna Amach Anseo: An tÉileamh ar Scileanna

in Earnáil na Timpeallachta Tógtha in Éirinn go dtí 2030 Díríodh sa staidéar ar Riachtanais Scileanna sa Todhchaí ar fud Earnáil na Timpeallachta

Tógtha ina Éirinn i.e. gníomhaíochtaí a bhaineann le Tógáil, Innealtóireacht, Ailtireacht agus

Fóntais. I gcomhthéacs na straitéisí náisiúnta ar nós Atógáil Éireann: Plean Gníomhaíochta

um Thithíocht agus Easpa Dídine, Tionscadal Éireann 2040, agus na gnéithe maidir leis an

timpeallacht thógtha sa Plean Gnímh don Aeráid, cuireadh an staidéar i gcrích in R2 agus

cheadaigh an Chomhairle Náisiúnta Scileanna é sular foils íodh é i ndeireadh mhí Mheán

Fómhair 2020.

Cumas bainistíochta agus cleachtais bhainisteoirí FBM na hÉireann Chuir Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath staidéar i gcrích maidir le cumas agus

cleachtas bainistíochta in Éireann don EGFSN agus le cúnamh ón gCoimisiún Eorpach idir

mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2019 agus mí an Mheithimh 2020. Foilsíodh an tuarascáil maidir leis

an tionscadal i mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2020. Bunaíodh grúpa forfheidhmithe i ndiaidh fhoilsiú

na tuarascála agus tiocfaidh sé le chéile ar feadh tréimhse tosaigh dhá bhliain le súil fad a

chur leis go téarma cúig bliana. Áireofar le comhaltaí an ghrúpa forfheidhmithe comhaltaí ón

Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta, ISME,


—— 40

SFA, Chambers Ireland, Fiontraíocht Éireann, LEOnna, Solas agus an tÚdarás um

Ardoideachas.

Together for Design – staidéar nua maidir le scileanna deartha In 2019, chuir EGFSN tús le staidéar nua maidir le scileanna deartha, Together for Design.

Cuspóir na tuarascála seo is ea forbairt a dhéanamh ar bhunchlocha a cuireadh ar fáil trí

Winning by Design ó EGFSN in 2017 chun tuiscint a fháil ar an éileamh ag f iontair ar

scileanna deartha digiteacha, táirgí agus straitéiseacha agus chun soláthar na gcúrsaí

oideachais chun tabhairt faoi na tacair scileanna sin a thomhas. Aithnítear moltaí sa

tuarascáil chun cuidiú leis an soláthar scileanna sa réimse seo a chur chun cinn. Forbraíodh

Together for Design in R2 den bhliain 2020. Tá moltaí na tuarascála á gcur ar aghaidh ag

grúpa forfheidhmithe faoi láthair.

Scileanna i leith Geilleagair Ísealcharbóin a Chumasú go 2030 I ndeireadh na bliana 2020, chuir EGFSN tús le staidéar f reisin maidir le Scileanna i leith

Geilleagair Ísealcharbóin a Chumasú go 2030. Sa staidéar seo, féachfar leis an éileamh atá

ar scileanna agus ar na cineálacha scileanna a theastaíonn chun príomhghnéithe Phlean

Gnímh na hÉireann don Aeráid a bhaint amach chun Dul i nGleic le Cliseadh Aeráide i

gcaitheamh na mblianta i dtreo 2030. Beidh rannpháirteachas cuims itheach i gceist sa

staidéar le f iontair ar fud na hearnála ísealcharbóin agus is grúpa stiúrtha a thabharfaidh

treoir don staidéar ina gcuimseofar príomhpháirtithe leasmhara poiblí agus príobháideacha.

Tá sé beartaithe é a chur i gcrích i mí na Bealtaine 2021. Foilseofar é i ndiaidh don

Sainghrúpa ar Riachtanais Scileanna sa Todhchaí agus don Chomhairle Náisiúnta um

Scileanna araon é a cheadú.

A N C O I MI S I ÚN UM P Á Í SE A L

I ndiaidh feidhmeanna a aistriú ón Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí, ghlac an Roinn f reagracht as an gCoimisiún um Pá Íseal a bhfuil sé mar phríomhfheidhm leis iniúchadh a dhéanamh agus moltaí a thabhairt don Tánaiste maidir leis an leibhéal cuí don íosphá náisiúnta agus nithe gaolmhara. Mar chuid den chlár oibre seo, tá an Roinn ag déanamh ionadaíocht ar Éirinn sna hidirbheartaíochtaí maidir leis an nDréacht-Treoir AE maidir le Pá Íosta Leordhóthanach, a bhfuiltear ag súil é a thabhairt chun deiridh in 2021. Áirítear le clár oibre reatha an Choimisiúin um Pá Íseal dhá phíosa mór taighde maidir leis an aistriú chuig Pá Maireachtála agus maidir leis an leagan amach do chlár píolótach maidir le Bunioncam Uilíoch.

I O MA Í O C H A S A GUS T Á I RGI ÚLA CH T

Is é an Roinn a thugann f aoi thaighde, anailís agus an ról rúnaíochta don Chomhairle

Náisiúnta Iomaíochais agus Táirgiúlachta (NCPC). I gcomhréir leis an moladh ón

gComhairle Eorpach maidir le Boird Náisiúnta Táirgiúlachta a bheith á gcur ar bun ag tíortha

limistéar an euro, thug an Rialtas sainordú don Chomhairle Náisiúnta Iomaíochais i mí an

Mhárta 2018 mar an comhlacht ar a bhfuil f reagracht as anailís a dhéanamh ar fhorbairtí

agus beartais i réimse na táirgiúlachta agus iomaíochais in Éirinn. Tá sé seo mar bhonn

agus mar thaca ag an gcinneadh an Chomhairle a athainmniú mar an Chomhairle Náisiúnta

Iomaíochais agus Táirgiúlachta i mí na Samhna 2020.

Tuairiscíonn an Chomhairle don Taoiseach agus don Rialtas tríd an Aire Fiontar, Trádála

agus Fostaíochta maidir le saincheisteanna iomaíochais bharrthábhachtacha atá roimh

gheilleagar na hÉireann agus cuirtear moltaí ar fáil maidir le gníomhartha beartais atá ag

teastáil d’fhonn riocht iomaíoch na hÉireann a fheabhsú.


—— 41

Ardtosaíocht ag an Roinn is ea cinnte a dhéanamh de go ndéantar prío mh-shaincheisteanna

iomaíochais f iontraíochta a aithint agus a chur in ord tosaíochta i leith gníomhú ar fud chóras

an rialtais. Faoi láthair, tá Éire rangaithe sa 12ú háit de réir thuarascáil 2020 um Rangú

Iomaíochais Dhomhanda ón Institiúid um Bainistíocht a Fhorbairt.

D'fhoilsigh NCPC na tuarascálacha seo a leanas le linn na bliana 2020:

▪ Scórchárta Iomaíochais na hÉireann 2020

▪ Dúshlán Iomaíochais na hÉireann 2020

▪ Feasacháin Iomaíochais 2020

BO NNE A GA R GE I L LE A GRA C H

Le linn 2020, ghníomhaigh an Roinn ar fud an Rialtais maidir le saincheisteanna agus

tosaíochtaí barrthábhachtacha atá ag úsáideoirí gnó ar fud réimsí bonneagair agus ag baint

leas as anailís a cuireadh i gcrích ina ndírítear ar iomaíochas thimpeallacht ghnó na

hÉireann.

Ghníomhaigh an Roinn le hUisce Éireann agus leis an gCoimisiún um Rialáil Fóntas maidir

le seirbhísí uisce a chur ar fáil d’úsáideoirí tráchtála, oibríodh le lucht déanta beartais

ábhartha sa Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide maidir le himpleachtaí

iomaíochais den bhonneagar fuinnimh ar réimsí beartais ar nós Scéim Tacaíochta um

Fhuinneamh In-athnuaite a fhorbairt, scéim micrighiniúna agus creat beartais a fhorbairt

maidir le mórúsáideoirí fuinnimh a spreagadh Comhaontuithe Corparáideacha um

Cheannach Cumhachta a roghnú.

Is é an tArd-Rúnaí ar Bhord Seachadta Thionscadal Éireann a dhéanann ionadaíocht ar an

Roinn. Oibríonn an Roinn i ndlúthchomhar le hOif ig Náisiúnta Infheistíochta na Roinne

Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe agus ar fud Ranna ábhartha eile d’fhonn ionchur a

chur ar fáil maidir leis na riachtanais bhonneagair atá ag f iontair, chun timpeallacht ghnó

iomaíocht agus tarraingteach a choinneáil mar chuid dár n-uaillmhianta náisiúnta maidir leis

an daonra, ‘comhfhorbairt áite’ agus fostaíocht.

I gcomhthráth, ghníomhaigh an Roinn ar bhonn leanúnach ar fud na n-earnálacha poiblí

agus príobháideacha chun tacú le bearta beartais chun infhaighteacht agus caighdeán an

bhonneagair gheilleagraigh a fheabhsú agus iomaíochas ár dt impeallachta gnó a choinneáil.

GNÍ O MH A Í O C HT MH E A SÚNAI TH E

Chuir an Roinn líon measúnuithe i gcrích in 2020, lena n-áirítear athbhreithniú a dhéanamh

ar chaiteachas caipitil na Roinne i gcaitheamh na tréimhse ó 2006 go 2018. Tríd an ngníomh

seo, scrúdaíodh caiteachas na Roinne ar fud líon réimsí, lena n-áirítear téama,

gníomhaireacht, ionstraim beartais agus tairbhí. Cuireadh roinnt léargais tosaigh ar fáil sa

pháipéar maidir le beartais a ailíniú agus táthar á n-iniúchadh tuilleadh. Rinneadh

luathmheastóireacht ar an gCiste Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha

f reisin trí bhíthin an phróisis Athbhreithnithe Caiteachais. Léiríodh sa pháipéar go bhfuiltear

ag oibriú i dtreo chuspóirí luaite an chláir agus rinneadh líon moltaí maidir le monatóireacht

leantach. Cuireadh athbhreithniú ar chlár Taighde, Forbartha agus Nuálaíochta Fhiontraíocht

Éireann i gcrích a fhoilseofar sa bhliain 2021.


—— 42

C Á NA C H A S

Bhí rannpháirteachas leanúnach ag an Roinn ar fud an Rialtais maidir leis na scéimeanna

fóirdheontais pá a cruthaíodh mar fhreagra ar an bpaindéim COVID-19 a baineadh amach trí

na Coimisinéirí Ioncaim. Chuidigh rannpháirteachas na Roinne leis na scéimeanna a mhúnlú

lena chinntiú go mbainf í amach riachtanais f iontar agus go gcuideofaí le fostaíocht an oiread

agus ab fhéidir.

Chuaigh an Roinn i mbun plé forleathan le grúpaí ionadaíochta f iontar agus oibríodh i

ndlúthchomhar le Gníomhaireachtaí forbartha na Roinne chun Aighneacht Réamhbhuiséid

comhghníomhaireachta a fhorbairt. Príomhchuspóir na haighneachta ab ea cinnte a

dhéanamh de go gcuideodh Buiséad 2021 le f iontraíocht i gcónaí agus go gcuirf í tuairimí

agus riachtanais f iontar san áireamh.

GNÍ O MH Ú A R SO N NA H A E R Á I D E

Gné lárnach de bheartais f iontraíochta agus nuálaíochta na Roinne agus de chláir agus

gníomhaíochtaí ár nGníomhaireachtaí is ea Gníomhú ar son na hAeráide. Aithníonn an

Roinn go bhfuil róil thábhachtacha ag f iontair maidir le teicneolaíochtaí, táirgí agus seirbhísí

a fhorbairt agus a ghlacadh trína ndéantar éifeachtúlacht a mhéadú, dramhaíl a laghdú

agus forbairt inbhuanaithe a bhaint amach de réir mar a dhéanann tíortha ar fud an domhain

an t-aistriú i dtreo geilleagracha ísealcharbóin.

I gColún 5 de Future Jobs Ireland 2019, aithnítear an tábhacht a bhaineann le gníomhú ar

son na haeráide, cuirtear leis an bPlean Gnímh Uile-Rialtais don Aeráid agus leagtar amach

trí uaillmhian agus gníomh maidir le haistriú i dtreo geilleagar ísealcharbóin:

1. a bheith chun cinn maidir le caighdeáin a ghlacadh agus a fhorbairt sa gheilleagar

ísealcharbóin;

2. na deiseanna atá ann maidir le gníomhaíocht gheilleagracha agus cruthú fostaíochta a

fhíorú; agus

3. leas a bhaint as acmhainní nádúrtha, láidreachtaí f iontraíochta agus acmhainn

nuálaíochta na hÉireann d’fhonn a bheith mar cheannasaí domhanda sa ghei lleagar

ciorclach agus domhanda.

I gceithre cinn de na tionscadail a maoiníodh faoi Ghlao 1 agus faoi Ghlao 2 den Chiste

Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha, tugtar faoin téama maidir le

Fuinneamh, Gníomhú ar son na hAeráide & Inbhuanaitheacht. Áirítear leis na tionscadail

seo córas trádála fuinnimh comhoibríoch; ardchóras tacaíochta um chinnteoireacht

chomhshaoil chun dul i gleic le saincheisteanna ar nós truailliú cósta agus tuile; caidéal

teasa saor ó astaíochtaí agus saor ó chuisneáin agus fuinneamh inbhuanaithe bith-in-

athnuaite ó dhíleáiteoir anaeróbach dramhuisce don earnáil bia agus dí. Tá tuilleadh sonraí

maidir leis an gCiste Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha ar fáil faoi Sprioc

3.

Ghlac an Roinn páirt ghníomhach i Plean Gnímh don Aeráid 2019 an Rialtais, a phróisis

rialachais agus rinneadh monatóireacht ar dhul chun cinn agus cuireadh ionchur ar fáil

maidir leis an Straitéis Fadtéarmach ar fud an gheilleagair a fhorbairt ina leagtar amach

sprioc neodrachta na hÉireann do 2050. Tugadh gealltanas i leith gníomhartha aeráide na

Roinne agus trasghníomhaireachta don tréimhse eatramhach go dtí Plean Gnímh don


—— 43

Aeráid 2019 ón Rialtas a fhorbairt, agus cuireadh tús le hobair ar ionchuir ón Ro inn don

Plean Gnímh don Aeráid 2021.

Ghlac an Roinn páirt i gcainteanna leis an gCoimisiún Eorpach maidir le gnéithe

f iontraíochta cháis thagartha an Choimisiúin a bheidh mar bhunús do sprioc chomhroinnte

díchill na hÉireann i ndiaidh méadú in uaillmhian an AE gáis ceaptha teasa a laghdú 55%

faoin mbliain 2030.

T A I GH D E A GUS F O I LSE AC HÁ I N

Aeráid

Rinneadh taighde ar theicneolaíochtaí a d’fhéadfaí a ghlacadh i bhfo -earnálacha ar leith den

earnáil mhonaraíochta chun astaíochtaí a laghdú agus i gcomhthéacs spriocanna earnála a

fhorbairt, rinneadh anailís chun laghdú CO2 a mheas dá ndéanfaí infheistíocht sna

teicneolaíochtaí seo le linn na tréimhse i dtreo 2030. Cuireadh gníomhartha na Roinne ón

Plean Gnímh don Aeráid 2019 maidir leo sin a bhaineann leis na hearnálacha

bia/deochanna agus stroighne agus cuireadh ionchur ar fáil do na tuarascálacha ar dhul

chun cinn a fhoilsítear go ráithiúil maidir leis an bPlean Gnímh don Aeráid maidir le

gníomhartha lena n-áirítear gníomhartha ar thug GFT Éireann, Fiontraíocht Éireann,

Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann

fúthu. I gcaitheamh na bliana, chuir an Roinn anailís agus ionchur beartais ar fáil maidir le

ceisteanna a bhaineann le beartas um ghníomhú i leith na haeráide agus rinneadh cinnte de

go gcuirf í tionchair iomaíochta ar roghanna beartais san áireamh.

Fócas ar Earnálacha 2020 Foilsíodh Fócas ar Earnálacha 2020 i mí Lúnasa agus is sraith tuarascálacha earnála atá i

gceist ina gcuirtear forléargais achomair i láthair maidir le 16 earnáil bharrthábhachtach den

gheilleagar, ina gcuimsítear gníomhaíochtaí onnmhairithe agus gníomhaíochtaí trádála

áitiúla araon. Cé go mbaineann roinnt de na hearnálacha le sainchúram na Roinne seo agus

a Gníomhaireachtaí, tá f reagracht níos leithne maidir le forbairt na hearnála ar réimse ranna

rialtais. Sna tuarascálacha, baintear leas as taighde reatha na Roinne agus as athbhreithniú

a rinneadh ar anailís náisiúnta agus idirnáisiúnta ar tugadh fúithi mar gheall ar an bpaindéim.

Áirítear leo ionchuir ó réimse ranna rialtais, Gníomhaireachtaí f iontraíochta agus

eagraíochtaí ionadaíochta tionscail agus leagtar amach iontu roinnt comharthaí tosaigh

maidir le tionchar COVID-19 ar na hearnálacha sin.

Is iad na hearnálacha a chlúdaítear sna tuarascálacha ná: Aeraspás & Eitlíocht; Agraibhia &

Deochanna; Bithchógaisíocht Cheimiceach; Tógáil; Fuinneamh; Inbhuanaitheacht &

Acmhainní Nádúrtha; Táirgí a nDearnadh Innealtóireacht orthu & Fo -Sholáthar; Seirbhísí

Gnó Domhanda & Closamhairc; Seachfhoinsiú Próisis Ghnó; Seirbhísí Oideachais

Idirnáisiúnta; Seirbhísí Airgeadais Idirnáisiúnta & Teicneolaíocht an Airgeadais; Cúrsaí Mara

& Muirí; Teicneolaíochtaí Leighis; Miondíol; Teicneolaíocht; Turasóireacht & Fáilteachas;

agus Iompar & Lóistíocht.

BE A R T A S UM GH E I L LE A GA R D I GI TE AC H A N A E

I gcomhréir le sprioc na Roinne timpeallacht iomaíoch a spreagadh a fhorbairt chun borradh

a chur faoi infheistíocht, táirgiúlacht a fheabhsú agus poist a chruthú agus a chothú, leanadh

den obair ar an gclár oibre um athrú digiteach a bhaint amach ar feadh na bliana 2020. Lean


—— 44

an Roinn de cheannaireacht a thabhairt do ghníomhaíocht uile-Rialtais agus do chlár oibre

an Mhargaidh Dhigitigh Aonair (DSM) a chomhordú ar fud an Rialtais ag an leibhéal

náisiúnta agus ag leibhéal an AE.

Chuir Éire feabhas lena feidhmíocht sa Tuarascáil don Innéacs maidir le Geilleagar agus

Sochaí Dhigiteach (DESI) an AE don bhliain 2020 i gcomparáid le 2019, agus í rangaithe sa

6ú háit anois. Rinne Éire feabhsuithe leanúnacha sna ranguithe seo le cúig bliana anuas

agus tá sí ar an mBallstát is sciobtha fáis anois.

Ceann de na príomhéachtaí anuraidh ab ea gur chuir an Roinn an tArdán um Ghnó a Rialáil

ar fáil a síníodh ina dlí i mí Iúil 2020 trí I.R. Uimh. 256/2020 – Rialacháin 2020 ón Aontas

Eorpach (Cothroime agus Trédhearcacht a Chur Chun Cinn d’Úsáideoirí Gnó a Bhaineann

Úsáid as Seirbhísí Idirghabhála ar Líne).

Is éard is aidhm leis seo timpeallacht ghnó a chruthú do ghnólachtaí atá cothrom,

trédhearcach agus intuartha nuair a úsáidtear ardáin ar líne chun trádáil a dhéanamh. Bhí

éifeacht dhíreach ag an Rialachán i mBallstáit AE ón 12 Iúil 2020 agus shínigh an Tánaiste é

ina dhlí trí bhíthin I.R. Uimh. 256/2020 – Rialacháin 2020 ón Aontas Eorpach (Cothroime

agus Trédhearcacht a Chur Chun Cinn d’Úsáideoirí Gnó a Bhaineann Úsáid as Seirbhísí

Idirghabhála ar Líne). Ainmníodh an Coimisiún um Iomaíocht agus Cosaint Tomhaltóirí ina chomhlacht forfheidhmithe don Rialachán in Éirinn agus is é an Coimisiún a

dhéanfaidh aon neamhchomhlíonadh struchtúrtha le forálacha na Rialachán a iniúchadh

agus dul i ngleic leo.

D’ullmhaigh an Roinn aighneacht náisiúnta do chomhairliúchán poiblí an AE maidir le pacáiste an Achta um Sheirbhísí Digiteacha, agus do phacáiste comhcheangailte amháin, i

mí Mheán Fómhair 2020 a bhí bunaithe ar chomhoibriú fhairsing tras-Rialtais idir ranna

ábhartha agus ar chomhairliúchán náisiúnta níos leithne le páirtithe leasmhara.

I mí an Mheithimh 2020, d’ullmhaigh an Roinn aighneacht náisiúnta cuimsitheach do

Chomhairliúchán Poiblí an AE maidir le Páipéar Bán an AE um Intleacht Shaorga a bhí

bunaithe ar chomhairliúchán fairsing tras-Rialtais.

Tá sé ina tosaíocht ag Éirinn an Margadh Digiteach Aonair a thabhairt chun críche agus

oibríonn an Roinn leis an gCoimisiún Eorpach, le Parlaimint na hEorpa agus le Ballstáit i

gcónaí chun torthaí a bhaint amach atá ar son trádála, ar son f iontraíochta agus ar son

nuálaíochta. Ceapadh moltaí do DSM 2.0 agus is iad na príomhréimsí a ndíreofar orthu mar

chuid den gheilleagar digiteach a fhorbairt amach anseo ná: An tAcht um Ardáin agus na

Seirbhísí Digiteacha; Intleacht Shaorga; agus Úsáid níos fearr a bhaint as sonraí.


—— 45

Nascacht

Caipiteal Daonna

Úsáid Seirbhísí Idirlín

Teicneolaíocht Dhigiteach a

Chomhtháth Seirbhísí Poiblí

Digiteacha

S TRA ITÉIS N Á IS IÚN TA UM IN TLEA C H T S H A O RG A Cuireadh tús le hobair ar Straitéis Náisiúnta um Intleacht Shaorga a fhorbairt atá le seoladh i

lár 2021. Leagfar amach f ís sa Straitéis ina mbeidh Éire ina ceannasaí idirnáisiúnta maidir le

intleacht shaorga a úsáid chun tairbhe a dhéanamh don daonra, trí chur chuige i ndáil le

intleacht shaorga a fhorbairt, a ghlacadh agus a úsáid atá bunaithe ar dhaoine agus eiticiúil.

P L E A N NÁ I S I ÚNT A UM F H R EA GRAC H T SH Ó I S IA LT A C H O RP ARÁ I DEA C H

Bunaíodh an Fóram Geallsealbhóirí um Fhreagracht Shóisialta Chorparáideach in 2014

d’fhonn cur i bhfeidhm an chéad Phlean Náisiúnta a spreagadh agus rinneadh é a

athnuachan don dara plean náisiúnta.

Tá an Fóram Geallsealbhóirí um CSR ina chomhlacht dheonach faoi stiúir gnó ina bhfuil

ionadaithe ó ghnólachtaí, ón tsochaí shibhialta agus ón Rialtas. Príomhchuspóir an Fhóraim

is ea feasacht a ardú ar CSP agus gníomhaíocht CSR a mhéadú i ngnólachtaí in Éi rinn trí

oibriú i gcomhar le gnólachtaí, a tsochaí shibhialta agus an Rialtas chun gníomhartha an

Phlean Náisiúnta a bhaint amach, Towards Responsible Business, Ireland’s second National

Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2017-2020.

Ar roinnt de na príomhéachtaí a baineadh amach san Fhóram Geallsealbhóirí CSR, áiríodh;

• CSRhub - CSR Hub a fhorbairt mar acmhainn náisiúnta tiomnaithe i leith CSR le cuidiú ó láithreacht ghníomhach ar na meáin shóisialta chun aird a dhíriú ar dhea-chleachtas CSR;

• príomhimeacht Bliantúil Bricfeasta CEO/Ceannairí CSR a bhunú;

• piarfhoghlaim CSR a chur chun cinn i measc gnólachtaí trí imeachtaí for-rochtana FBM;

• ‘Líonra Earnála Poiblí um CSR’ tiomnaithe a bhunú – líonra piarfhoghlama

d’eagraíochtaí earnála poiblí d’fhonn a straitéisí CSR a fhorbairt;

• an líonra f íorúil CSR ar líne a bhunú – do chleachtóirí CSR agus d’eagraíochtaí a bhfuil spéis acu a straitéisí CSR a fhorbairt;

http://www.csrhub.ie/


—— 46

• méadú i líon na gCás-Staidéar ar cuireadh síos orthu ar an láithreán gréasáin

CSRhub.ie. Tá cás-staidéir ina ngné lárnach d’obair an Fhóraim toisc go gcuirtear acmhainn oideachais láidir ar fáil do ghnólachtaí agus eagraíochtaí de gach méid. Tá cás-staidéir ar fáil le híoslódáil ó CSRhub - CSR Hub agus tá siad inrochtana ag cách;

• painéal d’ambasadóirí gníomhacha CSR a mhéadú laistigh den phobal gnó; agus

• aird a dhíriú ar dheiseanna atá ar fáil don earnáil phríobháideach agus phoiblí oibriú i

gcomhpháirtíocht i ndáil le tionscnaimh éifeachtacha atá ag teacht leis an mbeartas poiblí.

Lean an Roinn ag dul i mbun plé leis an bhFóram Geallsealbhóirí CSR i gcaitheamh na

bliana 2020 agus cuireadh tús le próiseas comhairliúcháin maidir le leagan nua den Phlean

Náisiúnta CSR. Mar sin féin, mar gheall ar thús áite a thabhairt do COVID-19 agus an

Breatimeacht cuireadh an tionscnamh siar in 2020.

S p r i o c anna Fo r bartha Inb hua nai the

Sa ‘Plean Náisiúnta Cur Chun Feidhme maidir leis na Spriocanna Forbartha Inbhuanaithe

2018-2020’’ ón Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide, cuirtear cur chuige uile-

Rialtais ar fáil maidir le Spriocanna Forbartha Inbhuanaithe (SDG) a chur i bhfeidhm (SDG) 6.

Tá ról ceannasach ag an Roinn mar aon le f reagracht geallsealbhóra maidir le líon

spriocanna a chur i bhfeidhm faoin bplean faoi Sprioc 8 (Poist mhaithe agus fás

geilleagrach), Sprioc 9 (Nuálaíocht agus Bonneagar) mar aon le Sprioc 12 ón Roinn

Breisoideachais, Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta (tomhaltas agus

táirgeacht inbhuanaithe).

Lean an Roinn d’obair a chur chun cinn do spriocanna faoi na SDGanna in 2020 trína

beartais a chur i bhfeidhm lena n-áirítear Future Jobs 2019 agus Enterprise 2025 Renewed,

ina leagtar amach uaillmhian maidir le hÉirinn a bheith sa riocht is fearr chun go n-éireodh léi

fostaíocht inbhuanaithe agus caighdeáin bheatha níos airde do chách a chur ar fáil trí bhíthin

gnó. Gníomh ar leith. Gníomh ar leith maidir leis an ngné seo in 2020 ab ea an

comhairliúchán maidir le cianobair trína ndearnadh eolas don Straitéis Náisiúnta um

Chianobair.

Chomh maith leis sin, lean an Roinn de bhainistíocht ceimiceán atá fónta ó thaobh an

chomhshaoil a chur chun cinn trí chathaoirleacht a dhéanamh ar ghrúpa stiúrtha idir-rannach

agus idirghníomhaireachta maidir le Ceimiceáin d’fhonn f reagraí beartais náisiúnta a

chomhordú maidir le saincheisteanna a bhaineann le ceimiceáin.

6 In 2015, ghlac 193 Ballstát de chuid na Náisiún Aontaithe, Éire ina measc, leis na Spriocanna Forbartha

Inbhuanaithe. Faoi na 17 sprioc, clúdaítear na ceanglais shóisia lta, gheilleagracha agus chomhshaoil i leith

todhchaí inbhuanaithe.



—— 47

Sprioc 3: C EA N N A S A ÍO CH T A TH A B H A IRT A R C H UR C H UIG E

U ILE- R IA LTA IS ÉIRE A C H UR C H UN C IN N MA R C H EA N N RÓ DAÍ

DO MH A N DA , C Ó RA S IO MA ÍO CH IDIRN Á IS IÚN TA TA IG H DE A G US

FO RB A RTH A A S P REA G A DH , B O N N FIO N TRA ÍO CH TA N UÁ LA C H A

C H RUTH Ú A G US S O C H A Í N ÍO S FEA RR A TH Ó G Á IL .

NUÁ L A Í O C H T 2 020

Leagtar amach i Nuálaíocht 2020, straitéis náisiúnta na hÉireann le haghaidh taighde agus

forbartha, eolaíochta agus teicneolaíochta, f ís maidir le hÉirinn a bheith mar cheannródaí

nuálaíochta domhanda.

De réir Scórchlár Nuálaíochta an Aontais Eorpaigh (EIS) 2019, tá Éire sa 10ú háit san Aontas Eorpach agus sa 15ú háit ar an Innéacs Nuálaíochta Domhanda 2020. I measc na

bpríomhghníomhaíochtaí in 2020 bhí:

▪ Tús a chur leis an bpróiseas comhairliúcháin chun an chéad straitéis náisiúnta taighde

agus nuálaíochta eile a fhorbairt;

▪ Comhordaitheoir Náisiúnta Taighde Oscailte a cheapadh, arna chómhaoiniú ag an Roinn

seo agus ag an Roinn Oideachais;

▪ Taighdeoir a cheapadh, faoi Chomhaltacht Taighde Seirbhíse Poiblí Fhondúireacht

Eolaíochta na hÉireann, chun na Roinne chun córas caighdeánaithe aicmithe taighde a

fhorbairt;

▪ Rath leanúnach i Horizon 2020 - Leanann taighdeoirí agus nuálaithe Éireannacha ag

feidhmiú go maith agus bhuadar €1.09bn i maoiniú iomaíoch faoi dheireadh mhí na

Nollag 2020;

▪ I mí Meithimh 2020, bronnadh maoiniú €31m ar ocht ngnólacht nuathionscanta agus

FBManna faoin gClár Luasaire Horizon 2020;

▪ Seoladh Ionad Inniúlachta Náisiúnta EuroHPC na hÉireann. Tá sé á óstáil ag Ionad na

hÉireann um Ríomhaireacht Ardleibhéil agus tabharfaidh sé rochtain oiliúna agus

bonneagair i ríomhaireacht ardfheidhmíochta do thaighdeoirí agus do FBManna

Éireannacha;

▪ Cuirf idh Meaisín Foghlama Quantum a fuarthas in 2020 ar chumas ICHEC

gníomhaíochtaí T&F a dhéanamh sa réimse atá ag teacht chun cinn sa Río mhaireacht

Chandamach;

▪ Rinneadh leithdháileadh €9m tríd an gClár Trealamh Caipitil - rochtain a sholáthar do

FBManna/don tionscal ar threalamh agus ar bhonneagar criticiúil ceannródaíoch trí

Ionaid Teicneolaíochta agus Tairsí Teicneolaíochta; agus ▪ Seoladh an chéad tráinse Mapaí Nuálaíochta chun Treochlár Nuálaíochta a fhorbairt do

gach ceann dá gcliaint atá ag teacht lena gcumas agus lena n-uaillmhian.

C I ST E NUÁ L A Í O C HTA UM T H E I C HNE OLA Í OC HT AÍ BUNA T HRA I THE A CH A

Is ciste €500m é an Ciste Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha (DTIF) atá

dírithe ar fhiontar, bunaithe ar dhúshlán, agus a spreagann comhoibriú idir agus i measc


—— 48

FBManna, cuideachtaí ilnáisiúnta agus institiúidí taighde na hÉireann. Is é aidhm an chiste

an earnáil f iontar a spreagadh chun dul i mbun taighde tionscail a fhorbairt, a imscaradh

agus a thráchtálú. Fógraíodh an ciste in 2018 mar cheann de cheithre chiste an Phlean

Forbartha Náisiúnta faoi Thionscadal Éireann 2040 agus déanann an Roinn é a bhainistiú i

gcomhairle le Ranna agus Gníomhaireachtaí Rialtais eile. Riarann Fiontraíocht Éireann an

DTIF thar ceann na Roinne.

Tá an Ciste ag cuidiú le seachadadh Colún 1 de chreat an Rialtais, Tionscnamh Poist sa

Todhchaí - Glacadh go Fonnmhar le Nuálaíocht agus Athrú Teicneolaíochta - trí mhaoiniú a

chur ar fáil i gcomhair forbairt agus úsáid teicneolaíochtaí nuálacha bunathraitheacha ar

bhonn tráchtála. Ailíníonn sé f reisin leis an uaillmhian Éire a bheith ina Ceannaire

Nuálaíochta Domhanda trí infheistíocht phoiblí agus phríobháideach a mhéadú in RD&I mar

gheall ar a riachtanas maidir le cómhaoiniú 50% ó ghnólachtaí atá ag cur isteach ar chistí

DTIF.

Fógraíodh an tríú Glao den Chiste i Meán Fómhair 2020 agus fuarthas 62 iarratas faoin dáta

deiridh, an 17 Nollaig 2020. Déanann Fiontraíocht Éireann seiceáil orthu i gcomhair

incháilitheachta agus ansin déanann painéil saineolaithe idirnáisiúnta meastóireacht orthu

agus fógraíodh na tionscadail a d’éirigh leo i R1 2021.

In 2020 rinne Seirbhís Eacnamaíochta agus Meastóireachta Rialtas na hÉireann

Athbhreithniú Caiteachais ar an gCiste, agus tá achoimre ar na príomhthorthaí thíos:

▪ Tá réasúnaíocht láidir ann maidir le clár atá maoinithe go poiblí a dhéanann

infheistíochtaí suntasacha i dteicneolaíochtaí bunathraitheacha. Laghdaíonn an maoiniú

a chuirtear ar fáil trí DTIF an riosca do ghnólachtaí rannpháirteacha agus ar an gcaoi sin

cuidíonn sé na teicneolaíochtaí seo a thabhairt ar aghaidh. Má éiríonn leo, tugann na

nuálaíochtaí a d’eascair as DTIF bealach do chuideachtaí Éireannacha dul san

iomaíocht i margaí domhanda (agus cur isteach orthu b’fhéidir). Mhéadódh sé seo an

fhostaíocht sna hearnálacha sin agus chuirfeadh sé onnmhairí agus aschur na hÉireann

chun cinn.

▪ Is clár nua ar leith é DTIF i measc bearta eile RD&I maidir le f iontar. Déanann an

teaglaim de scála an mhaoinithe atá ar fáil do thionscadail, an fócas ar chomhoibriú

agus tráchtálú, i dteannta lena mhaoiniú ar nuálaíocht suaiteach an ciste a dheighilt ó

bhearta RD&I eile atá ar fáil in Éirinn.

▪ Is cosúil go bhfuil an DTIF ailínithe go maith le roinnt tionscnamh idirnáisiúnta, lena n-

áirítear sa Ghearmáin agus san AE, a aithníonn tábhacht chomhpháirtíochtaí FBManna

don nuálaíocht.

▪ Tá an clár ag obair i dtreo a chuspóirí luaite a bhaint amach. Tá nuálaíochtaí suntasacha

á maoiniú aige a d’fhéadfadh margaí domhanda a ghabháil.

▪ Tá na nuálaíochtaí atá á maoiniú ag DTIF ardriosca, ard -toraidh - tá sé i gceist le

maoiniú poiblí, a chinntiú go dtabharfar na teicneolaíochtaí seo ar aghaidh.


—— 49

▪ Trí phróif íl riosca na nuálaíochtaí a ísliú, tá an ciste ag spreagadh comhinfheistíochta

príobháidí chomh maith le maoiniú DTIF.

▪ De réir a chuspóirí, díríodh ar chomhoibriú agus ag tógáil ar thaighde a maoiníodh go

poiblí roimhe seo.

▪ Fuair sé rannpháirtíocht láidir ó FBManna i cuibhreannais tionscad ail.

▪ Chinntigh scála na dtionscadal a maoiníodh agus an fócas ar chomhoibriú go bhfuil an

DTIF dif riúil go leor ó bhearta RD&I eile, agus ar an gcaoi sin tá breisíocht á chinntiú.

Cuimsíonn na 43 tionscadal rathúla faoi Ghlaonna 1 agus 2 159 comhpháirtí ó na hearnálacha fiontar agus taighde atá lonnaithe in áiteanna ar fud na tíre mar atá léirithe ar an léarscáil seo.

Suímh na 159 comhpháirtí tionscadail ar leithdháileadh maoiniú orthu faoi Ghlaonna 1 agus 2 de

Chiste Nuálaíochta um Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha

F O ND ÚI RE A CH T E O LA Í OC HT A É I R EA NN

I rith 2020, lean Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann uirthi ag glacadh ról tábhachtach maidir le

tacú le f ís an Rialtais i ndáil le hÉirinn a bheith ina Ceannródaí Nuálaíochta Domhanda, mar

a ndéantar breac-chuntas air i straitéis na hÉireann um thaighde agus forbairt, eolaíocht

agus teicneolaíocht – Nuálaíocht 2020 – mar aon le roinnt gníomhartha sa Phlean


—— 50

Gníomhaíochta um Poist agus straitéisí náisiúnta eile a chur i bhfeidhm. Le héifeacht ón 1

Eanáir 2021, d’aistrigh Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann chuig sainchúram na Roinne

Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta.

I measc na bpríomhréimsí dul chun cinn in 2020:

▪ Tá ról suntasach fós ag Taighde agus Nuálaíocht, sa tsláinte, sa saol acadúil agus sa

tionscal, i bhfreagairt náisiúnta agus domhanda ar COVID-19.

▪ Ba príomhghné de phlean an Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann an clár Maoinithe

Méarfhreagartha COVID-19 um Thaighde agus Nuálaíocht.

▪ Thug taighdeoirí ar fud an chórais, le cúnamh ón Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann, faoi

raon leathan gníomhaíochtaí chun cabhrú agus déileáil leis na dúshláin a bhí le sárú

agus an tír ag f reagairt don phaindéim. Ina measc bhí saineolas lárnach taighde,

deonacháin trealaimh, soláthairtí riachtanacha, foireann le haghaidh tástála, samhaltú,

priontáil 3D, srl. Chabhraigh Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann le FSS f reisin trí rochtain

ar shaineolas ó IAOanna a sholáthar chun bonn eolais a chur faoi fhorbairt aip náisiúnta

COVID-19 FSS.

▪ Lean Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann ag soláthar infheistíochtaí suntasacha lena n-

áirítear: cúnamh a thabhairt d’Ionaid um Oiliúint Taighde agus Ionaid d’Oiliúint

Dochtúireachta na scileanna a theastaíonn do thodhchaí an gheilleagair a sheachadadh;

cúnamh do líonra na nIonad Taighde Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann is mó le rá,

dámhachtainí nua chun cabhrú le taighdeoirí neamhspleácha den scoth taighde

f ionnachtana a dhéanamh; samhlacha maoinithe dinimiciúla a thabhairt isteach atá

deartha chun aghaidh a thabhairt ar dhúshláin náisiúnta agus dhomhanda; agus

comhpháirtíochtaí straitéiseacha chun cabhrú le tionscadail taighde ar scála i réimsí a

bhfuil tábhacht straitéiseach leo.

▪ Rinne Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann óstáil i gcomhpháirt ar Fhóram Tacaíochta agus

Faisnéise Chomhairle Náisiúnta Taighde na hEorpa le Fiontraíocht Éireann agus le

Comhairle Taighde na hÉireann.

Buaicphointí Clár agus Dámhachtain Tacaíodh le roinnt Comhpháirtíochtaí Straitéiseacha suntasacha Fondúireacht Eolaíochta

Éireann:

▪ Tugadh cúnamh le infheistíocht €4.8m i gcomhpháirtíocht taighde a dhéanann imscrúdú

ar imdhíoneolaíocht COVID-19.

▪ Rinne Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus Microsoft cómhaoiniú ar thionscadal

athraithe aeráide €5m darb ainm Terrain-AI, faoi stiúir taighdeoirí in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad.

▪ Bronnadh dámhachtain ar an Institiúid Náisiúnta um Bhiteicneolaíocht Cheallach (NICB)

ag DCU, chun cabhrú le ACORN, faoi stiúir an Ollaimh John Crown agus an Dr Denis

Collins a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aici scileanna taighde ailse a chur chun cinn in DCU agus

torthaí nua a thabhairt chuig trialacha cliniciúla a rachaidh chun leasa othair ailse in

Éirinn agus ar fud an domhain.


—— 51

▪ Ceadaíodh na chéad dámhachtainí faoin gclár nua Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann

Frontiers for the Future, a chuidíonn le hinfheistíocht thábhachtach i dtaighde ardriosca,

ar luaíocht ard, ag cabhrú le taighde f ionnachtana aonair ó thaighdeoirí luathghairme go

ceannairí seanbhunaithe. Cuirtear tionscnamh inscne tábhachtach i bhfeidhm freisin

mar chuid den chlár.

▪ Mar chuid de phlean foriomlán an Rialtais chun maoiniú bunaithe ar dhúshláin a chothú

in Éirinn, lean Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann le rolladh amach Dúshláin nua le Duais

Nuálaí Todhchaí Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann, le fócas ar shaincheisteanna

lárnacha mar Intleacht Shaorga ar leas na Sochaí, Astuithe nialasacha, Plaistigh agus

Bia.

▪ Ceadaíodh dhá dhámhachtain déag faoi Chomhaltacht Seirbhíse Poiblí Fondúireacht

Eolaíochta Éireann. Tacaíonn siad seo le taighdeoirí atá ag obair ar fud ranna Rialtais, i

Leabharlann agus Seirbhísí Taighde Thithe an Oireachtais, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia

na hÉireann, srl. Ag cabhrú le beartas a threorú agus seirbhísí a fheabhsú.

▪ Fostaíodh an tOllamh Jens Walter ag UCC, chun clár taighde €3.7m a threorú ag Ionad

Taighde Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann Microbiome Ireland APC, trí Chlár Ollamh

Taighde Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann agus f iosróidh sé an tionchar a bhíonn ag stíl

mhaireachtála nua-aimseartha ar mhicribhithóm na putóige agus an ghaol le méadú ar

ghalair ainsealacha.

▪ Lean Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann ag cabhrú leis an líonra de 16 Ionad Taighde

Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann, a bhí i gcroílár an athraithe chlaochlaithe sa chaoi a

gcuidímid le taighde ar fud na nInstitiúidí Ardoideachais - le hiarracht taighde den scoth

a dhéanamh a mbeidh tionchar eacnamaíoch agus sochaíoch aige. Bhí na 16 Ionad

Taighde Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann mar chuid de rath na hÉireann maidir le

maoiniú Horizon 2020 an AE a tharraingt anuas.

Gairmeacha, Tacaíocht Oideachais, Foghlaim Neamhfhoirmiúil

▪ Reáchtáladh Seachtain Eolaíochta 2020 ón 8-15 Samhain 2020 agus rinneadh

comóradh 25 bliain in 2020, ag bogadh go féile f íorúil, leis an téama Ár dTodhchaí a

Roghnú, a bhí dírithe ar an gcaoi ar féidir leis an eolaíocht ár saol a fheabhsú do n lá

inniu agus sa todhchaí. Eagraíodh 13 Féile de chuid Sheachtain na hEolaíochta, a fuair

tacaíocht ón gClár Discover Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann, a bhí ar siúl beagnach ar

fud na tíre i gCorcaigh, Cabhán/Muineachán, i Sligeach, i nGaillimh, i Luimneach, i

dTiobraid Árann, i Maigh Eo, i Loch Garman, i gCill Chainnigh, i gCiarraí, san

oirdheisceart agus i lár na tíre.

▪ Fuair 331 bunscoil ar fud na tíre Gradam Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann Discover

Primary Science and Maths. Tá sé mar aidhm ag an gclár spéis san eolaíocht,

teicneolaíocht, innealtóireacht agus matamaitic a mhéadú i measc daltaí bunscoile agus

múinteoirí. Aithnítear leis na gradaim éachtaí leanaí agus múinteoirí i gcur i bhfeidhm

eolaíocht, teicneolaíocht, innealtóireacht agus matamaitic ina gcuraclam.

https://www.sfi.ie/events/festivals/


—— 52

F I O NT R AÍ OC H T É I RE A NN, I NF H E I ST ÍO CH T A GUS GNÍ O MH A ÍO CH T

NUÁ L A Í O C H TA

Cuireann Fiontraíocht Éireann tacaíochtaí Taighde, Forbartha agus Nuálaíochta ar fáil do

chuideachtaí chun teicneolaíochtaí agus próisis nua a fhorbairt a chruthóidh poist agus a

mhéadóidh onnmhairí. Faoi dheireadh 2020 bhí níos mó ná €1bn de mhaoiniú tarraingthe

anuas ag Éirinn faoi chlár Horizon 2020 an AE (2014-2020). I mí Meithimh bronnadh

maoiniú €31m ar ocht ngnólacht nuathionscanta agus FBM faoin gClár Luasaire Horizon

2020.

Acmhainn reatha Taighde, Forbartha agus Nuálaíochta Ionchuideachta a

threisiú In 2020, cheadaigh Fhiontraíocht Éireann 194 faomhadh Taighde, Forbartha agus

Nuálaíochta arbh fhiú os cionn €50,000 iad do chliaintchuideachtaí. Chuir Fhiontraíocht

Éireann sraith seimineár gréasáin i bhfeidhm a raibh sé mar aidhm acu feasacht a mhéad ú

ar mhaoiniú Taighde, Forbartha agus Nuálaíochta agus bearta comhoibrithe. Ina theannta

sin, sheol siad an chéad tráinse de Phlean Nuálaíochta de réir a Straitéise chun Plean

Nuálaíochta a fhorbairt do gach ceann dá gcliaint atá ag teacht lena gcumas agus lena n-

uaillmhian.

Scéim Táirgí COVID-19

Mar thoradh ar ráig COVID-19 tá géarghá ar fud an AE agus ar fud an domhain le taighde

agus forbairt táirgí agus réitigh leighis agus sláinte poiblí. Forbraíodh Scéim Táirgí COVID -

19 tar éis leasú a dhéanamh ar Chreat Cúnaimh Stáit Sealadach an AE, chun cúnamh

deontais a sholáthar do chliaint Fiontraíocht Éireann agus Údarás na Gaeltachta.

Feidhmíonn GFT Éireann scéim den chineál céanna dá gcliaint.

Tá trí bheart sa scéim seo:

▪ Beart 1: Gníomhaíochtaí taighde agus forbartha ábhartha COVID-19 ag cuideachtaí in

éineacht le Maoin Intleachtúil úsáideach a chruthú.

▪ Beart 2: Bonneagair tástála agus uasghrádaithe a thógáil agus a uasghrádú a úsáidtear

chun táirgí ábhartha COVID-19 a fhorbairt.

▪ Beart 3: Táirgeadh méadaithe earraí a theastaíonn chun f reagairt don ráig COVID-19.

Ba cheart na haschuir seo a bhaint amach chomh tapa agus is féidir.

Dlús a chur faoi chomhoibriú méadaithe idir an tionscal agus lucht acadúil I rith 2020, fuair 936 thionscadal comhoibríoch idir cuideachtaí agus Institiúidí Ardoideachais

Éireannacha tacaíocht ó Fhiontraíocht Éireann. Áirítear san fhigiúr sin 477 Dearbhán

Nuálaíochta beag €5k a fuasclaíodh, 405 faoi Thionscal Tairsí Teicneolaíochta a

mhaoiníonn an tionscal agus a chuirtear i gcrích in Institiúidí Teicneolaíochta ar fud na

hÉireann agus 54 Comhpháirtíocht Nuálaíochta ceadaithe. Tugann na tionscadail seo

deiseanna tráchtála nua do chuideachtaí, spáráiltear airgead agus méadaíonn siad ar

chumas nuálaíochta.

Clár na nIonad Teicneolaíochta Le linn 2020, chuaigh 1,228 cuideachta i dteagmháil le líonra Ionaid Teicneolaíochta

Fiontraíocht Éireann/GFT Éireann. Cé go bhfuil sé seo níos mó ná dhá oiread an líon in


—— 53

2019, áirítear leis seo cuideachtaí a bhí ag obair leis na hionaid nua trína sraith bliana de

sheimineáir ghréasáin.

Fuarthas amach le hanailís eacnamaíoch neamhspleách go mbainf idh Ionaid

Teicneolaíochta Fiontraíocht Éireann/GFT Éireann amach méadú faoi 6 suas go 20 ar

infheistíocht an Stáit. Ina theannta sin, bunaithe ar anailís ar Shonraí Athbhreithnithe Gnó

Bliantúla Fiontraíocht Éireann, tá Láimhdeachas níos airde, Díolacháin Easpórtála,

Díolacháin Intíre, Fostaithe Lánaimseartha agus Caiteachas Taighde, Forbartha agus

Nuálaíochta níos airde ag cliaint in Ionaid Teicneolaíochta, i gcomparáid le cliaint a

fheidhmíonn Taighde, Forbairt agus Nuálaíocht nach bhfuil in Ionaid Teicneolaíochta.

Chun scála oibríochtaí Ionaid Teicneolaíochta Fhiontraíocht Éireann/GFT Éireann a

mhéadú, fógraíodh infheistíochtaí cúig bliana breise in 2020 d’Ionad Ciorcaid

Micrileictreonaic Éireann (€ 10m) agus Ionad Teicneolaíochta Próiseála Déiríochta (€14m).

Clár na dTairsí Teicneolaíochta Cuireann Clár na dTairsí Teicneolaíochta 2018-2022 maoiniú ar fáil do 15 Thairseach atá ag

feidhmiú ar fud na 11 Institiúid Teicneolaíochta. Tá an líonra Tairsí déanta suas de thrí

Bhraisle Earnálacha de Thairsí, is iad sin: Braisle IoT (Internet of Things), Braisle EMD

Ireland (Innealtóireacht, Ábhair agus Dearadh) agus Braisle Teicneolaíochta Bhia na

hÉireann.

Caitheadh €9m in 2020 chun an Clár Trealamh Caipitil a leathnú - is é sin rochtain a

sholáthar do FBManna/don tionscal ar threalamh agus ar bhonneagar criticiúil

ceannródaíoch trí Ionaid Teicneolaíochta agus Tairsí Teicneolaíochta, ag cur leis an €6m a

caitheadh in 2019. Cuideoidh rochtain ar an trealamh nua le cuideachtaí in Éirinn a bheith

nuálach agus oiriúnú agus fanacht iomaíoch ar leibhéal náisiúnta agus domhanda.

Gnóthaí Nuathionscanta Ardacmhainne Cruthaíodh 12 Ghnó Nuathionscanta Ardacmhainne nua de bharr torthaí taighde ón gcóras

Ardoideachais in 2020.

A I ST R I Ú E O L A IS É I R EA NN ( KT I)

Cuidíonn Aistriú Eolais Éireann (KTI) le gnólachtaí leas a bhaint as rochtain ar shaineolas

agus teicneolaíocht Éireannach, tríd an bpróiseas nascadh agus teagmháil a dhéanamh leis

an mbonn taighde seo in Éirinn a shimpliú.

In 2020, chuir KTI tús lena shraith seimineáir ghréasáin 'Aistriú Eolais a Dhíghlasáil' a

cuireadh ar fáil gach mí agus é mar aidhm feasacht ar aistriú eolais a ardú agus féachaint go

mion ar an gcaoi a rachaidh sé chun leasa na f iontraíochta. Chlúdaigh na seimineáir

ghréasáin saincheisteanna mar: Leas a bhaint as Luach Do IP; Rochtain a fháil ar Thaighde,

Fhorbairt agus Nuálaíocht den scoth trí Thairsí Teicneolaíochta na hÉireann; agus Saineolas

Faisnéise Saorga a Ghiaráil. Tá gach ceann de sheimineáir ghréasáin KTI roimhe seo ar fáil

ar a suíomh idirlín www.knowledgetransferireland.com.

Ceadúnas Saor ó Ríchíos Neamh-eisiach COVID-19 In 2020 d’fhógair KTI go gcruthófaí Ceadúnas tiomnaithe COVID -19 Saor ó Ríchíosa

Neamh-eisiach (NERF). D'oibrigh KTI leis na hOif igí um Aistriú Teicneolaíochta in earnáil

ardoideachais na hÉireann ar fud na tíre chun comhaontú simplí dhá leathanach a

https://djei.cloud.gov.ie/apps/eDocs/S/ENT058/Files/ENT058-008-2021/Annual%20Report%20/%20Tuarascáil%20Bhliantúil%202020%20/%20www.knowledgetransferireland.com


—— 54

tháirgeadh atá dírithe ar scaipeadh maoine intleachtúla criticiúla COVID-19 ó ollscoileanna

agus institiúidí teicneolaíochta na hÉireann a bhrostú chuig cuideachtaí.

Is é an Ceadúnas NERF an toradh ar mhian ó IAOanna ar fud na tíre cuidiú le cuardach

agus forbairt teicneolaíochtaí nua chun cabhrú le paindéim COVID-19 a thabhairt chun

críche. Faoi ghnáththosca, déantar IP a cheadúnú trí phróiseas caibidlíochta idir an dá

pháirtí faoina ndéantar ríchíosanna agus eisiachais úsáide a shonrú agus a chomhaontú go

soiléir. Soláthraíonn an COVID-19 NERF IP ceannródaíoch saor in aisce d’eag raíochtaí atá i

mbun gníomhaíochtaí taighde criticiúla agus forbartha chun críocha tionchar an víris a

dhiagnóisiú, a chosc, a choinneáil, a chóireáil agus/nó a íoslaghdú.

Fanfaidh an Ceadúnas COVID-19 NERF i bhfeidhm go dtí go ndearbhaíonn an Eagraíocht

Dhomhanda Sláinte go bhfuil deireadh leis an bpaindéim reatha COVID-19.

Mar fhreagra ar COVID-19, in 2020 áiríodh sna Dámhachtainí Tionchair KTI dámhachtain

don 'Dámhachtain Freagartha COVID-19' gníomhaíochtaí nuálacha sna hInstitiúidí

Ardoideachais a aithint a d'eascair as na dúshláin éagsúla a chruthaigh an phaindéim agus

a d'éiligh scileanna na hOif ige um Aistriú Teicneolaíochta chun cabhrú le seachadadh.

MOL NUÁLAÍOCHTA SLÁINTE ÉIREANN

Is comhthionscnamh é Mol Nuálaíochta Sláinte Éireann idir an Roinn seo agus an Roinn

Sláinte. Is é aidhm an tionscnaimh comhoibriú idir an tseirbhís sláinte agus an earnáil

f iontraíochta a chur chun cinn agus go ndéanfaí forbairt agus tráchtálú ar theicneolaíochtaí,

táirgí agus seirbhísí nua cúraim sláinte.

I mí Feabhra 2020, ghin glao HIHI ar tháirgí a bhaineann le COVID-19 197 aighneacht thar

11 sheachtain, agus cruthaíodh go raibh go leor acu ina réitigh luachmhara a cuireadh

isteach i FSS nó go díreach chuig saoráidí cúram sláinte agus tithe altranais.

I mí Iúil fógraíodh torthaí ghlao náisiúnta bliantúil HIHI ar nuálaíochtaí a thugann aghaidh ar

aon riachtanas cúram sláinte agus glao dírithe ar Thacú le Féinbhainistiú Galar Ainsealach

(cardashoithíoch, riospráide agus diaibéiteas). I measc na 48 iarratasóir, roghnaíodh 23

chun a dtáirge a chur i láthair agus roghnaíodh 15 le haghaidh staidéir phíolótacha agus

bhailíochtaithe.

C R E A T UM T H A I GH DE A GUS NUÁ L A Í O CH T A N A E - F Í S 2 0 2 0

Lean Éire den fheidhmíocht iontach a bhí aici in Fís 2020, Creat um Thaighde agus

Nuálaíocht an Aontais Eorpaigh. Bhuaigh taighdeoirí agus nuálaithe atá lonnaithe in Éirinn

€1.09bn de mhaoiniú iomaíoch don chlár ón Aontas Eorpach, go dtí deireadh 2020.

B'ionann meánscolaíocht nó ardoideachas agus €614.4m den mhaoiniú iomlán. Bhuaigh

cuideachtaí príobháideacha do bhrabús (seachas oideachas) €383.4m agus chuaigh

€266.4m den mhéid sin chuig FBManna. Stiúrann Fiontraíocht Éireann líonra tacaíochta Fís

2020 na hÉireann.

Cuireadh idirbheartaíocht maidir le rialáil agus buiséad an 9ú Creat um Thaighde agus

Nuálaíocht Fhís Eorpach i gcrích i mí na Nollag 2020. Is é an buiséad comhaontaithe deiridh

don Fhís Eorpach ná €95.5bn le borradh €5bn ó Next Generation EU. Meastar go seolfar na

chéad ghlaonna don Fhís Eorpach in Aibreán 2021.


—— 55

E A GR A Í O C HTA Í T A I GH DE I D I RNÁ I S I ÚNTA

Lean an Roinn ar aghaidh ag neartú rannpháirtíocht na hÉireann i gcomhoibrithe taighde

idirnáisiúnta agus in 2020 ghlac an chéad mhac léinn Éireannach páirt i gClár Staidéir

Chomhairle Taighde na hÉireann um an Réadlann Eorpach sa Leathsféar Theas. Is í an

Réadlann Eorpach sa Leathsféar Theas an eagraíocht réalteolaíochta idir-rialtais is

tábhachtaí san Eoraip agus an réadlann réalteolaíochta is táirgiúla ar domhan.

In 2020, sheol Ionad na hÉireann um Ríomhaireacht Ardleibhéil a chláir Suaitheanta

Acadúla agus Luasaire FBManna, tar éis a bheith ainmnithe mar Ionad Inniúlachta náisiúnta

na hÉireann de Chomh-ghnóthas na Ríomhaireachta Ardfheidhmíochta Eorpaí (EuroHPC).

Is réimse forbartha teicneolaíochta é an Ríomhaireacht Quantum atá ag teacht chun cinn go

tapa agus a bhfuil spéis shuntasach ag an Roinn ann. Éascóidh éadáil Ardán Foghlama

Chandamach in 2020, arna óstáil ag Ionad na hÉireann um Ríomhaireacht Ardleibhéil,

forbairt feidhmchlár, taighde agus nuálaíocht, oiliúint agus oideachas i réimse na

Ríomhaireachta Chandamach, ag cur le geilleagar cliste na hÉireann.

Glacfaidh Éire páirt f reisin i gCumann Néal Eorpach maidir leis an Eolaíocht Oscailte

(EOSC), a bunaíodh go foirmiúil go déanach i 2020. Is é aidhm EOSC timpeallacht fhíorúil

iontaofa a sholáthar do thaighdeoirí chun sonraí a stóráil, a bhainistiú, anailís a dhéanamh

orthu agus a athúsáid chun críocha taighde, nuálaíochta agus oideachais. Cuideoidh sé seo

ceannasaíocht domhanda a thabhairt don AE i mbainistíocht sonraí taighde. Éascóidh sé

eolaíocht agus nuálaíocht oscailte f reisin trí thairiscint a thabhairt do gach taighdeoir

Eorpach rochtain a fháil agus athúsáid a dhéanamh ar na sonraí taighde ar fad san Eoraip

atá maoinithe go poiblí san Eoraip thar dhisciplíní agus theorainneacha.

C O MH P H Á I RTÍ OC HT T A I GH DE A GUS F O R BA RTHA SA M - NA H É I R E A NN

Is comhghuaillíocht trí dhlínse í an Comhpháirtíocht Taighde agus Forbartha SAM - Na

hÉireann a seoladh go hoif igiúil in 2006. Tá sé mar aidhm ag an gcomhpháirtíocht

tionscadail taighde nuálacha comhoibríocha a chur chun cinn a chruthaíonn luach thar

iarrachtaí aonair. Tháinig an grúpa stiúrtha Comhpháirtíochta le chéile an 10 Márta 2020 i

Roinn Stáit na SA i Washington DC agus trí nasc f íse ó oif igí Idir-Thrádáil Éireann san Iúr.

Ó tharla an chruinniú bliantúil í mí Márta 2020, ceadaíodh seacht dtionscadal breise, ceann

sa Nanaitheicneolaíocht, trí cinn i Lár go Lár, péire sa réimse Sláinte agus ceann eile faoin

réimse tosaíochta Fuinnimh agus inbhuanaitheachta. Tá 65 tionscadal san iomlán

ceadaithe go dtí seo, arbh fhiú $126m/£89m/€106m iad. Seo a leanas líon na dtionscadal a

mhaoinítear faoi gach réimse tosaíochta: 16 Nanaitheicneolaíocht, 14 Sláinte, 11 Fuinneamh

& Inbhuanaitheacht, naoi Braiteoir, seacht Lár go Lár, cúig Talmhaíocht, agus trí

Teileachumarsáid. Leanann an phunann ag feidhmiú go maith le hiarratais na nInstitiúidí

Sláinte Náisiúnta ag baint amach ráta rathúlachta de 17.1%, iarratais ón Institiúid Náisiúnta

Bia agus Talmhaíochta 18.5% agus iarratais ón bhFondúireacht Eolaíochta Náisiúnta ag

taispeáint ráta rathúlachta an-mhaith de 32.2%.

Ag an gcruinniú i mí Márta, dúradh go n-úsáidtear an tsamhail comhpháirtíochta T&F SAM-

Éireann anois mar mhúnla le haghaidh comhoibrithe le tíortha eile. Cheadaigh na ranna go

léir na téarmaí tagartha nuashonraithe agus shínigh comhpháirtithe leasú ar an Meabhrán

Tuisceana chun an réimse tosaíochta cibearshlándála nua a chur san áireamh i mí na

Nollag 2019. Tá an Roinn Geilleagair i dTuaisceart Éireann i mbun athbhreithnithe faoi


—— 56

láthair a bhreithneoidh, i measc nithe eile, an bealach is fearr chun tionchar an taighde agus

an chomhpháirtíocht níos leithne idir SAM agus Éire a thomhas. Beidh sé seo ina

phríomhghné den chomhpháirtíocht - an bealach is fearr chun tionchair chainníochtúla agus

cháilíochtúla a thomhas a chuirf idh luach leis an gcomhpháirtíocht i dtéarmaí ardú céime

agus rannpháirtíocht phoiblí níos leithne. Tá USDA i gceannas ar athbhrei thniú trípháirteach

ar an gclár bpíolótach talmhaíochta ar cheart a bheith críochnaithe in 2021.

Cuireadh tús leis an obair ar an dara cás-staidéar f íse ar Chomhpháirtíocht T&F SAM-

Éireann. Maidir leis an réimse tosaíochta is nua, Cibearslándáil, tharla an chéad seimineár

gréasáin chomhoibritheach trasatlantach an 2 Nollaig 2020. Ba é seo an chéad seimineár

gréasáin den tsraith cruinnithe chun an téama nua Cibearshlándála a chur chun cinn agus

chun foirmiú comhoibrithe nua a éascú.

F O R BA I RTÍ A R BH E A RTA S SP Á I S A N A O NT A I S E O R PA I GH

I mí na Nollag 2020, tháinig an Chomhairle Eorpach agus Parlaimint na hEorpa ar

chomhaontú maidir leis an rialachán lena mbunaítear clár spáis an AE do 2021-2027, ag

réiteach an bhealaigh chun tús a chur leis an obair don chlár spáis €13.2bn in 2021.

Fuair 20 cuideachta conarthaí ón nGníomhaireacht Eorpach Spáis (ESA) suas go deireadh

R3 2020. Ba chonraitheoirí ESA den chéad uair sé cinn de na cuideachtaí seo a léirigh dul

chun cinn thionscal na hÉireann san earnáil seo atá i mbéal forbartha. Ba é luach iomlán na

gconarthaí tionscail de chuid an ESA in Éirinn suas go deireadh R3 2020 ná €5.15m. Fuair

pobal taighde na hÉireann €1.25m eile i gconarthaí, rud a thug luach iomlán na gconarthaí

ESA in Éirinn in 2020 suas go Q3 go €6.4m. Ina theannta sin, ceadaíodh cúig ghnólacht

nuathionscanta do Ghorlann Ghnó ESA na hÉireann (BICanna) in 2020. Oibríonn BIC an

ESA le f iontraithe chun smaointe gnó a bhaineann le spás a athrú ina gcuideachtaí nua-

thionscanta tráchtála. In 2020, rinne Éire infheistíocht €19.8m ina ballraíocht san ESA.

I NST I T I ÚI D NÁ I S I ÚNT A T Y NDA LL

Is í Institiúid Náisiúnta Tyndall an t-ionad taighde is mó in Éirinn le speisialtóireacht i

gcruaearraí agus córais Teicneolaíochta Faisnéise agus Cumarsáide (TFC). Fuair Tyndall

€9m san iomlán ón Roinn in 2020.

I mí Eanáir 2020, sheol Tyndall plean straitéiseach nua Tyndall 2025 ag leagan amach a n-

uaillmhian an Institiúid a mhéadú go suntasach, ag méadú an spáis fhisiciúil faoi dhó chomh

maith lena gcumas taighde. Féachann Tyndall 2025 lena chinntiú go bhfanfaidh Tyndall ar

thús cadhnaíochta i dteicneolaíochtaí nua agus go dtógfaidh sé ar a mhúnla rathúil

rannpháirtíochta tionscail agus go gcuirfidh sé ar a chumas f reagairt do dheiseanna

teicneolaíochta atá bainteach le TFC atá ag teacht chun cinn i dtimpeallacht iomaíoch atá ag

athrú go tapa. Bhog an fhreagracht as Tyndall go dtí an Roinn Breisoideachais agus

Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta i dteannta le taighde eile faoi stiúir

acadúil le héifeacht ón 1 Eanáir 2021.

MA O I N I NT L E A C HTÚI L

Sheol Coimisiún an AE a Threochlár Plean Gníomhaíochta um Maoin Intleachtúil (IP) in

2020. Forbraíodh é seo thart ar chúig philéar;


—— 57

1. An córas cosanta IP a nuashonrú lena n-áirítear meastóireacht ar an reachtaíocht

maidir le dearaí tionsclaíocha agus cosaint IP a dhéanamh níos éifeachtaí sa chóras

deimhnithe forlíontacha cosanta;

2. Úsáid straitéiseach IP ag gnólachtaí a chur chun cinn, agus go háirithe an córas IP a

dhéanamh níos éifeachtaí do FBManna;

3. Luachshocrú agus ceadúnú IP a éascú;

4. Sárú IP a laghdú trí éifeachtacht na dtionscnamh a fheabhsú chun dul i ngleic le

góchumadh agus le píoráideacht; agus

5. Cothrom na Féinne domhanda a fheabhsú.

C Ó I P C H E A RT

Tuarascáil Iar-achtaithe maidir leis an tAcht Cóipchirt agus Forálacha Eile um Dhlí na Maoine Intleachtúla, 2019 (Uimh. 19 de 2019) Shínigh an tUachtarán an tAcht Cóipchirt agus Forálacha Eile um Dhlí na Maoine

Intleachtúla, 2019 (‘Acht 2019’) ina dhlí an 26 Meitheamh 2019. De réir Bhuanordú 164A na

Dála (a glacadh in 2016), dhá mhí dhéag tar éis Bille a achtú, ceanglaítear ar an Rialtas nó

ar an Aire Stáit atá f reagrach as Acht a chur i bhfeidhm tuarascáil a thabhairt ar aird ar

fheidhmiú an Achta agus an tuairisc a thabhairt do Leabharlann Parlaiminte Thithe an

Oireachtais.

D'ullmhaigh an Roinn tuarascáil iar-achtaithe d'Acht 2019 agus leagadh í i Leabharlann

Parlaiminte Thithe an Oireachtais an 18 Meitheamh 2020.

Deimhniú na Scéime um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt maidir le hábhar faoi chosaint cóipchirt in úsáid ag institiúidí oideachais

I mí Iúil 2020, dheimhnigh an Tánaiste ceithre scéim nua ceadúnaithe cóipchirt do na

hearnálacha Bunscoile, Iar-bhunscoile, Ardoideachais agus Breisoideachais atá

infheidhmithe don bhliain acadúil 2020/21 ar aghaidh. Faoi na scéimeanna nua, arna

bhfeidhmiú ag Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt na hÉireann, ceadaítear do

scoileanna agus institiúidí oideachais eile úsáid a bhaint as saothair atá faoi chosaint

cóipchirt (lena n-áirítear saothair chlóite agus dhigiteacha) chun críocha oideachais.

Leasuithe ar Rialacha na Cúirte Dúiche maidir le Maoin Intleachtúil chun rochtain ar éilimh ar mhaoin intleachtúil chuig na cúirteanna sin a éascú

Bhí leasuithe ar an reachtaíocht san Acht 2019 a rialaíonn an Chúirt Chuarda agus an Chúirt

Dúiche, lena ndéantar foráil maidir le rochtain níos éasca agus ar chostas níos ísle ar chóras

na gcúirteanna d’éilimh ar shárú Maoine Intleachtúla. In 2020, mar thoradh díreach ar na

forálacha seo, rinne an Seirbhís Chúirteanna/an Roinn Dlí agus Cirt, le cúnamh na Roinne

seo, maoirseacht ar shíniú Rialacha 2020 na Cúirte Dúiche (Maoin Intleachtúil) 2020 (IR

Uimh. 284 de 2020) ina ndearnadh éascú ar leathnú na n-éileamh sáraithe ar mhaoin

intleachtúil chun na cúirte sin. Leis seo laghdaítear an costas a bhaineann le héilimh ar

shárú maoine intleachtúla i gcásanna ina mbíonn dámhachtainí airgeadaíochta a lorgaítear

faoi dhlínse na Cúirte Dúiche.


—— 58

Treoir (AE) 2019/790 ó Pharlaimint na hEorpa agus ón gComhairle maidir le cóipcheart agus cearta gaolmhara sa Mhargadh Aonair Digiteach agus Treoracha 96/9/CE agus 2001/29/CE a leasú Rinneadh idirbheartaíocht agus comhaontú ar Threoir an AE maidir le Cóipcheart sa

Mhargadh Aonair Digiteach faoin straitéis um Margadh Aonair Digiteach idir Meán Fómhair

2016 agus Bealtaine 2019. Is í aidhm na Treorach reachtaíocht nua-aimseartha cóipchirt a

chruthú chun f reagairt do riachtanais shaoránaigh uile na hEorpa i sochaí atá ag éirí níos

dhigitigh. Leis an Treoir seo is féidir rochtain a fháil agus úsáid níos leithne a bhaint as

saothair faoi chosaint cóipchirt atá chun leasa na n-earnálacha cruthaitheacha, na

bhfoilsitheoirí preasa, taighdeoirí, oideoirí, institiúidí oidhreachta cultúrtha, agus saoránaigh.

Cuireann sé creat ar fáil chun reachtaíocht nua-aimseartha cóipchirt na hEorpa a chruthú

chun forbairtí teicneolaíochta san aois dhigiteach a chur san áireamh agus leanúint ar

aghaidh ag cinntiú go dtugtar luach saothair do chruthaitheoirí as a gcuid iarrachtaí

cruthaitheacha.

Tar éis fhoilsiú na Treorach, rinne an Roinn sraith comhairliúcháin phoiblí ag lorg tuairimí na

bpáirtithe leasmhara uile maidir le trasuí na Treorach i ndlí na hÉireann. Leanadh den obair

ar an trasuí le linn 2020 agus rinne an Roinn anailís mhionsonraithe ar an líon mór

aighneachtaí a fuarthas maidir leis an bpróiseas comhairliúcháin. Tá sé beartaithe ag an

Roinn an Treoir a thrasuí faoin spriocdháta, an 7 Meitheamh 2021.

R E A C H T AÍ OC H T T H ÁNA I STEA C H A C UI R E A DH I BH F E I DH M I R É I MSE NA

MA O I NE I NT L E A CH TÚLA

1. I.R. Uimh. 275 de 2020, An tOrdú Cóipchirt agus Ceart Gaolmhar (Scéim Ceadúnúcháin

le haghaidh Bunscoileanna a Dheimhniú) (Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt na

hÉireann Teoranta), 2020. Foilsíodh é san ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ ar an 4 Lúnasa 2020.


le haghaidh IarBhunscoileanna a Dheimhniú) (Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt

na hÉireann Teoranta), 2020 Foilsíodh é san ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ ar an 4 Lúnasa 2020.


le haghaidh Institiúidí Ardoideachais a Dheimhniú) (Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú

Cóipchirt na hÉireann Teoranta), 2020 Foilsíodh é san ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ ar an 4 Lúnasa

2020.


le haghaidh Soláthraithe Breisoideachais) (Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt na

hÉireann Teoranta), 2020. Foilsíodh é san ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ ar an 4 Lúnasa 2020.

Foráiltear leis na hOrduithe thuas, arna ndeimhniú ag an Tánaiste de bhun alt 173 den Acht

Cóipchirt agus Cearta Gaolmhara 2000, scéimeanna nua ceadúnaithe cóipchirt do na

hearnálacha Bunscoile, Iar-bhunscoile, Ardoideachais agus Breisoideachais. Éilíodh na

scéimeanna nua ceadúnaithe mar thoradh ar na forálacha atá in alt 15 den tAcht Cóipchirt

agus Forálacha Eile um Dhlí na Maoine Intleachtúla, 2019. Cuireann na scéimeanna

ceadúnaithe ar chumas institiúidí oideachais úsáid a bhaint as saothair atá faoi chosaint

cóipchirt chun críocha oideachais. Is í Gníomhaireacht um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt na hÉireann

Teoranta a oibríonn na scéimeanna ceadúnaithe agus tá siad infheidhmithe don bhliain

acadúil 2020/21 ar aghaidh.


—— 59

C A I GH D E Á NÚ

Mar gheall ar shrianta COVID-19 ar fud an domhain, aistríodh cruinnithe Caighdeán chuig

ardáin ar líne, a raibh tionchar dearfach acu cruinnithe a dhéanamh inrochtana do

Chomhaltaí Coiste nach mbeadh an t-am nó na hacmhainní acu f reastal ar chruinnithe

idirnáisiúnta.

▪ Intleacht Shaorga - Ceapadh an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann

chun Príomhfhoireann Rialtas na hÉireann ar chaighdeáin intleacht shaorga a threorú.

Bunaíodh an fhoireann chun deiseanna a bhaineann le hathruithe teicneolaíochta agus

an t-aistriú go geilleagar ísealcharbóin a bhaint amach. Is cuid den Straitéis náisiúnta

foriomlán intleacht shaorga é a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aici a chinntiú go mbaineann ár n-

ionaid taighde, ár ngnólachtaí agus an earnáil phoiblí leas as teicneolaíochtaí intleacht

shaorga chun leibhéil táirgiúlachta agus folláine níos airde a chinntiú.

▪ Gradam Eorpach um Nuálaíochta agus Caighdeáin - Ghnóthaigh ball de

choiste blocshlabhra an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann an Gradam

Eorpach um Nuálaíocht agus Caighdeáin ag Gradaim Nuálaíochta agus Caighdeáin

2020 CEN agus CENELEC, bronnadh an gradam ar Fiona Delaney, ball den Choiste

Teicniúil agus bunaitheoir Origin Chain Networks as a cuid ionchur i dtaobh Caighdeáin

blocshlabhra Eorpacha agus idirnáisiúnta. Chuir Ms Delaney feidhmchlár uathúil

agraibhia de blocshlabhra ar a dtugtar Comhlíonadh Uilíoch Feirme faoi bhráid an

Choiste um Chaighdeáin 'Blocshlabhra agus teicneolaíochtaí mórleabhair dáilte'.

Cuirf idh an cás ar chumas blocshlabhra a úsáid go cruthaitheach ar fud an domhain

agus cuireann sé líonraí slabhra Origin, an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na

hÉireann agus Éire ar an léarscáil don Nuálaíocht.

▪ Ag Cur le Caighdeáin - D'aithin Innealtóirí Éireann go foirmiúil an tábhacht agus an

tairbhe a bhaineann le bheith rannpháirteach i bhforbairt caighdeán le linn 2020 trí

Rannpháirtíocht an Choiste um Chaighdeáin a aithint chun críocha Forbartha Gairmiúla

Leanúnaí.


—— 60

Sprioc 4: TA C A ÍO C HTA Í C A IDRIMH DH EA RFA IG H S A N Á IT

O IB RE, S Á S RA Í RÉIT IG H DÍO S P Ó IDÍ A FH EIDH MÍO N N G O MA ITH ,

FO RFH EIDH MIÚ FÓ N TA N A G C EA RT FO S TA ÍO C HTA A G US

T IMP EA L LA C H T O IB RE S H Á B H Á ILTE A C H UR A R FÁ IL

Anuas ar thacaíochtaí san áit oibre, a áiríonn áiteanna oibre sábháilte agus sláintiúla,

réiteach díospóidí agus forfheidhmiú ceart, tá an Roinn f reagrach f reisin as an mBeartas

Imirce Geilleagraí agus as réimeas na gCeadanna Fostaíochta a bhainistiú.

I mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2020, i ndiaidh feidhmeanna a aistriú ón Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí,

aistríodh f reagracht as beartas um cearta fostaíochta agus iomarcaíocht agus

dócmhainneacht chuig an Roinn seo, in éineacht le roinnt f reagrachtaí eile. Is é príomh-ról

an dá réimse beartais sin a chinntiú go bhfanfaidh sraith reachtaíochta an Stáit maidir le

cearta fostaíochta agus iomarcaíocht agus dócmhainneacht oiriúnach don fheidhm agus go

ndéanfar í a nuashonrú chun forbairtí náisiúnta agus idirnáisiúnta a léiriú, lena n-áirítear ar

leibhéal an Aontais Eorpaigh, na Cúirte Breithiúnais agus na hEagraíochta Idirnáisiúnta

Saothair, agus chun comhairle a chur ar an Aire agus f reastal ar an gcóras polaitiúil maidir le

nithe a bhaineann leis na réimsí sin. Léireofar obair na n-aonad sin i dTuarascáil Bhliantúil

2021.

P Á B REO ITEA C H TA REA C H TÚIL Gheall an Tánaiste scéim um pá breoiteachta reachtúil a thabhairt isteach le go mbeidh Éire

ar aon dul le tíortha saibhre OECD eile. Tá dul chun cinn maith déanta ar an obair sin

cheana féin. Rinneadh comhairliúchán poiblí iomlán ina leith i mí na Samhna agus i mí na

Nollag 2020, agus fuarthas 118 aighneacht ó raon leathan páirtithe leasmhara. Tá sé i gceist

ag an Tánaiste dréacht-reachtaíocht faoin scéim a thabhairt isteach in 2021 le súil agus an

scéim a chur i bhfeidhm faoi dheireadh na bliana.

A N C EA RT C H UN DÍC H EA N G A L A DH ÉA N A MH Toisc go bhfuil an timpeallacht oibre digití ag éirí níos coitianta agus i gcomhthéacs

ghealltanas an Rialtais, d’iarr an Tánaiste ar an gCoimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre

(WRC) smaoineamh ar Chód Cleachtais a fhorbairt d’fhostóirí agus d’fhostaithe maidir leis

an gCeart chun Dícheangal a Dhéanamh. Rinneadh an Tánaiste an t -iarratas sin ar an WRC

i gcomhréir le forálacha alt 20 den Acht um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre, 2015. Is é cuspóir an

Chóid sin treoraíocht phraiticiúil agus dea-chleachtas a chur ar fáil d’fhostóirí, d’fhostaithe

agus dá gcuid ionadaithe i ndáil leis an gCeart chun Dícheangal a Dhéanamh. Is treo irlínte i

scríbhinn iad Cóid Chleachtais, a chomhaontaítear i bpróiseas comhairleach, ina leagtar

amach treoraíocht agus dea-chleachtas d’fhostóirí agus d’fhostaithe maidir le reachtaíocht

fostaíochta a chomhlíonadh. Leis an gCód, déantar cearta agus oibleagáidí fostóirí agus

fostaithe faoin Acht um Eagrú Ama Oibre, 1997, faoin Acht um Shábháilteacht, Sláinte agus

Leas ag an Obair, 2005, faoin Acht Fostaíochta (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) 2018 agus faoin

Acht um Théarmaí Fostaíochta (Faisnéis) 1994 – 2014, a chomhlánú agus tacú leo. Cé nach

cion as féin é gan Cód a ullmhaítear faoi alt 20(1)(a) den um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre,

2015 a leanúint, déantar foráil in alt 20(9), i gcás imeachtaí ar bith os comhair Cúirte, na

Cúirte Oibreachais nó an WRC, gur fhianaise inghlactha a bheidh i gCód Cleachtas agus go

ndéanfar aon fhoráil den Chód a mheasfaidh an chúirt, an comhlacht nó an t -oif igeach i


—— 61

gceist gur ábhartha í maidir le haon cheist a d’eascródh sna himeachtaí, a chur san áireamh

agus cinneadh á dhéanamh faoin gceist sin. Tugadh an Cód Cleachtais chun críche sa

chéad ráithe de 2021.

A N P R Ó T A CA L UM O I BR I Ú GO SÁ BH Á I L TE ( P RÓTA C AL UM F H I L LE A DH

A R A N O BA I R GO SÁ BH Á I L TE )

Mar thoradh ar na srianta Sláinte Poiblí a cuireadh i bhfeidhm de bharr na Paindéime

COVID-19, tugadh an Prótacal um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte isteach nuair a chinn

an Rialtas an geilleagar a athoscailt i bpáirt ón 18 Bealtaine 2020. Leagadh amach go soiléir

agus go cuimsitheach sa Phrótacal na céimeanna agus na próisis nár mhór do ghnólachtaí a

dhéanamh chun leathadh COVID-19 san áit oibre a mhaolú. Forbraíodh é agus

comhaontaíodh é i gcomhairliúchán le comhaltaí an Fhóraim Eacnamaíoch Fostóirí is Lucht

Saothair, fóram le haghaidh idirphlé ardleibhéil idir an rialtas agus ionadaithe ceardchumann

agus fostóirí maidir le saincheisteanna a bhaineann le margadh an tsaothair. I measc na

rannpháirtithe sa phróiseas seo bhí IBEC, Comhdháil na gCeardchumann, Cumann

Chomhlachais Tráchtála na hÉireann agus Cónaidhm Thionscal na Tógála. Is é an toradh ar

chomh-iarracht é, faoi stiúir na Roinne seo agus le rannpháirtíocht ón Údarás Sláinte agus

Sábháilteachta, ón Roinn Sláinte agus ó FSS.

Rinneadh an Prótacal a athbhreithniú agus a athsheoladh mar an bPrótacal um Fhilleadh ar

an Obair go Sábháilte i mí na Samhna 2020 agus é fós ag tabhairt faisnéise agus comhairle

ar raon ábhar amhail ráigeanna a bhainistiú agus a rialú, díghalráin lámh a roghnú, maisc a

chaitheamh, áiteanna oibriú a aerú agus siomptóim. San athbhreithniú tugadh an t -eolas a

forbraíodh i rith na paindéime sna réimsí sin le chéile agus measadh gur thábhachtach é an

chomhairle sláinte poiblí ba nuaí agus ab fhéidir a thabhairt sa treoraíocht.

Ghníomhaigh an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta mar an bpríomh-Ghníomhaireacht

maidir le comhlíonadh an Phrótacail um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte a chomhordú.

Thug 700 cigire as Ranna Rialtais agus Comhlachtaí Stáit eile cúnamh dó leis an ról sin (An

Coimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre; Oif igigh Sláinte Comhshaoil; An Roinn

Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara; An Roinn Oideachais; An tÚdarás um Chosaint Iascaigh

Mhara agus Tulsa).

Rinneadh os cionn 24,000 cigireacht COVID-19 ar chomhlíonadh leis an bPrótacal idir mhí

na Bealtaine agus dheireadh mhí na Nollag 2020. Léirigh tuairisceáin ó na comhlachtaí

cigireachta ar fad os cionn 90% de leibhéal comhlíontachta leis an bPrótacal. Thug sin

dearbhú d’fhostóirí agus d’oibrithe i ndáil le cumas gnólachtaí fanacht ar oscailt le linn

thréimhse na paindéime.

I MI R C E E A C NA MA Í OC H

Trí bhíthin moltaí san Athbhreithniú ar an mBeartas um Imirce Eacnamaíoch 2018 a chur i

bhfeidhm, áirithítear go bhfuil córas ceadanna fostaíochta an Stáit fós sách solúbtha chun

f reagra a thabhairt ar athruithe i margadh an tsaothair agus tacú go hiomlán le riachtanais

saothair a thiocfadh chun cinn. Leanadh leis an obair ar reachtaíocht leasaithe agus

chomhdhlúite nua maidir le Ceadanna Fostaíochta a fhorbairt.

Tugadh an chéad athbhreithniú ar an athbhreithniú débhliantúil ar scileanna ríthábhachtacha

agus gairmeacha beatha neamh-incháilithe maidir le ceadanna fostaíochta chun críche i mí

Dheireadh Fómhair 2020. Cuireadh an timpeallacht eacnamaíoch reatha agus tionchar


—— 62

COVID-19 ar mhargadh an tsaothair san áireamh ann. Ní dhearnadh aon athrú ar na Liostaí

Gairmeacha Beatha maidir le Ceadanna Fostaíochta, ach amháin dhá leasú theicniúla

bheaga lenar simplíodh an tuairisc ar ghairm an altranais agus lenar cuireadh an Clár

‘Vulcanus’ san Eoraip (Éire) idir an tSeapáin agus an tAontas Eorpach le liosta na

gComhaontuithe Malairte atá incháilithe do Cheadanna Fostaíochta le haghaidh

Chomhaontú Malairte. Tosaíodh an dara athbhreithniú i mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2020.

Tháinig an Fóram Úsáideoirí Comhairliúcháin Fostóirí, atá faoi chomh-chathaoirleacht na

Roinne seo agus na Roinne Dlí agus Cirt agus Comhionannais, le chéile i mí Mheán

Fómhair.

C E A D A NNA F O STA ÍO CH TA

Le linn 2020, rinneadh iarratais um Chomhpháirtí Iontaofa, arb ionann iad agus 74% de na

hiarratais uile ar cheadanna agus ar úsáideoirí rialta na seirbhíse iad, a phróiseáil laistigh de

1-2 sheachtain. Rinneadh gnáth-iarratais, arb ionann iad agus 26% de na hiarratais uile, a

phróiseáil laistigh de 3-4 sheachtain. Bhain an dá fhigiúr sin na spriocanna thar a bheith

uaillmhianacha ó thaobh seirbhís do chustaiméirí amach.

Rinneadh líon iomlán de 16,290 iarratas ar cheadanna fostaíochta in 2020, laghdú 13% ar

an mbliain 2019. An tráth céanna, deonaíodh an líon ceadanna ab airde le 12 bhliain anuas,

16,419, ardú 1% ar an mbliain 2019.

I mí an Mhárta 2020, chuir an Roinn plean teagmhais COVID-19 i bhfeidhm lena chinntiú go

bhféadfadh an córas ceadanna fostaíochta leanúint de bheith ag obair le linn na

géarchéime. Ón 30 Márta ar aghaidh, tá an córas ceadanna fostaíochta ag oibriú go hiomlán

ar líne agus go cianda. Rinneadh comhaontú le Soláthar Seirbhíse Inimirce sa Roinn Dlí

agus Cirt maidir le socruithe chun ‘cead ríomh-fhostaíochta’ a thabhairt isteach ar bhonn

sealadach agus próiseas comhchosúil mar chóip bhog chun aistriú chuig cead buanchónaí.

Tugadh tosaíocht d’iarratais ar cheadanna fostaíochta le haghaidh pearsanra liachta a

phróiseáil ó lár mhí an Mhárta go dtí deireadh 2020. Eisíodh thart ar 4,490 cead fostaíochta

do phearsanra liachta.

Tá an dara céim d’Athbhreithniú Próisis Ghnó, a mbeidh córas próiseála TF nua lena

mbainfear leas as na teicneolaíochtaí nua a bheidh ar fáil, lena n-áirítear digitiú iomlán, mar

thoradh air, ar bun, ach is beag dul chun cinn a rinneadh i rith 2020 de bharr na paindéime.

Táthar ag súil go gcuirfear tús le forbairt an chórais nua i rith 2021.

Ba Cheadanna Fostaíochta maidir le Scileanna Ríthábhachtacha a bhí i 50% de na ceadanna fostaíochta ar fad a eisíodh in 2020. Is é sin an cead fostaíochta a ceapadh chun díriú ar easnaimh sna gairmeacha ardoilte a bhfuil éileamh mór orthu. Is iad seo a leanas na hearnálacha a fuair an líon ab airde ceadanna fostaíochta:

• Gníomhaíochta um Obair Shóisialta agus Sláinte (31%)

• Gníomhaíochtaí um Fhaisnéis agus Cumarsáid (28%)

• Talmhaíocht, Foraoiseacht agus Iascaireacht (11%)


—— 63

O R D UI TH E F O ST AÍ OC H TA E A R NÁL A

Tugtar an bonn dlíthiúil d’Orduithe Fostaíochta Earnála san Acht Caidrimh Thionscail

(Leasú) 2015. Is féidir pá, scéim pinsin nó scéim um pá breoiteachta d’oibrithe in earnáil

eacnamaíoch a leagan amach faoi Ordú Fostaíochta Earnála.

I mí an Mheithimh 2020, dhearbhaigh an Ard-Chúirt go raibh an tOrdú Fostaíochta Earnála

don Earnáil Conraitheoireachta Leictrí (I.R. 251 de 2019) neamhbhailí agus gan aon éifeacht

dlí. Sa bhreis air sin, rialaigh an Chúirt go raibh na forálacha maidir le hOrduithe Fostaíochta

Earnála a dhéanamh faoi Chaibidil 3 den Acht Caidrimh Thionscail (Leasú) 2015

míbhunreachtúil mar gheall gur tharmlig siad cumhachtaí reachtóireachta go

neamhdhleathach chuig comhlachtaí lasmuigh den Oireachtas. Rinneadh cinneadh na hArd -

Chúirte a achomharc sa Chúirt Uachtarach agus táthar ag súil le rialú in 2021. Chuir

breitheamh na hArd-Chúirte bac ar an dearbhú faoi mhíbhunreachtúlacht ar feitheamh

chinneadh an achomhairc chun na Cúirte Uachtaraí.

Tá dhá Ordú Fostaíochta Earnála fanta, agus ardaíodh íosrátaí luacha saothair don earnáil

Tógála an 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2020.

C O MH C H O I STÍ O I BRE AC HA I S A GUS O R DUI THE R I A LA I THE

F O ST A Í O CH TA

Tá trí Chomhchoiste Oibreachais (JLC) ghníomhacha ann sna hearnálacha Glanadh ar

Conradh, Gruagaireachta agus Slándála.

Tá JLC comhdhéanta de líon cothrom ionadaithe ar fhostóirí agus ar oibrithe in earnáil

fostaíochta. Tagann an Coiste le chéile faoi chathaoirleach neamhspleách, Oif igeach

Caidrimh Thionsclaíoch ón Fhreagracht Shóisialta Chorparáideach, a cheapann an tAire

chun tograí maidir le téarmaí agus coinníollacha a phlé agus a chomhaontú, i ndái l le gráid

shonraithe nó catagóirí sonraithe oibrithe san earnáil i gceist.

Is ionstraim a scríobhann an JLC, a nglacann an Chúirt Oibreachais léi agus a dtugann an

tAire don Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíocht éifeacht reachtúil di é Ordú Rialaithe

Fostaíochta (ERO). Socraíonn an ERO íosrátaí pá agus coinníollacha d’oibrithe in

earnálacha sonraithe gnó: bíonn fostóirí sna hearnálacha sin faoi oibleagáid rátaí pá a íoc

agus coinníollacha fostaíochta a sholáthar nach lú fabhar iad ná na cinn a ordaíodh.

Scríobh an JLC ERO don Tionscal Glanadh ar Conradh in 2020 agus ghlac an Chúirt

Oibreachais leis. Thug an tAire English éifeacht reachtúil don Ordú sin, I.R. Uimh. 608 de

2020, an 10 Nollaig 2020.

Tá ERO don Tionscal Slándála i bhfeidhm ón mbliain 2017. Tá an ERO sin faoi dhúshlán

san Ard-Chúirt. Tháinig an JLC don Tionscal Slándála le chéile in 2020 maidir leis an togra

le haghaidh ERO nua. Déanfaidh an Chúirt breithniú ar an togra sin in 2021.

A N BI L L E C A I D RI MH T H I ONSC AI L ( L EA SÚ) 2 0 19

Shínigh an tUachtarán, Mícheál D. Ó hUigínn an tAcht Caidrimh Thionscail (Leasú) 2019 an

7 Iúil 2019. Faoin Acht sin, leasaíodh an reachtaíocht Chaidrimh Thionsclaíoch chun

rochtain ar sheirbhísí an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre agus na Cúirte

Oibreachais do Chumann Ionadaíochta an Gharda Síochána a cheadú. Tháinig éifeacht leis

an Acht an 1 Feabhra 2020.


—— 64

A N T I MP E A L LA CH T C H A I DREA MH T H I O NSC LA Í OC H

Cailleadh tuairim is 21,704 lá mar thoradh ar ghníomh stailce in 2020.

C Ó D C L E A C H TA IS NUA D ’ F H OSTÓI RÍ A G US D ’ F HO STA IT HE MA I DI R L E

BUL A Í O C H T A G A N O BA I R A C H O SC A GUS A R É I T E A C H F A O I N A C H T

UM SH Á BH Á I L TE A CH T, SL Á I NTE A GUS L E A S A G A N O BA I R 2 0 05

Tá Cód Cleachtais nua, ar tháinig éifeacht leis an 23 Nollaig 2020, tagtha in áit an Chóid

roimhe seo den ainm céanna a d’eisigh an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta i mí an

Mhárta 2007 agus in áit an ‘Chóid Cleachtais inar tugadh Mionsonraí faoi Nósanna Imeachta

chun Dul i nGleic le Bulaíocht san Áit Oibre’ a d’eisigh an Coimisiún um Chaidreamh

Oibreachais in 2002, agus rinneadh aon Chód oibríochtúil amháin díobh.

Leis an gCód déach athbhreithnithe sin, atá infheidhme le gach fostaíocht in Éirinn, bíodh

fostaithe ag obair ag suíomh seasta, sa bhaile nó ar bhonn soghluaiste, tugtar treoraíocht

phraiticiúil maidir le gearáin faoi bhulaíocht san áit oibre a bhainistiú agus maidir le bulaíocht

san áit oibre a chosc, i gcomhréir le riachtanais an Achta um Shábháilteacht, Sláinte agus

Leas ag an Obair, 2005. Tá tuilleadh faisnéise le fáil ar www.hsa.ie.

R Ó L A N ÚD A R Á I S A T H UGA NN F Ó GRA

Tá sábháilteacht táirgí á rialáil, go príomha, ag dlí comhchuibhithe an Aontais Eorpaigh a

chuimsíonn tuairim is 70% de na táirgí ar mhargadh an Aontais Eorpaigh.

Is Údarás a Thugann Fógra í an Roinn faoi Threoracha éagsúla ón AE agus tá sí f reagrach

go sonrach as Treoracha maidir le hInnealra; Trealamh Cosanta Pearsanta; Brú-Threalamh

Iniompartha; Brú-Threalamh; Ardaitheoirí agus Comhpháirteanna Sábháilteachta le

haghaidh Ardaitheoirí agus as Trealamh le hÚsáid in Atmaisféir Inphléasctha (ATEX). Is í an

Roinn an tÚdarás a Thugann Fógra maidir le Táirgí Tomhaltóirí áirithe agus Meáchain agus

Tomhais.

I rith 2020, phróiseáil an Roinn iarratas amháin agus aistarraingt amháin le haghaidh

Comhlachtaí ón Ríocht Aontaithe ar tugadh fógra ina leith a bhí á mbunú féin in Éirinn.

Fágann sin gur deich gcinn an líon comhlachtaí ar tugadh fógra ina leith a cheap an Roinn.

Ba iad Eagraíochtaí Tríú Páirtí Aitheanta faoin Treoir maidir le Brú-Threalamh trí cinn díobh

sin. Ba Chomhlachtaí ón Ríocht Aontaithe ar Tugadh Fógra ina Leith roimhe seo agus a

d’athlonnaigh go hÉirinn nó a bhunaigh oibríochtaí nua in Éirinn de bharr an Bhreatimeachta

a bhí i bhformhór na gcuideachtaí sin. Leis na ceapacháin um Chomhlacht a dTugtar Fógra

ina Leith, ceadófar do na cuideachtaí sin leanúint de bheith ag oibriú san Aontas Eorpach i

ndiaidh an Bhreatimeachta.

A N E A R NÁ I L T Ó GÁ LA

Le linn 2020, lean an Roinn agus an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta de bheith ag

comhoibriú go dlúth le SOLAS agus leis an Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais,

Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta chun inmharthanacht agus ábharthacht scéimeanna

oiliúna sábháilteachta don earnáil tógála a chinntiú, ag díriú ar sholáthar tacaíochtaí oiliúna

don earnáil tógála ag SOLAS a nua-aoisiú. Tá sé cruthaithe ag an bPas Sábháilte agus ag

an Scéim um Dheimhniú na Sábháilteachta sa Tógáil, a chomhordaíonn SOLAS, le blianta

fada go gcuireann siad le feasacht, le hinniúlacht agus le sábháilteacht san earnáil tógála.

https://djei.cloud.gov.ie/apps/eDocs/S/ENT058/Files/ENT058-008-2021/Annual%20Report/Annual%20Report%202020/www.hsa.ie


—— 65

Thug an tAire Breen Ionstraim Reachtúil isteach a rinne leasú ar na Rialacháin Tógála, chun

tréimhse bailíochta gach cárta Pas Sábháilte de chuid SOLAS a eisíodh ón 1 Márta 2016 a

shíneadh níos faide ná an dáta éagtha forordaithe, an 29 Feabhra 2020 go dtí an tráth a

mbeidh an éigeandáil COVID-19 thart agus go mbeidh oiliúint i bPas Sábháilte SOLAS ar fáil

arís. Tá an maolú sin fós i bhfeidhm. Meastar gur bhain os cionn 30,000 sealbhóir an chárta

Pas Sábháilte tairbhe as tabhairt isteach an mhaolaithe go dtí deireadh mhí na Nollag 2020.

BÁ SA NNA SA N Á I T O I BR E

Tuairiscíodh 53 bás san áit oibre chuig an Údarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta in 2020 i

gcomparáid le 47 in 2019. Tharla 20 de na básanna sin san earnáil talmhaíochta agus is iad

feirmeacha an áit oibre lena mbaineann an ráta is airde timpistí agus básanna. Tháinig ardú

ar bhásanna tógála ó 12 in 2019 go dtí 14 in 2020, agus tharla 58% de na díobhálacha

marfacha ar fad sa chéad sé mhí. Titim ó arda an phríomh-chúis báis ag oibrithe tógála in

2020. Bhain go leor de na básanna le cuideachtaí beaga agus le ceardaithe féinfhostaithe.

Tá treocht anuas fós ann ón mbliain 2015 (56 bhás) agus 2020 (53 bhás). Mar sin féin, tá

fócas leanúnach ag fostóirí agus ag fostaithe de dhíth lena chinntiú go leanfar leis an treocht

anuas sin.

SÁ BH Á I L T EA C HT A R A N b h F E I RM

Tá Prótacal idir an Roinn seo agus an Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara i ndáil le

Sábháilteacht ar an bhFeirm curtha i bhfeidhm chun cabhrú le gach Páirtí oibriú i gcomhar

chun an baol maidir le teagmhais thromchúiseacha agus mharfacha a laghdú agus chun

sláinte agus folláine san earnáil talmhaíochta a fheabhsú fad a chaomhnaítear a

bhfreagrachtaí reachtúla faoi seach. Cabhróidh an Prótacal lena chinntiú go nglacfaidh gach

páirtí cur chuige comhoibríoch chun an sprioc sin a bhaint amach agus féachfar leis an úsáid

is fearr is féidir a bhaint as na hacmhainní atá ar fáil don dá Roinn. Cabhróidh an Prótacal

lena chinntiú go dtugtar teachtaireachtaí comhleanúnacha a dhíríonn ar an earnáil

talmhaíochta. Is é cuspóir foriomlán an Phrótacail sin a chinntiú go bhféadfaidh an dá Roinn

agus an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta f íor-fheabhsúcháin ar shláinte, ar

shábháilteacht agus ar leas ar an bhfeirm a bhrú chun cinn trí bhíthin chur chuige tras -

Rialtais agus comhroinnt faisnéise.

BO R D NÁ I S I ÚNT A NA h É I R E ANN UM C H R E I DI ÚNÚ/ CRE I DI ÚNÚ

Tugadh athbhreithniú ar struchtúr agus ar fheidhmiú Bhord Náisiúnta na hÉireann um

Chreidiúnú (INAB), coiste de chuid an Údaráis Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta, chun críche in

2020. Tá sainordú méadaitheach ag INAB via Treoracha éagsúla ón AE lena n-éilítear

creidiúnú comhlachtaí laistigh de chreat rialála. Is samplaí de réimsí gníomhaíochta atá ag

teacht iad cibearshlándáil agus cosaint sonraí.

A N BE A R T A S MA I DI R L E C E I MI C E ÁI N

Ag tús 2020, d’fhoilsigh an tÚdarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta Cód Cleachtais maidir le

Gníomhaithe Ceimiceacha lenar trasuíodh trí Threoir ón AE maidir le nochtadh do

charcanaigin san áit oibre, i gcomhar le I.R. Uimh. 592 de 2019. Leis sin, tugadh Éire go

hiomlán i gcomhréir le caighdeáin an AE sa réimse sin.

I mí an Mheithimh 2020, d’fhoilsigh an tAontas Eorpach Treoir (AE) 2020/739, lenar cuireadh

an gníomhaí atá f reagrach as COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, leis an Treoir maidir le hOibreáin

Bhitheolaíocha, treoir a nuashonraíodh le déanaí le Treoir (AE) 2019/1833. I bhf ianaise a


—— 66

phráinní a bhí an phaindéim, níor tugadh ach cúig mhí do Bhallstáit chun Treoir 2020/739 a

thrasuí isteach sa dlí náisiúnta (anuas air sin, athraíodh an dáta chun Treoir 2019/1833 a

thrasuí ó mhí na Samhna 2021 go dtí mí na Samhna 2020 le go mbeadh sé i gcomhréir le

Treoir 2020/739). Trasuíodh an dá Threoir go hiomlán agus in am via I.R. Uimh. 539/2020

agus Cód Cleachtais 2020 maidir le Gníomhaithe Ceimiceacha, a d’fhoilsigh an tÚdarás

Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta. Leagtar amach na leibhéil riosca a bhaineann le gníomhaithe

bitheolaíocha áirithe agus na réamhchúraim a theastaíonn le haghaidh gach leibhéal riosca

in áiteanna oibre sa Chód Cleachtais.

In 2020, lean an Roinn dá hidirchaidreamh le hOif ig an Ard -Aighne chun dul chun cinn a

dhéanamh ar an leasú ar na Rialacháin maidir le Glantaigh a shocrú faoi na hAchtanna

Ceimiceán 2008 agus 2010.

I ndiaidh comhoibriú a dhéanamh leis an Údarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta agus le Bord

Náisiúnta na hÉireann um Chreidiúnú (INAB) in 2019, thrasuigh an Roinn dhá Threoir

Chódúcháin AE (2004/9/CE agus 2004/10/CE) maidir le Dea-chleachtas Saotharlainne, lena

n-éilítear go mbeidh aon saoráidí tástála a dhéanann tástáil ar tháirgí ceimiceacha i

gcomhlíonadh le Prionsabail an OECD maidir le Dea-chleachtas Saotharlainne. Trasuíodh

na rialacháin nua an 23 Eanáir 2020 via I.R. Uimh. 18 de 2020.

A N C Ó R A S R E A C HTA C H MA I D I R L E SUBST A INTÍ C O NTÚI RTE A CH A

In 2020, lean an Roinn dá clár oibre maidir leis na rialacháin faoi stóráil pheitriliam agus an

earnáil miondíola a nua-aoisiú. Áiríodh leis sin tograí a fhorbairt chun córas rialála nua a

chur i bhfeidhm chun cabhrú leis an earnáil na caighdeáin is airde sláinte, sábháilteachta

agus comhshaoil a choimeád.

In 2019, tugadh dhá shraith rialachán le teacht in áit rialacháin 1979 maidir le stóráil agus

miondíol pheitriliam chun críche agus foilsíodh iad:

• Rialacháin maidir le Substaintí Contúirteacha (Siopaí Miondíola Breoslaí agus

Leachtanna Inlasta), 2019 (I.R. Uimh. 630 de 2019); agus

• Rialacháin maidir le Substaintí Contúirteacha (Siopaí Soláthair Tráchtála agus Dáilte

Breoslaí agus Leachtanna Inlasta), 2019 (I.R. Uimh. 631 de 2019).

Tháinig an dá shraith rialachán nua i bhfeidhm an 1 Aibreán 2020. I ndiaidh a bhfoilsithe,

fuair an Roinn comhairle ó pháirtithe leasmhara agus rinne athbhreithniú ar Rialacháin 2019

chun soiléiriú a fháil. Foilseofar Rialacháin athbhreithnithe in 2021.

I mí Aibreáin 2020, foilsíodh I.R. Uimh. 147/2020, inar deimhníodh leachtanna inlasta ina

substaintí contúirteacha faoin Acht um Shubstaintí Contúirteacha. Leis an I.R. sin, is féidir

stáisiúin nach ndíolann ach díosal a cheadúnú faoin, rud nár éilíodh roimhe. Tá an Roinn ag

coinneáil le leasú ar an Acht um Shubstaintí Contúirteacha chun béim níos mó a chur ar an

athrú, trí bhíthin an Bhille um Fhorbairt Tionscail (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha).

Ullmhaíodh dréacht-Ionstraim Reachtúil chun Rialacháin 1979 maidir le Táillí Ceadúnúcháin

a thabhairt cothrom le dáta agus seoladh í chuig an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí agus

Athchóirithe lena hathbhreithniú sula síneofar í. Tá an Roinn ag fanacht ar aiseolas faoi

láthair.


—— 67

Tá an Roinn fós i mbun idirchaidrimh le Gníomhaireacht Bainistíochta Rialtais Áitiúil agus le

páirtithe leasmhara eile maidir le creat nua eagrúcháin agus oibriúcháin a fhorbairt le go

ndéanfaidh earnáil na nÚdarás Áitiúil maoirseacht ar chur i bhfeidhm na Rialachán nua. Go

dtí seo, tá an Cás Gnó don chóras nua ceadúnúcháin sin ceadaithe ag an nGrúpa

Maoirseachta maidir le hAthchóiriú na Seirbhíse Poiblí agus ag grúpa measúnaithe piaraí.

Roghnaíodh Údaráis Áitiúla ceannaireachta le haghaidh gach réigiún trí bhíthin comórtais

agus beidh an Roinn ag obair leis an Roinn Tithíochta, Pleanála agus Rialtais Áitiúil chun

Meabhrán a chur faoi bhráid an Rialtais.

A N C O I MI S I ÚN UM C H A I D R EA MH SA N Á I T O I BR E

Is comhlacht reachtúil neamhspleách é an Coimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre a

bunaíodh an 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2015 faoin Acht um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre, 2015

(Uimh. 16 de 2015).

Fuair an tSeirbhís Breithnithe tuairim is 18,969 ngearán shonracha in 2020: bhain trí

cheathrú de na cásanna le pá, iomarcaíocht, dífhostú éagórach agus uaireanta oibre. Cé gur

tháinig laghdú ar an líon gearán agus gearán sonrach a fuarthas, i gcomparáid le 2019,

b’ionann líon 2020 agus an líon iomlán ab airde a fuarthas i mbliain ar bith eile ó bunaíodh

an tseirbhís.

Thionóil an tSeirbhís Bhreithnithe 2,000 éisteacht in 2020, idir chinn fhíorúla agus chinn ar

an láthair, agus eisíodh tuairim is 1,629 gcinneadh.

Ar an tslí chéanna, cuireadh comhréiteach agus eadráin ar fáil, go cianda ar ardáin éagsúla

go príomha, ach ar an láthair f reisin nuair ab fhéidir. Maidir leis sin, thionóil an tseirbhís

Comhréitigh tuairim is 735 chomhdháil chomhréitigh agus 242 éascú i ndáil le díospóidí

comhchoiteanna i rith 2020.

Rinne an tseirbhís Cigireachta líon iomlán de 7,687 gcigireacht ar áiteanna oibre agus

aisghabhadh €1.7m i bpá nach raibh íoctha i rith 2020. Mar chuid den Phrótacal Náisiúnta

um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte, rinne cigirí an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit

Oibre 5,202 chigireacht lenar bhain seiceálacha ar chomhlíonadh leis an bPrótacal agus leis

an dlí fostaíochta, agus fuarthas go raibh 87% de na fostóirí a ndearnadh cigireacht orthu i

gcomhlíonadh.

In 2020, phléigh an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre le 52,726 ghlao agus le 6,895

ríomhphost chuig fostóirí agus fostaithe a bhí ag lorg faisnéise faoi chearta fostaíochta,

comhionannas, caidreamh tionsclaíoch agus ceadanna fostaíochta. Ina theannta sin, tugadh

os cionn 2.6m amharc gréasáin ar láithreán gréasáin an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit

Oibre, (www.workplacerelations.ie).

A N C H ÚIRT OI BR EA C HA I S

I rith 2020, fuair an Chúirt Oibreachais 940 achomharc agus tarchur; laghdú 20% ón líon

tarchur (1,182) a fuarthas in 2019. D’eisigh an Chúirt Oibreachais 337 moladh/cinneadh,

agus rinne imscrúdú ar 61 chás a socraíodh roimh éisteacht nó le linn éisteachta. Ba 396 an

líon cásanna a tharraing páirtithe siar roimh iad a éisteacht.

https://djei.cloud.gov.ie/apps/eDocs/S/ENT058/Files/ENT058-008-2021/Annual%20Report/Annual%20Report%202020/www.workplacerelations.ie


—— 68

Sprioc 5: A C H IN N TIÚ G O n ÉA S C A ÍO NN RIA LÁ IL G N Ó

IN FH EIS TÍO C H T A G US FO RB A IRT G N Ó , IO MA ÍO C H A S S A

MH A RG A DH , A RDC H A IGH DEÁ IN I d TA C A LE C O S A IN T

TO MH A LTÓ IRÍ A G US R IA LA C H A S C O RPA RÁIDEA C H A G US G O

d TUG TA R B UN TÁ IS TE IO MA ÍO C H D’ÉIR IN N S A MH A RG A DH

DO MH A N DA A N D L Í C UI D E A C HTA Í , I O MA Í OC HA S A GUS C O SA I NT T O MHA LTÓ I RÍ

Le linn 2020, chuir an Roinn leis an obair a rinneadh roimhe sin chun creat dlí na

gcuideachtaí atá seasmhach, trédhearcach agus nua-aimseartha a fhorbairt in Éirinn agus

lean sí ag forbairt agus ag múnlú f reagairtí nua do dhúshláin nua agus do dhúshláin atá ag

teacht chun cinn i ndlí na gcuideachtaí, iomaíochas agus beartas tomhaltóirí ar leibhéal an

Aontais Eorpaigh agus go náisiúnta, go háirithe maidir leis an mBreatimeacht agus le

COVID-19. Rinneadh an obair sin i gcomhar le páirtithe leasmhara, oif igí agus

gníomhaireachtaí na Roinne agus Ranna Rialtais eile chun na torthaí is fearr a bhaint amach

de réir ár sprice ardleibhéil.

F R E A GRA A T H A BH A I RT A R C O VI D -19

Le linn 2020, thug an Roinn f reagra ar dhúshlán na paindéime COVID-19, dúshlán nach

bhfacthas a leithéid riamh cheana, agus é mar aidhm aici na tionchair ghearrthéarmacha

agus mheántéarmacha ar chuideachtaí a mhaolú.

San áireamh leis sin bhí mear-chomhaontú le Ballstáit maidir leis an leasú an Rialachán

maidir le Cuideachtaí Eorpacha (CE 2157/2001) lenar cuireadh síneadh leis an am chun

cruinnithe ginearálta a thionól, de bharr thionchar ón bpaindéim COVID-19.

A C H T NA g C UI D E A C H TAÍ ( F O RÁL AC HA I L GH NÉI TH EA CH A ) ( C O VI D -19)

2 0 2 0

Achtaíodh an tAcht an 1 Lúnasa 2020, lena ndéantar leasuithe sealadacha ar Acht na

gCuideachtaí, 2014 agus ar an Acht um Chumainn Tionscail agus Soláthair, 1893 chun dul i

ngleic le saincheisteanna a d’eascródh as COVID -19.

Cinntítear leis go bhféadfaidh 240,000 cuideachta agus 950 cumann tionscail agus soláthair

in Éirinn a gCruinnithe Cinn Bliana agus a gcruinnithe ginearálta a thionól trí mheán

leictreonach. Déantar foráil leis f reisin i ndáil le sócmhainneacht ghnó trí bhíthin síneadh 150

lá a chur leis an tréimhse scrúdaitheoireachta agus an tairseach a meastar nach bhfuil

cuideachta in ann a f iachais a íoc a ardú go dtí €50,000.

Bhí na leasuithe i bhfeidhm ar feadh tréimhse eatramhach, go dtí an 31 Nollaig 2020 ar dtús.

Cuireadh síneadh leis an tréimhse eatramhach go dtí an 9 Meitheamh 2021 i ndiaidh

faomhadh a fháil ón Rialtas an 15 Nollaig agus rinneadh foráil dó le dhá Ordú Rialtais:

• I.R. Uimh. 672 de 2020 an tOrdú um Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 (Alt 12A (1)) (COVID -

19) 2020

• I.R. Uimh. 671 de 2020 an tOrdú um an Acht um Chumainn Tionscail agus Soláthair 1893 (Alt 14A (1)) (COVID-19) 2020


—— 69

R E A C H T AÍ OC H T MH O LTA MA I D IR L E h A T H DHÍ OL T I C ÉA D

Cuireadh an Bille um Dhíol Ticéad (Imeachtaí Cultúir, Siamsaíochta, Áineasa agus Spóirt),

2020 ar aghaidh chuig an gCoimisiún Eorpach agus chuig Ballstáit eile an 5 Feabhra 2020 i

gcomhréir le ceanglais Threoir (AE) 2015/1535 maidir leis an nós imeachta um sholáthar

faisnéise sa réimse rialachán teicniúil agus rialacha i ndáil le seirbhísí sochaí faisnéise. Níor

ardaigh an Coimisiún Eorpach ná Ballstát aon cheist faoi chomhoiriúnacht le dlí AE ná leis

an Margadh Inmheánach agus an Scéim á himscrúdú.

D’fhaomh an Rialtas Scéim Ghinearálta an Bhille an 29 Meán Fómhair 2020 lena dhréachtú.

An phríomh-fhoráil sa Bhille, toirmeasc a chur le ticéid nó pacáistí ticéid, le haghaidh

imeachtaí a bheidh ar siúl in ionaid shainainmnithe do 1,000 duine nó níos mó, a dhíol nó a

fhógairt lena ndíol ar phraghas is mó ná a bpraghas díola bunaidh. Áirítear leis toirmeasc a

chur le ticéid do chluichí agus d’imeachtaí a thionólfar i rith chraobhchomórtas sacair EURO

2020 atá le tionól in 2021 a athdhíol go neamhúdaraithe.

Rinne an Comhchoiste Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta scrúdú réamh-reachtach ar an

mBille an 9 Nollaig 2020 agus is tosaíocht é an Bille a fhoilsiú agus a chur trí Thithe an

Oireachtais é in 2021.

SC É I M GH I NE A R Á LTA BH I L LE NA g C UI D E A C HTA Í ( ÚDA RÁ S UM

F H O R F HE IDH MI Ú C O RPA RÁ I DEA C H)

Le Scéim Ghinearálta Bhille na gCuideachtaí (Údarás um Fhorfheidhmiú Corparáideach),

bunaítear Oif ig an Stiúrthóra um Fhorfheidhmiú Corparáideach (ODCE) mar

ghníomhaireacht, i bhfoirm Coimisiúin, ar a dtabharfar an tÚdarás um Fhorfheidhmiú

Corparáideach. Ach struchtúr an ODCE a athrú ó oif ig sa Roinn go dtí gníomhaireacht

reachtúil, tabharfar níos mó neamhspleáchais agus solúbthachta dó chun dul in oiriúint do

na dúshláin roimhe agus é ag imscrúdú agus ag ionchúiseamh sáruithe ar dhlí na

gcuideachtaí atá ag éirí níos casta.

Níor tugadh scrúdú réamh-reachtach ar an mBille chun críche roimh lánscor na 32ú Dála,

agus cuireadh tús leis arís faoin gComhchoiste Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta nua i mí

na Nollag 2020. Táthar ag fanacht go dtabharfar an scrúdú réamh-reachtach ar an mBille

chun críche sula dtabharfar an Bille chun críche agus sula bhfoilseofar é, rud a bhfuiltear ag

súil go ndéanfar go luath in 2021.

A T H BH R EI TH NI Ú A R NA h A C H T ANNA UM C H UMA I NN T I O NSC AI L A GUS

SO L Á T H AI R

I ndiaidh athbhreithniú ó bhonn a dhéanamh ar an gcreat reachtúil atá ann ón ré

Victeoiriach, den chuid is mó, lean an Roinn dá cuid oibre ar Scéim Ghinearálta maidir le

Bille Comhar-Chumann. Is píosa reachtaíochta thar a bheith cuimsitheach agus fada í sin

agus tá sí beartaithe forálacha reatha a chomhdhlúthú agus creat reachtúil nua-aimseartha

agus éifeachtach a sholáthar, a bheidh oiriúnach don raon éagsúil eagraíochtaí a

mbaineann úsáid as samhail na gcomhar-chumann in Éirinn.

GR ÚP A A T H BH REI T HNI THE A N D L Í C UI D EA C HTA Í

Is sainghrúpa comhairleach é Grúpa Athbhreithnithe an Dlí Cuideachtaí (CLRG) a bhfuil de

chúram aige comhairle a chur ar an Aire maid ir le cúrsaí an dlí cuideachtaí. Oibríonn sé clár


—— 70

oibre dhá bhliain arna chinneadh ag an Aire, agus is í an Roinn a chuireann an rúnaíocht ar

fáil.

Bhí an CLRG rannpháirteach go mór i bhfreagra na Roinne ar thionchar COVID-19 ar

chúrsaí gnó, ó thaobh an dlí cuideachtaí de, agus chuir dhá thuarascáil isteach maidir leis

sin i rith 2020. Ina tuarascáil ó mhí an Mheithimh 2020 ar bhearta chun dul i ngleic le

ceisteanna an dlí cuideachtaí mar gheall ar phaindéim COVID-19, pléadh leis na leasuithe

reachtacha éigeandála a raibh gá leo chun gnáth-oibriú Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 i rith na

paindéime a chinntiú. Bhí na moltaí sa tuarascáil sin mar lón eolais d’Acht na gCuideachtaí

(Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) (COVID-19), 2020 mar a leagadh amach thuas. Bhreithnigh an

CLRG, i dtréimhse ama luathaithe, ar bhearta cobhsaíochta don mheántéarma chun

tionchar eacnamaíoch COVID-19 a mhaolú. Thug sé moltaí ina thuarascáil ó mhí Dheireadh

Fómhair 2020, maidir le próiseas tarrthála a bheadh oiriúnach do chuideachtaí beaga. I

ndiaidh an tuarascáil a fháil, bhreithnigh an Roinn na moltaí agus thosaigh an obair

riachtanach chun an togra a fhorbairt le súil agus Scéim Ghinearálta a dhréachtú go luath in

2021.

Dírítear go mór ar dhócmhainneacht i gClár Oibre an CLRG 2020-2022. Chuir Coiste an

Ghrúpa um Dhócmhainneacht Chorparáideach tús lena bhreithniú ar an tsaincheist a

bhaineann le cearta creidiúnaithe faoi Acht na gCuideachtaí, 2014, i gcomhthéacs

leachtuithe chomh maith le i ndáil le seachaint idirbheartaíochta.

Tá mar shainchúram ag an CLRG freisin, mar chuid dá chlár oibre, scrúdú a dhéanamh ar

cibé an bhfuil sé riachtanach nó inmhianaithe an dlí cuideachtaí a leasú i bhf ianaise an

Bhreatimeachta, agus moltaí a thabhairt i leith na ceiste sin. Maidir leis sin, bhí tuarasc áil an

Ghrúpa ó mhí an Mheithimh 2020, ‘Tuarascáil ar shaincheisteanna áirithe faoin dlí

cuideachtaí a eascraíonn faoi Rialachán an AE maidir le Taisclanna Lárnacha Urrús

909/2014 (CSDR)’ mar lón eolais do Chuid 4 den Acht um Tharraingt Siar na Ríochta

Aontaithe as an Aontas Eorpach (Forálacha Iarmhartacha), 2020 (tuilleadh faisnéise thíos).

I mí na Nollag 2020, chuir an CLRG a ‘Thuarascáil ar an tionchar a bhféadfadh a bheith ag

intleacht shaorga ar an dlí cuideachtaí i gcomhthéacs an rialachais chorparáid igh’ i láthair.

A S C N A MH URRÚS Socraíocht trádála urrús – lena n-aistríonn an díoltóir urrúis chuig an gceannaitheoir agus

lena n-aistríonn an ceannaitheoir ciste chuig an díoltóir – déantar iad i gcóras socraíochta

urrús de ghnáth, arna fheidhmiú ag Taisclann Lárnach Urrús (CSD).

Le Cuid 4 den Acht um Tharraingt Siar na Ríochta Aontaithe as an Aontas Eorpach

(Forálacha Iarmhartacha), 2020 a achtaíodh an 10 Nollaig 2020, déantar leasuithe

ilghnéitheacha ar Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 chun oibriú chóras ionaid socraíochta urrús a

éascú a bheadh comhoiriúnach le dlí an Aontais Eorpaigh, i ndiaidh na tréimhse aistrithe.

Cuireadh tús le Cuid 4 an 15 Márta 2021, an dáta a shainaithin Stocmhalartán na hÉireann

mar an dáta ascnaimh.

Lena chinntiú nach mbeadh aon chur isteach ar sheirbhísí CSD d’ oibritheoirí AE a

úsáideann córas socraíochta urrús de chuid na Ríochta Aontaithe, dheonaigh an Coimisiún

Eorpach comhionannas do CSDanna de chuid na Ríochta Aontaithe go dtí deireadh mhí an


—— 71

Mheithimh 2021. Rinneadh leasú, dá bharr sin, ar Rialacháin maidir le hAcht na

gCuideachtaí 1990 (Urrúis Neamhdheimhnithe) (Leasú) 2020 chun aitheantas leanúnach a

chur ar fáil do CSDanna de chuid na Ríochta Aontaithe arna gceadú ag údarás inniúil sa

Ríocht Aontaithe don tréimhse chomhionannais i gceist.

T R EOR A CH A / R IA LA CHÁ IN A N A ON T A I S EOR PA I G H

➢ 2 0 1 7

T reoir m aidir le s preagadh rannphá ir t íocht s ca ir s hea lbhóir í

f adt éarm acha Tháinig Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Cearta Scairshealbhóirí) 2020 (I.R. 81 de 2020) i

bhfeidhm an 30 Márta 2020 lenar tugadh éifeacht d’fhorálacha Theoir 2017/828 ón Aontas

Eorpach maidir le spreagadh rannpháirtíocht scairshealbhóirí fadtéarmacha. Leis na

Rialacháin, cuireadh roinnt Caibidlí inar pléadh le hábhar na Treorach le Cuid 17 d’Acht na

gCuideachtaí 2014. Bhain forálacha áirithe le ceanglais thrédhearcachta d’infheisteoirí

institiúide, bainisteoirí sócmhainní agus comhairleoirí seachvótála.

➢ 2 0 1 9

Treoir maidir le húdaráis iomaíochta na mBallstát a chumhachtú le bheith

ina bhforfheidhmitheoirí níos éifeachtaí agus chun dea-fheidhmiú an

mhargaidh inmheánaigh a áirithiú

Foilsíodh Treoir (AE) 2019/1 ó Pharlaimint na hEorpa agus ón gComhairle den 11 Nollaig

2018, maidir le húdaráis iomaíochta na mBallstát a chumhachtú le bheith ina

bhforfheidhmitheoirí níos éifeachtaí agus chun dea-fheidhmiú an mhargaidh inmheánaigh a

áirithiú, an 14 Eanáir 2019. Ní mór an Treoir a thrasuí i ndlí na hÉireann faoin 4 Feabhra

2021 agus tá sé i gceist an Treoir ECN+ a thrasuí le reachtaíocht phríomha.

Leis an mBille, cabhrófar leis an ngealltanas i gClár an Rialtais a sholáthar maidir le cur ar

chumas an Choimisiúin um Iomaíocht agus Cosaint Tomhaltóirí agus ComReg úsáid níos

mó a bhaint as pionóis riaracháin chun smachtbhannaí a ghearradh ar oibritheoirí bradacha

agus is gníomh é sa Phlean Gníomhaíochta maidir le hAthchóiriú Árachais. Ina theannta sin,

déanfar cumhachtaí an Stáit ó thaobh dul i ngleic le coireacht an bhóna bháin, coireacht

eacnamaíoch agus and éilliú a neartú tuilleadh, leis an mBille.

Is é aidhm lárnach na Treorach ECN+ a chinntiú go mbeidh ráthaíochtaí maidir le

neamhspleáchas ag na hÚdaráis Náisiúnta Iomaíochta (NCAanna), go mbeidh go leor

acmhainní acu agus cumhachtaí oiriúnacha forfheidhmithe, lena n-áirítear an cumas

f íneálacha a eisiúint as sáruithe ar Airteagail 101 agus 102 den Chonradh ar Fheidhmiú an

Aontais Eorpaigh. In éineacht le cur i bhfeidhm Airteagail 101 agus 102, cuimsítear cur i

bhfeidhm comhthreomhar an dlí náisiúnta iomaíochta leis an gcás céanna faoin Treoir f reisin

agus cur i bhfeidhm dlí náisiúnta iomaíochta ar bhonn aonair. Leagtar amach rialacha sa

Treoir faoi chúnamh f rithpháirteach chun dlúth-chomhoibriú leis an nGréasán Eorpach

Iomaíochta (ECN) a chinntiú.

Tá na cuspóirí sonracha seo a leanas ag an Treoir:

1. a chinntiú go bhfuil uirlisí éifeachtacha imscrúdaithe agus cinnteoireachta ag NCAanna;

2. a chinntiú go bhfuil NCAanna in ann f íneálacha éifeachtacha díspreagtha a ghearradh;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017L0828

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/38/enacted/en/html




—— 72

3. a chinntiú go bhfuil clár trócaire éifeachtach i bhfeidhm ag NCAanna lena n-éascaítear

iarratas ar thrócaire a dhéanamh i ndlínsí iolracha; agus

4. a chinntiú go bhfuil acmhainní leordhóthanacha ag NCAanna agus go bhféadfaidh siad

rialacha iomaíochta AE a fhorfheidhmiú go neamhspleách.

I mí an Mhárta 2020, thionóil an Roinn Grúpa Tionscadail a bhí comhdhéanta de na

NCAanna7 agus de pháirtithe ábhartha eile8 chun Scéim Ghinearálta a dhréachtú le

haghaidh Chinn Bhille chun an Treoir ECN+ a thrasuí. Áiríodh sna Cinn Bhille f reisin

cumhachtaí breise do na NCAanna, chun aghaidh a thabhairt ar shaincheisteanna

iomaíochta éagsúla amhail Camastaíl Tairiscintí agus Gníomhú Róluath. Bhain an dréacht -

Scéim Ghinearálta leas as comhairle fhairsing dlí ó Oif ig an Ard-Aighne faoi na gnéithe a

bhféadfadh impleachtaí bunreachtúla a bheith ag baint leo. Déanfar an Bille Iomaíochta

(Leasú) 2021 den Scéim Ghinearálta.

Ceadaíodh Meabhrán don Rialtas an 22 Nollaig lenar lorgaíodh ceadú chun an Bille

Iomaíochta (Leasú) 2021 a dhréachtú mar thosaíocht. Tá an Bille curtha san áireamh mar

thosaíocht ó thaobh a Fhoilsithe agus a Achtaithe sa chéad leath de 2021.

Rialachán lena leagtar síos rialacha agus nósanna imeachta um fhaireachas

margaidh ar tháirgí agus comhlíonadh táirgí

Foilsíodh Rialachán (AE) 2019/1020 ó Pharlaimint na hEorpa agus ón gComhairle den 20

Meitheamh 2019 maidir le faireachas margaidh ar tháirgí agus comhlíonadh táirgí agus an

Treoir leasaithe 2004/42/EC agus Rialacháin (CE) Uimh. 765/2008 agus (AE) Uimh.

205/2011 an 25 Meitheamh 2019.

Tá mar aidhm leis an Rialachán cumhachtaí forfheidhmithe na n-údarás faireachais

mhargaidh a neartú, go háirithe maidir le táirgí a dhíoltar ar líne, agus rialuithe ag

teorainneacha seachtracha a neartú. Tá mar aidhm leis an Rialachán f reisin slabhraí

soláthair nua a chuimsiú agus aghaidh a thabhairt ar dhíolachán ar líne, chomh maith le

feabhas a chur ar chomhlíonadh dhlí an Aontais Eorpaigh. Beidh roinnt de na forálacha sa

Rialachán i bhfeidhm ón 1 Eanáir 2021, agus beidh an chuid eile i bhfeidhm ón 16 Iúil 2021.

Treoir maidir le húsáid uirlisí agus próiseas digiteach i ndlí na gcuideachtaí Foilsíodh Treoir (AE) 2019/1151 lenar leasaíodh Treoir (AE) 2017/1132 maidir le huirlisí

digiteacha san Iris Oif igiúil an 11 Iúil 2019 agus chuaigh sí i bhfeidhm an 31 Iúil 2019. Is é an

1 Lúnasa 2021 an dáta trasuite. Tá an Treoir mar chuid de phacáiste Dhlí na gCuideachtaí

de chuid an AE: an tairbhe is fearr is féidir a bhaint as réitigh dhigitigh agus rialacha

éifeachtúla a sholáthar d’oibríochtaí trasteorann. Is é aidhm an togra réitigh d higiteacha a

chur i bhfeidhm ionas gur féidir teacht ar chláir ghnó ar líne, do chuideachtaí a chláraíonn

agus a sholáthraíonn faisnéis, chomh maith le rochtain ar an bhfaisnéis sin i measc tríú

páirtithe. Leanadh le cruinnithe de chuid Sainghrúpa an AE um Dhlí na gCuideachtaí faoi

thrasuí agus faoin Acht Cur Chun Feidhme le linn 2020. Ní mór an Treoir a thrasuí faoin 1

Lúnasa 2021.

7 An Coimisiún um Iomaíocht agus Cosaint Tomhaltóirí agus ComReg, an tSeirbhís Chúirteanna agus an Stiúrthóir

Ionchúiseamh Poiblí 8 An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt agus an Roinn Cumarsáide, Gníomhaithe ar son na hAeráide agus an Chomhshaoil

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32019R1020


—— 73

Treoir maidir le creataí um athstruchtúrú coisctheach, dócmhainneacht agus

urscaoileadh fiachais Le Treoir (AE) 2019/1023 ó Pharlaimint na hEorpa agus ón gComhairle, a glacadh i mí an

Mheithimh 2019, féachtar le gnéithe de dhlíthe náisiúnta dócmhainneachta a chomhchuibhiú

do chuideachtaí agus do dhaoine aonair araon. Díríonn sí ar réimsí sonracha de dheiseanna

chun ‘athstruchtúrú luath’ a dhéanamh (do ghnólachtaí a bhfuil deacrachtaí airgeadais acu

agus nach bhfuil dócmhainneach, nó nach bhfuil dócmhainneach go fóill) agus ar ‘dara deis’

a chinntiú ‘d’fhiontraithe macánta’ a d’éirigh dócmhainneach gan aon chalaois ná

míchleachtas a bheith i gceist.

Is í an Roinn Dlí agus Cirt atá f reagrach as gnéithe den Treoir a bhaineann le

dócmhainneacht phearsanta a thrasuí agus lean an Roinn sin uirthi i rith 2020 ag ullmhú do

thrasuí na Treorach. Ag tarraingt ar dheireadh 2020, áfach, bhí an dá Roinn den tuairim

nach bhféadfaí an spriocdháta 17 Iúil 2021 a bhaint amach, mar gheall ar an gcur isteach

agus ar na riachtanais reachtúla bhreise a tháinig chun cinn mar thoradh ar COVID -19.

Cuireadh an Coimisiún ar an eolas an 23 Nollaig 2020 de rún an Stáit leas a bhaint as an

síneadh bliana mar a ndearnadh foráil dó faoi Alt 34, mír 2. Ní mór an Treoir a thrasuí faoin

17 Iúil 2022.

T reoir m aidir le com hs hónna , cum ais c agus de igh i l t í

t ras t eorann

Foilsíodh Treoir (2121/2019) lenar leasaíodh Treoir (AE) 2017/1132 maidir le comhshónna,

cumaisc agus deighiltí trasteorann i mí na Samhna 2019 agus tá mar aidhm léi rialacha

trasteorann a shimpliú agus Margadh Aonair an AE a fheabhsú fad a ndéanfar soláthar do

chosaintí iomchuí lena ndíspreagfar mí-úsáid agus lena gcosnófar leasanna dlisteanacha

oibrithe, creidiúnaithe agus scairshealbhóirí mionlaigh eile. Tá trasuí le bheith déanta laistigh

de chreat ama trí bliana, faoi mhí na Samhna 2022.

N a r ia lachá in m aidir le f or f he idhm iú na

hé ic idhear t hóireacht a a chum as ú

Tá Treoir an AE maidir le hÉicidhearthóireacht leagtha amach chun feabhas a chur ar

éifeachtúlacht fuinnimh na dtáirgí ar an margadh a bhaineann le fuinneamh trí bhíthin

caighdeáin éifeachtúlachta fuinnimh níos airde a leagan amach. Is éard is aidhm léi,

tomhaltóirí a spreagadh le bheith níos f reagraí as a gcuid úsáide fuinnimh. Dá bharr sin,

brúitear táirgí nach bhfuil chomh héifeachtúil ó thaobh fuinnimh de amach as an margadh.

Tá níos mó táirgí á gcur leis faoin Treoir.

Cumasaíodh forfheidhmiú na Rialachán (Eorpach) maidir le hÉicidhearthóireacht in I.R.

Uimh. 625 de 2020. Tagann an I.R. in áit an Sceidil in I.R. 454/2013 agus tugtar liosta

nuashonraithe de na táirgí agus de na Rialacháin (Eorpacha) a bhaineann leo. Áirítear orthu

na cinn seo a leanas:

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Freastalaithe agus Táirgí Stórála Sonraí (AE) Uimh.

2019/424;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Mótair Leictreacha (AE) Uimh. 2019/1781;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L2121

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:285:0010:0035:en:PDF


—— 74

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Soláthar Seachtrach Cumhachta (AE) Uimh. 2019/1782;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Claochladáin Chumhachta Bheaga, Mheánmhéide agus

Mhóra (AE) Uimh. 2019/1783;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Trealamh Táthúcháin (AE) Uimh. 2019/1784;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Foinsí Solais (AE) Uimh. 2019/2020;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Taispeáint Leictreonach (AE) Uimh. 2019/2021;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Miasniteoirí Tí (AE) Uimh. 2019/2022;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Meaisíní Níocháin Tí (AE) Uimh. 2019/2023;

▪ An Rialachán maidir le Cuisneoirí lena bhfuil Feidhm Díolacháin Dhírigh (AE) Uimh.

2019/2024.

➢ 2 0 2 0

Treoir maidir le hEintitis Cháilithe a Chumhachtú chun Caingne Ionadaíocha

a Thabhairt thar ceann Ghrúpa Tomhaltóirí chun Soláthar a dhéanamh do

Shásamh i gCásanna Díobhála do Shlua Mór Daoine

Foilsíodh Treoir 2020/1828 san Iris Oif igiúil an 4 Nollaig 2020 agus moltar córas nua-

aimseartha de chaingne ionadaíocha, ag cur leis an Treoir reatha maidir le hUrghairí (Treoir 2009/22/EC).

Moltar córas nua-aimseartha de chaingne ionadaíocha sa Treoir chomhaontaithe, trí bhíthin:

• raon feidhme na sean-Treorach a leathnú amach chun ionstraimí AE cothrománacha

eile agus ionstraimí a bhaineann le hearnálacha faoi leith atá ábhartha do chosaint

comhleasanna tomhaltóirí in earnálacha eacnamaíocha dif riúla, amhail seirbhísí

airgeadais, fuinneamh, teileachumarsáid, sláinte agus an comhshaol, a chur san

áireamh;

• is féidir le heintitis cháilithe neamhbhrabúis, amhail eagraíochtaí tomhaltóirí nó comhlachtaí poiblí neamhspleácha, arna n-ainmniú ag na Ballstáit roimh ré, caingne

ionadaíocha intíre nó trasteorann a thabhairt chun comhleasanna tomhaltóirí a chosaint i

gcásanna díobhála do shlua mór daoine;

• ceanglaítear ar Bhallstáit 'luas cuí' nósanna imeachta a áirithiú mar aon le costais nós imeachta atá ró-ard a sheachaint ionas nach bac airgeadais iad a bheadh mar bhonn le

caingne ionadaíocha a thabhairt;

• ceanglaítear ar Bhallstáit na pionóis a bheidh infheidhme le neamhchomhlíontacht le

cinntí arna n-eisiúint laistigh den chaingean ionadaíoch a leagan síos, go ndéanfaidh

siad gach beart riachtanach lena chinntiú go gcuirfear i bhfeidhm iad agus go

gcinnteoidh siad go bhféadfaidh pionóis a ghearradh i bhfoirm f íneálacha; agus

• cumasaítear eintitis cháilithe caingne ionadaíocha a thabhairt ag lorg cineálacha éagsúla beart de réir mar is cuí, ag brath ar dhálaí an cháis i.e. bearta eatramhacha nó

críochnaitheacha chun cleachtas trádálaí a stopadh nó a thoirmeasc nó chun éifeachtaí

leantacha an tsáraithe a dhíothú. D’fhéadfaí go n-áireofaí orduithe sásaimh i measc

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32009L0022


—— 75

éifeachtaí leantacha an tsáraithe lena mbunaítear dliteanas an trádálaí i leith na

dtomhaltóirí a ndearna an tsáraithe díobháil dóibh.

Tá an Roinn ag breithniú na saincheisteanna sin agus ag obair lena chinntiú go dtrasuífear

an Treoir sin i ndlí na hÉireann faoi mhí na Nollag 2022, mar a cheanglaítear.

A N t A C H T UM C H O NA R THA Í F O I RGNÍ O CH TA , 2 013 – R I A L Á IL

Í O C A Í O C H TA Í F A OI C H O NART HA Í F O IRGNÍ OC HTA A GUS T E I D LÍ OC HT

R E A C H T ÚI L A R BH RE I THNI Ú

Le linn 2020, rinneadh 54 iarratas chuig Cathaoirleach an Phainéil Breithneoirí um

Chonarthaí Foirgníochta, maidir le Breithneoir a cheapadh faoi alt 6(4) den Acht um

Chonarthaí Foirgníochta, 2013.

Chuir Cathaoirleach an Phainéil Breithneoirí um Chonarthaí Foirgníochta, an Dr. Nael Bunni,

an ceathrú Tuarascáil Bhliantúil ar chur i bhfeidhm an Achta um Chonarthaí Foirgníochta,

2013, faoi bhráid an Aire English i mí Lúnasa 2020 agus tá an tuarascáil sin le fáil ar

láithreán gréasáin na Roinne.

Á R A C H A S

➢ PLEAN GNÍOMHAÍOCHTA MAIDIR LE hATHCHÓIRIÚ ÁRACHAIS

Leagtar amach raon gealltanas i gClár an Rialtais chun athchóiriú a dhéanamh ar an earnáil

árachais. De bharr go mbaineann an tsaincheist sin le Ranna éagsúla, bhunaigh an Rialtas

Foghrúpa den Choiste Comh-Aireachta um Théarnamh Eacnamaíochta agus Infheistíocht,

faoi chathaoirleacht an Tánaiste, i mí Mheán Fómhair 2020. Tagann an Foghrúpa le chéile

go tráthrialta chun athchóiriú a mhaoirsiú agus a chur i bhfeidhm agus chun an dul chun cinn

atá á dhéanamh ag gach Aire maidir le cur i bhfeidhm na ngníomhartha sonracha a bhfuil

siad f reagrach astu a bhreithniú.

Ag eascairt as obair an Fhoghrúpa, d’fhoilsigh an Rialtas an chéad Phlean Gníomhaíochta

maidir le hAthchóiriú Árachais an 8 Nollaig 2020 chun earnáil árachais na hÉireann a

dhéanamh níos iomaíche agus níos áisiúla do thomhaltóirí, chun tacú le f iontar agus chun

poist a chruthú. Leagtar amach 66 ghníomh a bhaineann le gach Roinn Rialtais sa Phlean,

chun costais do thomhaltóirí a laghdú agus don lucht gnó; chun níos mó iomaíochais a

thabhairt isteach sa mhargadh; chun calaois a chosc agus chun an t-ualach ar lucht gnó, ar

an bpobal agus ar eagraíochtaí deonacha a laghdú.

Tabharfaidh Airí sa Roinn seo, sa Roinn Airgeadais agus sa Roinn Dlí agus Cirt faoi na

gníomhartha agus tabharfar chun críche iad sna hocht mí dhéag amach romhainn. Tiocfaidh

an Foghrúpa le chéile go tráthrialta, déanfaidh sé caidreamh le páirtithe leasmhara agus

foilseofar an dul chun cinn ar na gníomhartha gach sé mhí.

➢ OIFIG CHUN IOMAÍOCHAS SA MHARGADH ÁRACHAIS A CHUR CHUN CINN

I ndiaidh na hoibre a rinne an Roinn i gcomhar leis an Roinn Airgeadais, bunaíodh an ‘Oif ig

chun Iomaíochas sa Mhargadh Árachais a Chur Chun Cinn’ i mí na Nollag 2020 faoi

fhreagracht an Aire Stáit do Sheirbhísí Airgeadais, Comhair Chreidmheasa agus Árachas,

Seán Fleming T.D.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/f27e0-action-plan-for-insurance-reform-december-2020/



—— 76

Tá an Oif ig nua seo comhdhéanta d’oif igigh ón Roinn Airgeadais a dtugann oif igigh ón Roinn

seo cúnamh dóibh, agus tabharfaidh Ranna, Gníomhaireachtaí agus páirtithe leasmhara

ábhartha eile ionchur don Oif ig go tráthrialta. Bunaíodh an Oif ig de bhun gealltanas i gClár

an Rialtais chun obair an Rialtais ar athchóiriú árachais a bhrú chun cinn, d’fhonn tuilleadh

iomaíochais i margadh árachais na hÉireann a spreagadh. Cuirfear cur chuige comhordaithe

ar bheartas an Rialtais ar fáil leis an Oif ig nua, chun iomaíochas san earnáil árachais a chur

chun cinn.

➢ BORD MEASÚNAITHE DÍOBHÁLACHA PEARSANTA

Ó bunaíodh é in 2004, tá tairbhe ollmhór á sholáthar ag an mBord Measúnaithe Díobhálacha

Pearsanta (PIAB) trí bhíthin rogha tapa, cóir agus íseal ó thaobh costais de ar fáil maidir le

cúiteamh i leith díobhálacha. Léirítear sa dara Tuarascáil faoi Mhótarárachas a d’fhoilsigh

Bunachar Sonraí Náisiúnta Éileamh de chuid Bhanc Ceannais na hÉireann (mí na Samhna

2020) go mbíonn na costais dlí a bhaineann le dlíthíocht ar éilimh chomh hard le €100,000

níos mó ná cúig oiread déag níos airde ná héilimh a shocrú trí bhíthin PIAB. Léirítear sa

tuarascáil f reisin dif ríochtaí suntasacha sa mhéid ama a thógann sé éilimh a réiteach i gcás

nach féidir iad a chomhaontú go díreach idir éilitheoirí agus f reagróirí. I gcás na n-éileamh a

shocraítear trí bhíthin PIAB, ba 2.9 bliain an meánmhéid ama ó dháta an timpiste go dáta na

dámhachtana, ach ba 4.7 bliana a bhí i gceist le dlíthíocht.

Tá geallta i gClár an Rialtais ról PIAB a fheabhsú agus a athchóiriú. Is í an aidhm

uileghabhálach tuilleadh cásanna a réiteach trí bhíthin chóras PIAB. Rinneadh dul chun cinn

ar an obair idir an Roinn agus PIAB i rith 2020 chun scrúdú a dhéanamh ar roghanna maidir

leis an ngníomhaireacht a fheabhsú agus a athchóiriú. Rinneadh comhairliúchán poiblí ar

fheabhsú PIAB i mí an Mhárta 2021 agus tá an ról feabhsaithe, lena n-áirítear tograí

reachtacha, le cur i bhfeidhm faoi mhí an Mheithimh 2021.

➢ STAIDÉAR AN CHOIMISIÚIN UM IOMAÍOCHT AGUS COSAINT TOMHALTÓIRÍ

MAIDIR LEIS AN MARGADH ÁRACHAIS DLITEANAIS PHOIBLÍ

An 23 Nollaig 2020, d’fhoilsigh an Coimisiún um Iomaíocht agus Cosaint Tomhaltóirí (CCPC)

a staidéar margaidh ar an margadh árachais dliteanais phoiblí. Fuarthas sa staidéar gur

ábhar imní suntasach é feidhmiú an mhargaidh árachais dliteanais phoiblí. Fuarthas go

bhfuil préimheanna arda á ngearradh i ngach earnáil agus go ndealraítear go bhfuil

saincheisteanna infhaighteachta ag imirt tionchair ar chodanna áirithe den mhargadh go

príomha (eagraíochtaí pobail agus spóirt ach go háirithe).

Moltar i staidéar an CCPC go nglacfaí le cur chuige straitéiseach ar an margadh árachais a

athchóiriú, fáil níos fearr ar shonraí, bearta chun iomaíochas a fheabhsú, tacaíocht don lucht

gnó agus do thomhaltóirí agus athchóiriú ar an PIAB. Beidh an staidéar sin ina chuid

thábhachtach de bhonn eolais obair an Fhoghrúpa Comh-aireachta maidir le hAthchóiriú

Árachais agus é ag obair chun bearta a chur i bhfeidhm ar feadh an Rialtais chun an earnáil

árachais a athchóiriú. Léirítear formhór na moltaí i staidéar an CCPC sa Phlean

Gníomhaíochta maidir le hAthchóiriú Árachais.

SMA C H T Ú A GUS C E A D ÚNÚ T R ÁDÁ LA

Cuireann an Roinn Rialuithe Onnmhairithe náisiúnta agus ón Aontas Eorpach i bhfeidhm chun cosc a chur le leathadh na n-arm ollscriosta, tacú le seasmhacht réigiúnach agus cearta an duine a chosaint. Is cuid thábhachtach é an réimeas sin den chreat rialaithe gnó


—— 77

do chuideachtaí a thrádálann go hidirnáisiúnta as Éirinn. D’ainneoin na ndeacrachtaí a chruthaíodh leis an bpaindéim dhomhanda, bhí gníomhaíocht sa réimse sin láidir i gcónaí i rith 2020. I measc an méid a baineadh amach bhí:

▪ Eisíodh 873 ceadúnas onnmhairithe le haghaidh earraí rialaithe, dar luach beagnach

€3.8bn;

▪ Eisíodh 17 ceadúnas idir mhí an Mhárta agus mhí na Bealtaine 2020 a bhain le cur i

bhfeidhm Rialuithe Onnmhairithe AE maidir le Trealamh Cosanta Pearsanta, a tugadh

isteach chun soláthar leordhóthanach tháirgí den sórt sin san AE a chinntiú sna

céimeanna tosaithe de phaindéim COVID-19;

▪ Eisíodh 300 ceadúnas chun táirgí áirithe cruach agus alúmanaim a allmhairiú ó thríú

tíortha go dtí mí na Bealtaine 2020, tráth ar scoradh de riachtanais AE maidir le

faireachas sa réimse sin;

▪ Rinneadh cuairteanna for-rochtana agus comhlíontacha ar onnmhaireoirí nuair ab

fhéidir, ag brath ar shrianta. Rinneadh iniúchtaí deasc-bhunaithe agus cruinnithe f íorúla

chun tacú leo; agus

▪ Achtaíodh 25 Ionstraim Reachtúil chun éifeacht dlí iomlán a thabhairt do smachtbhannaí

AE.

D E I MH NI Ú F E I STÍ L E I GHI S

Go luath in 2020, faomhadh an Rannán Feistí Leighis san Údarás um Chaighdeáin

Náisiúnta na hÉireann lena ainmniú sa Treoir AE nua maidir le Feistí Leighis. I ndiaidh dhá

bhliain go leith de bheith ag obair ar son an ainmniúcháin sin, ba é an tÚdarás um

Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann an 11ú comhlacht dá dtugtar fógra dó ar domhan le

bheith ainmnithe sa Treoir nua. Léiríonn an t-éacht sin tacaíocht mhór agus aitheantas

domhanda don eagraíocht mar an t-aon chomhlacht dá dtugtar fógra in Éirinn i réimse na

teicneolaíochta leighis.

MÉ A D R E OLA Í OC HT NÁ I S I ÚNT A

Go luath in 2020, bronnadh an Gradam Saotharlann Tástála agus Calabrúcháin na Bliana ar

an tSaotharlann Náisiúnta Méadreolaíochta (NML) ag Gradaim Saotharlanna na hÉireann,

rud a thug aitheantas do thábhacht NML san earnáil.

I rith 2020, d’fhan NML i mbun oibre agus sholáthair seirbhísí tomhais ríthábhachtacha agus

riachtanacha do thionscal na hÉireann le linn shrianta phaindéim COVID-19. Bhí éileamh

mór ar sheirbhísí calabrúcháin NML i gcaitheamh na bliana agus d’eisigh an tsaotharlann os

cionn 4,600 deimhniú calabrúcháin i rith na bliana.

Cé gur cuireann srian ollmhór ar chumas NML cúrsaí oiliúna inmheánacha a sholáthar,

d’éirigh le NML 12 cúrsa a sholáthar do 21 cuideachta, sé cinn díobh ar líne i dtimpeallacht

fhíorúil saotharlainne. Rinne NML trí chur i láthair ar líne a bhain le saincheisteanna

Méadreolaíochta atá tábhachtach don tionscal.

MÉ A D R E OLA Í OC HT D H L ÍT HI ÚI L

Bhí tionchar suntasach ag srianta COVID-19 ar na gníomhaíochtaí cigireachta a rinne cigirí

Méadreolaíochta dlíthiúla an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann ar an láthair,


—— 78

go háirithe i rith tréimhsí srianta Leibhéal 5. Mar sin féin, thug cigirí cuairteanna ar 2,504

trádálaí (59% de líon 2019) agus rinne cigireacht ar 13,599 uirlis (92% de líon 2019) i rith na

bliana. Rinneadh sé fheachtas cigireachta sna hearnálacha gnó seo: Iascach, Áitreabh

Ceadúnaithe, Méadair Ola Feistithe ar Thrucailí, Droichead Meáite, Meá Dramhaíola

Feistithe ar Thrucailí, Córais Méadraithe Bainne.

I gcás a thug Seirbhís na Méadreolaíochta Dlíthiúla i rith na bliana, fuarthas seirbhís tacsaí

ciontach in dhá mhéadar tacsaí neamhfhíoraithe a fheidhmiú agus i séala slándála a bhaint.

Anuas ar phionós agus ranníocaíocht le táillí dlíthiúla an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta

na hÉireann, cuireadh an tAcht Promhaidh i bhfeidhm freisin.

Thug Méadreolaíocht Dhlíthiúil seirbhís Faisnéise Trádálaithe Tacsaí ar líne isteach don

lucht suiteála méadar tacsaí. Cuireann an tseirbhís feabhas ar bhainistiú taifead don lucht

suiteála, cuireann úinéir/oibritheoir an mhéadair tacsaí ar an eolas faoina n-oibleagáidí

dlíthiúla maidir le f íorú méadar tacsaí agus cuirtear feabhas in inbhuanaitheacht

chomhshaoil. Ina theannta sin, cuirtear socruithe séalaithe slándála nua ar fáil do mhéadair

tacsaí; fearas glasála sreinge agus plaisteach in ionad an tsean-ghreamáin dosháraithe.


—— 79

Sprioc 6: O IB RIÚ G O hUA ILLMH IA N A C H I n G A C H C UID DEN

RIA LTA S LEN Á R g C O MH P HÁ IRTITH E A E A G US IDIRN Á IS IÚN TA

C H UN DUL C H UN C IN N A DH ÉA N A MH I b hFÓ RA IM A E A G US

IDIRN Á IS IÚN TA I RÉIMS E LEA TH A N LEA S A N N A , LEN A n Á IR ÍTEA R

A N B REA TIMEA C H T

R A NNP H Á I RTÍ OC HT A G L E I BH É A L A E

Lean tionchair éagsúlaithe phaindéim COVID-19 de chroíról a bheith acu an chuid is mó de

2020. Le cois codanna móra de gheilleagar an AE a bheith dúnta síos, chuathas go mór i

gcion ar sceidealú réimse de chruinnithe f isiciúla. De thoradh na gcúinsí eisceachtúla

leanúnacha seo, thug na hUachtaránachtaí AE a ndeachthas i gcion orthu agus Coimisiún

na hEorpa iarraidh a chinntiú gur lean a oiread gnó agus is féidir ar aghaidh ina oiread fóram

agus ab fhéidir. Cruinnithe f ís-chomhdhála ó thaobh cruinnithe Chomhairle Aireachta, le cois

an Choiste Polasaí Trádála ina bhformáidí éagsúla an phríomhghné a bhain leo fós.

Eisceacht shuntasach air seo an cruinniú neamhfhoirmiúil Chomhairle d'Airí Trádála ar an

11 Meán Fómhair a eagraíodh i mBeirlín agus ar fhreastail an Tánaiste air.

Le linn 2020, rinne an tAire Humphreys, an Tánaiste agus na hAirí Breen, Troy agus English

ionadaíocht thar ceann na hÉireann ar na Comhairlí Trádála agus Iomaíochais (Margadh

agus Tionsclaíocht Inmheánach) agus Gnóthaí Fostaíochta agus Sóisialta (EPSCO).

Chuaigh COVID-19 i bhfeidhm ar eagrú na gcruinnithe comhairle agus níor tionóladh ach

cruinniú f isiciúil amháin den Chomhairle Iomaíochais faoi Uachtaránacht na Cróite agus

eagraíodh 6 cruinniú f íorúil eile faoi Uachtaránachtaí na Cróite agus na Gearmáine.

Bhreithnigh an Chomhairle Iomaíochais (Margadh agus Tionsclaíocht Inmheánach)

'Margadh Glas' na hEorpa agus ghlac le Conclúidí na Comhairle ar Rialáil Níos Fearr ag an

aon chruinniú f isiciúil amháin a bhí acu. Bhí fócas cruinnithe eile ar thionchar COVID -19 ar

thionsclaíocht AE agus an Margadh Aonair, Plean Téarnaimh an Choimisiúin agus ar thógáil

Eoraip stóinsithe, iomaíoch agus béim ar an Margadh Aonair a dhaingniú agus ar

sheachadadh an aistrithe ghlais agus dhigitigh.

I nDeireadh Fómhair 2020, aistríodh ról comhordaithe an EPSCO chun na Roinne. D'fhreastail an tAire English ar dhá chruinniú neamhfhoirmiúla i nDeiread h Fómhair agus i

mí na Nollag ina raibh an fócas ar théarnamh ó COVID-19 ó thaobh na fostaíochta agus gnóthaí sóisialta de. I measc an gceisteanna a thug an Chomhairle Trádála chun cinn le linn 2020 bhí

Athbhreithniú ar Bheartas Trádála AE (a seoladh i Meitheamh 2020) a pléadh i Meán

Fómhair agus arís i mí na Samhna. Caitheadh achar suntasach ama fosta ar chur chuige

comhaontaithe AE maidir le ceapachán phost Ard-Stiúrthóir WTO. Croí-ábhar fós le linn

2020, áfach, caidreamh trádála AE-SAM agus leanadh den chaibidil i rith na bliana idir an

AE agus SAM d'fhonn f illeadh ar chaidreamh trádála níos 'intuartha' mar pháirtithe

comhstádais. Níor tharla aon chomhaontú suntasach, más ea. Forbairt shuntasach ag

tarraingt ar dheireadh na bliana ab ea toradh thoghchán Uachtaránacht SAM.

Rinneadh obair shuntasach laistigh den AE chun clár oibre athchóiriú WTO a thabhairt chun

cinn. Stad Foras Achomhairc an WTO d'fheidhmiú amhail 11 Nollaig 2019. San idirlinn,


—— 80

chomhaontaigh an AE agus 24 comhpháirtí trádála eile Socrú Eadrána Achomhairc

Eatramhach ilpháirtí (MPIA) a chur ar bun. Feidhmíonn an MPIA faoi chreat an WTO,

bunaithe ar fhoráil (Airteagal 25) i dTuiscint Socrú Díospóide an WTO i gcomhair eadráin

díospóide. Tá sé bunaithe ar ghnáthrialacha an WTO a bhaineann le hachomhairc. Lean

Éire den chomhoibriú lenár bpáirtithe AE chun tabhairt faoi roinnt údair cur isteach trádála

leis na Stáit Aontaithe, go háirithe maidir le forchur taraif í ar easpórtálacha áirithe AE chun

na Stát Aontaithe mar fhreagairt do thorthaí an WTO i gcás 'Airbus' cho mh maith le f reagairt

an AE do bhronnadh an WTO i gcás comhreathach Boeing. Lena chois sin, rinneadh an

dara hathbhreithniú ar bhearta Steel Safeguard an AE trínar scaoileadh na leibhéil chuóta le

3%. Rachaidh na bearta in éag i mí Iúil 2021.

Le cois ionadaíocht a dhéanamh thar ceann na Roinne agus na hÉireann ar bhonn

straitéiseach ag an gComhairle, bhíothas ag déanamh cúraim do chroíleas AE na Roinne ag

an leibhéal tras-Rialtais trí Ghrúpa Oif igigh Shinsearacha AE na Roinne Gnóthaí Eachtracha

agus an Grúpa Idir-Rannach ar Ghnóthaí AE agus Breatimeachta, chomh maith le

rannpháirtíochtaí déthaobhacha le Ballstáit atá ar aon intinn agus le Coimisiún na hEorpa.

Lean an Roinn den chumarsáid ó chian agus le háiseanna f ís -chomhdhála ar leibhéal

Choiste agus Mheithleacha AE chun seasamh na hÉireann ar cheisteanna trádála a chur in

iúl lena chinntiú go gcabhraítear leis agus go ndaingnítear an córas oscailte, saor, bunaithe

ar rialacha, iltaobhach. Óna thaobh sin de, f reastalaíonn an fhoireann i mBaile Átha Cliath

agus sa Bhruiséil ar Choistí agus Meithleacha iomadúla, lena n-áirítear an Ghinéiv i dtaca

leis an Eagraíocht Trádála Dhomhanda de. Tá ról ceannais againn fosta d'Éirinn i bhfóraim

eagrais idirnáisiúnta eile (NA, WTO), trína Mhisean Buan Ionadaíochta sa Ghinéiv, chomh

maith leis an Eagraíocht um Chomhar Eacnamaíochta (ECFE).

Thug na hAirí faisnéis dár bpáirtithe leasmhara gnó ar fhorbairtí Trádála Idirnáisiúnta trí

fhóram Fiontair na Roinne i rith na bliana.

Ar aon dul le hoibleagáidí Iniúchta Oireachtais AE na Roinne, thug an Roinn faisnéis don

Oireachtas ar 38 moladh AE ar réimse de cheisteanna beartais, seacht dtuairisc

reámhrabhaidh agus chomhlíon a hoibleagáid dhá thuairisc 6 mhí a chur isteach ar fhorbairtí

AE.

MA R GA D H A O NAI R A E I SE I R BH Í S Í

Ó thús deireadh 2020, lean an Roinn dá rannpháirtíocht ag leibhéal AE, Coimisiún na

hEorpa san áireamh, agus le Ballstáit eile agus trí ionadaíocht a dhéanamh ar son na

hÉireann ar Mheithleacha agus Coistí ar cheisteanna Margadh Aonair. Leanadh den obair le

Ballstáit atá ar aon intinn linn agus le Coimisiún na hEorpa chun constaicí a shainaithint

agus a bhaint maidir le soláthar seirbhísí trasteorann i Margadh Aonair AE, tríd an

Tascfhórsa Forfheidhmiú Margadh Aonair nuabhunaithe san áireamh.

Maidir leis an reachtaíocht, chomhordaigh an Roinn seasaimh náisiúnta ar mholadh i

gcomhair Rialúchán lena mbunófaí Clár Margadh Aonair laistigh de Chreat Airgeadais

Ilbhliantúil an AE i dtréimhse 2021-2027, a comhaontaíodh níos déanaí sa bhliain. Is

comhbhailiúchán é an clár nua seo de 6 chlár reatha maoinithe de chuid an AE a fhaigheann

cúnamh faoi láthair ó 10 líne bhuiséid AE éagsúla agus, ag leibhéal náisiúnta, atá laistigh de

théarmaí tagartha beartais roinnt ranna Rialtais.


—— 81

Lean an Roinn de láithreán gréasáin Phointe Teagmhála Aonair na hÉireann a bhainistiú, ar

acmhainn faisnéise agus cúnaimh é do sholáthróirí seirbhísí san Aontas Eorpach ar mian leo

seirbhísí a sholáthar in Éirinn. Is cuid de líonra láithreán gréasáin ar feadh an Limistéir

Eorpaigh Eacnamaíoch (LEE) é, a bhf uil d’aidhm leis saorghluaiseacht seirbhísí laistigh den

Mhargadh Aonair a éascú. Lean an Roinn d'fheabhsú chaighdeán na faisnéise atá ar fáil ar

an bPointe Teagmhála Aonair agus tabhairt faoi easnaimh a shainaithin Coimisiún na hEorpa

cheana.

Bhainistigh an Roinn ionchur na hÉireann le líonraí eile de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh a

chuireann le feidhmiú réidh an Mhargaidh Aonair, lena n-áirítear an córas SOLVIT agus

Córas Faisnéise an Mhargaidh Inmheánaigh. In 2020, scóráil Ionad SOLVIT na hÉireann

scór ard arís i dTuarascáil Bhliantúil Choimisiún na hEorpa ar fheidhmíocht ionaid náisiúnta i

líonra SOLVIT.

SC A GA D H I NF H EI STÍ O CH TA

Ghlac an tAontas Eorpach leis an Rialachán chun Creat a Chur ar Bun Maidir le Scagadh

Infheistíochtaí Coigríche Díreacha. Tháinig an Rialachán (AE) (2019/452) i bhfeidhm i Márta

2019 agus feidhmeofar é ó 11 Deireadh Fómhair 2020.

Bunaítear leis an Rialachán seo creat do Bhallstáit chun faisnéis a chomhordú agus a

chomhroinnt maidir le scagadh Infheistíochtaí Coigríche Díreacha ó thríú tíortha. Tháinig sé i

bhfeidhm i nDeireadh Fómhair 2020. Cumasaítear an Roinn dá thoradh fosta tuairimí

neamhcheangailteacha a eisiúint i gcásanna a bhaineann leis an iomad Ballstát nó nuair a

d'fhéadfadh infheistiú dul i bhfeidhm ar thionscadal nó ar chlár a bhaineann leis an AE ina

iomláine.

Is f reagairt é an Rialachán um Scagadh Infheistíochta agus forbairtí beartas intíre ina

dhiaidh sin d'ábhair imní atá ag dul i méid i measc Ballstát faoi cheannach agus infheistíocht

i gcomhlachtaí agus sócmhainní straitéiseacha Eorpacha ag gnóthais faoi úinéireacht

eachtrach (agus i gcásanna áirithe, gnóthais faoi úinéireacht stáit) a d'fhéadfadh tochailt faoi

shlándáil nó ord poiblí Ballstáit.

Faoin Rialachán, is gá do Bhallstáit Pointe Teagmhála Náisiúnta (NCP) a bhunú mar ar féidir

faisnéis agus f iosruithe a mhalartú idir an Coimisiún agus Ballstáit. Tá an NCP f reagrach as

na riachtanais éagsúla tuairiscithe atá leagtha amach sa Rialachán a cho mhlíonadh.

Gníomhaíonn an Roinn mar NCP na hÉireann agus is rannpháirtí gníomhach muid ar

Ghrúpa Saineolaithe Choimisiún na hEorpa ar Scagadh Infheistíochtaí Coigríche Díreacha

ar fóram luachmhar é chun dea-chleachtais a chomhroinnt ar bheartais scagtha agus lena n-

éascaítear malartú dearcthaí ar threochtaí agus ceisteanna ar comhúdair imní iad maidir le

scagadh infheistíochtaí coigríche díreacha. In 2020, rinne an Roinn anailís ar cuimsíodh inti

sraith de theagmhálacha déthaobhacha chun bonn eolais a chur faoi fhorbairt beartais sa

spás seo. Rinneadh comhairliúchán poiblí fosta chun faisnéis a thabhairt don Roinn ar

roghanna beartais in iniúchadh ár bhfreagartha d'fheidhmiú an Rialacháin.

I ndiaidh an chomhairliúcháin, bhreithnigh an Rialtas an cheist agus cinneadh ar chóras

scagtha infheistíochta a thabhairt isteach in Éirinn trí reachtaíocht phríomhúil. D'fhaomh an

Rialtas Scéim Ghinearálta Bille Scagadh Infheistíochta i mí Iúil 2020 agus tá an reachtaíocht

á dréachtú le hoif ig an Ard-Aighne. Nuair a achtófar an Bille, beidh de chumhacht ag an Aire

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/452/oj


—— 82

Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta f reagairt do bhagairtí ar shlándáil agus ord poiblí na

hÉireann ó chineálacha áirithe infheistíochta coigríche agus bagairtí den sórt a chosc nó a

mhaolú.

A N B REA TIMEA C H T

ULLMHÚCHÁIN Leanadh den obair fhorleathan chomhordaithe i ngach cuid den Roinn agus dá

gníomhaireachtaí ar fhreagairt na Roinne don Bhreatimeacht, lena n-áirítear rannpháirtíocht

ar fud an Rialtais chun a chinntiú gur cuireadh ár leas náisiúnta san áireamh i gcomhthéacs

na n-idirbheartaíochtaí AE-RA ar an gcaidreamh trádála feasta.

Bhí ionchuir ag an Roinn i bPlean Gníomhaíochta Ullmhacht Breatimeachta an Rialtais a

foilsíodh i Meán Fómhair 2020 agus in Oll-Bhille Breatimeachta 2020. I mí na Nollag 2020,

shínigh an tUachtarán an tAcht um Tharraingt Siar na Ríochta Aontaithe ón Aontas Eorpach

(Forálacha Iarmhartacha) 2020 (Oll-Acht Breatimeachta) agus rinneadh dlí de. 19 cuid a bhí

san Oll-Acht a chuir go maith le bearta dleathacha ar leibhéal AE agus lenar leanadh d'obair

Oll-Bhille 2019 trí dhíriú ar bhearta chun ár saoránaigh a chosaint agus cuidiú leis an

ngeilleagar, lucht f iontair agus poist i gcroí-earnálacha eacnamaíochta. I measc ionchur na

Roinne bhí Cuid a 4, 5 agus 15 den Oll-Acht inar díríodh, faoi seach, ar cheisteanna a

bhaineann le Taisclanna Urrús Lárnacha; coigeartuithe ar reachtaíocht Ceadúnais Oibre;

chomh maith le hAchtanna um Chosaint Fostaithe (Dócmhainneacht Fostóirí). Le cois an

Bhille, cuireadh bailchríoch fosta ar reachtaíocht chomhlántach thánaisteach roimh

dheireadh na tréimhse aistrithe ar 31 Nollaig 2020.

Leanadh de rannpháirtíocht dhian le páirtithe leasmhara na Roinne in 2020 ar mhaithe le

cabhrú le gnólachtaí ullmhú i gcomhair na Breatimeachta faoi dheireadh 2020. Bhain an

obair seo le rannpháirtíocht Airí trí ghrúpaí croípháirtithe leasmhara amhail an Fóram

Fiontair ar Bhreatimeacht agus Dúshláin Dhomhanda agus an Fóram Comhairliúcháin

Miondíola, le cois Ghníomhaireachtaí f iontair agus rialála na Roinne.

IOMPÓRTÁLACHA CEIMICEÁN I rith 2020, lean an Roinn, i gcomhar leis an Údarás Sláinte agus Sábháilteachta, de thacú le

tionscnamh an Rialtais 'Éire a Ullmhú don Bhreatimeacht' chun aird a tharraingt ar na

tionchair fhéideartha ar thionscail na hÉireann. Leanadh d'aird ar leith a tharraingt ó thús

deireadh 2020 ar thionchair fhéideartha ar thionsclaíocht maidir le foinsiú ceimiceán agus

iompórtáil táirgí, óir d'fhéadfadh sé go gcaithfeadh tionscail dul i ngleic le tuilleadh dualgais

agus oibleagáidí rialála.

BEARTA MAOLAITHE DO FBManna

➢ Scéim Iasachta Breatimeachta

Seoladh Scéim Iasachta Breatimeachta i Márta 2018, i gcomhpháirt leis an Roinn

Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara agus an Banc Eorpach Infheistíochta. Cuirtear ar fáil sa Scéim

maoiniú inacmhainne do ghnólachtaí Éireannacha incháilithe ina bhfuil suas le 499 fostaí a

bhfuil Breatimeacht ag dul i bhfeidhm orthu faoi láthair nó a mbeidh amach anseo. Tá an

Scéim ar oscailt do chliaint Gníomhaireacht Stáit chomh maith leis na gnólachtaí sin nach

bhfuil aon chaidreamh acu le Gníomhaireacht Stáit. Corparáid Baincéireachta Straitéiseach

na hÉireann (SBCI) a sheachadann an Scéim trí iasachtóirí tráchtála chun caipiteal oibre a


—— 83

chur isteach i ngnólachtaí Éireannacha agus cuireadh léi in 2020 chun go leanfaí d'iasachtaí

a chur ar fáil do ghnólachtaí a dtéann Breatimeacht i bhfeidhm orthu go dtí deireadh 2021. I

gcomhar le Scéim Chaipiteal Oibre SBCI COVID-19, amhail deireadh 2020, tugadh €337.5m

ar iasacht chun cabhrú le riachtanais leachtachta FBManna, tríd an dá scéim iasachta seo.

Tá síneadh eile ar siúl chun suim iasachta €500m a chur ar fáil. Faoi dheireadh 2020, bhí

282 iasacht i ndiaidh dul chomh fada le faomhadh leibhéal bainc agus luach €57.5m leo.

➢ Scéim Iasachta d'Fhás sa Todhchaí

Mar a thagraítear dó faoi Sprioc 1, seoladh an Scéim Iasachta €300m d'Fhás sa Todhchaí i

Márta 2019, chun gur féidir le gnólachtaí Éireannacha incháilithe agus na hearnálacha

príomhúla talmhaíochta agus bia mara iasachtaí a rochtain chun cuidiú lena n-infheistíocht

straitéiseach fhadtéarmach. Cuireadh leis an scéim i mí Iúil 2020 agus is €800m na tsuim

atá ar fáil anois. Is fusa airgeadas atá ar fáil faoin scéim seo a rochtain, tá praghsanna níos

iomaíche i gceist agus tairgtear iad faoi théarmaí níos fabhraí ná iasachtaí eile don chineál

seo gnólachtaí. Tairgtear suimeanna idir €100,000 (€50,000 don talmhaíocht) agus €3m

agus iasachtaí neamhurraithe suas go dtí €500,000. Téarmaí idir 7 agus 10 mbliana atá i

gceist leis na hiasachtaí seo - chun tabhairt faoi bhearna sa mhargadh i gcomhair airgeadas

fadtéarmach. An Roinn seo agus an Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara agus an Banc

Eorpach Infheistíochta a chómhaoiníonn an scéim.

Glacadh go maith leis an scéim sa mhargadh, óir tugadh 2,742 iasacht a fhad le faomhadh

ag leibhéal bainc agus luach €555m leo agus faomhadh 2,023 de na hiasachtaí seo, luach

€415.1m in 2020 amháin.

➢ Iasacht Ghnó Breatimeachta Mhicrea-airgeadas Éireann

I mí na Samhna 2020, sheol Micrea-airgeadas Éireann a Iasacht Ghnó Breatimeachta. Tá sí

ar fáil do ghnólachtaí a bhfuil láimhdeachas níos lú ná €2m acu agus 9 bhfostaí ar a mhéad.

Suas go dtí €25,000 is ea suim na n-iasachtaí agus ó 6 mhí go 3 bliana. Le rátaí úis

laghdaithe ó 4.5% agus tréimhse saor ó ús suas le 12 mhí, is ísle arís costas na hiasachta

seo ar ghnólachtaí na hÉireann. Táthar ag dúil go n-úsáidfear na hiasachtaí seo ar

chúiseanna iompórtála nó athruithe sna slabhraí soláthair mar gheall ar mhéid na

ngnólachtaí atá i gceist.

➢ Feasacht

Rinne an Roinn infheistíocht mhór i dtacaíocht do lucht f iontair agus cumarsáid agus ardú

tréan feasachta ar Bhreatimeacht. Tomhaistear f reagairtí Breatimeachta san earnáil FBM

trína sraith de shuirbhéanna Breatimeachta, a thugann léargas ar mhéid agus cineál na

bhfreagairtí Breatimeachta a fheidhmíonn gnólachtaí. Le tuilleadh monatóireachta,

tiomsaithe agus scaipeadh leibhéil rannpháirtíochta le tacaí Breatimeachta, éascaítear

forbairt léargais ar thionchar na Breatimeachta ar lucht gnó.

Le cois acmhainní ar líne, foilsíodh roinnt bileog agus leabhrán chun a chinntiú go bhfuil

gnólachtaí chomh hullmhaithe agus is féidir do na tionchair a eascraíonn as Breatimeacht.

Áirítear orthu seo 'Treoir Achomair Breatimeachta do Lucht Gnó: Custaim, taraif í agus


—— 84

dleachtanna, airgeadra, iompórtálacha, teastasú, caipiteal oibre, maoiniú' agus 'Bainistíocht

Riosca Airgeadra do FBManna na hÉireann'. Mar gheall ar an éileamh, rinneadh an iomad

athchló ar 'Treoir Achomair Breatimeachta do Lucht Gnó'. Nuair ba chuí, rinneadh faisnéis a

nuashonrú le go léireofaí cúinsí atá ag athrú in imeacht na RA ón AE. Rinneadh suíomh

gréasáin na Roinne a uasdátú fosta le go gcuimseofaí treoir ar 'Do Ghnólacht a Ullmhú don

Bhreatimeacht', lena n-áirítear faisnéis ar bhearta cuí do ghnólachtaí a ndeachthas i

bhfeidhm orthu.

D'fhoilsigh an Roinn fosta treoir chuimsitheach ar réimse de bhearta éagsúla atá ar fáil ag

gnólachtaí a bhfuil maoiniú uathu, 'Rochtain tacaí airgeadais do FBManna agus

mionfhiontair'.

FIONTRAÍOCHT ÉIREANN

Le tacaíocht na Roinne, lean Fiontraíocht Éireann dá fhócas ar chuidiú le gnólachtaí in Éirinn ullmhú don Bhreatimeacht in 2020. Ina measc seo bhí: ▪ Seoladh an deontais Ullamh do na Custaim - ranníocaíocht €9,000 i dtreo costais a

bhaineann le fostaithe nua a earcú agus córais teicneolaíochta trealamh chun acmhainn

custaim comhlachta a mhéadú. Faoi dheireadh 2020, bhí €7.6m dáilte agus tacaíocht dá

bharr do 1,000 post san earnáil.

▪ Seoladh Seiceálaí Ullmhacht Breatimeachta - uirlis ar líne a chuireann measúnú

ullmhachta ar fáil do ghnólachtaí aonair. Bhí an Seiceálaí comhlánaithe ag breis agus

660 comhlacht faoi dheireadh 2020.

▪ Feachtais fhorleathana fógraíochta agus margaíocht dhíreach le bonn cliant

Fhiontraíocht Éireann agus an pobal gnó i gcoitinne chun feasacht a ardú ar an tábhacht

atá le hullmhú don Bhreatimeacht.

▪ Sraith de chúig sheimineár gréasáin réigiúnacha go luath i mí na Nollag 2020, a raibh

breis agus 1400 gnólacht cláraithe orthu. I measc na n-imeachtaí leantacha bhí

roghanna breathnaithe ar éileamh agus scaipeadh doiciméad mór C&F ar an

mBreatimeacht.

Tháinig méadú as cuimse ar chuairteanna ar shuíomh gréasáin tiomnaithe Fhiontraíocht

Éireann Ullmhaigh don Bhreatimeacht, le breis agus 66,500 cuairt idir Meán Fómhair -

Nollaig 2020.

GFT ÉIREANN In 2020, lean GFT Éireann den chomhoibriú díreach lena chliaint reatha chun tabhairt faoi

na dúshláin ach, lena chois, féachaint le deiseanna a bhaineann le Breatimeacht a

uasmhéadú.

Tá teagmháil déanta ag an nGníomhaireacht lena bonn cliant, le blianta fada, chun cabhrú

leo rioscaí a bhaineann le Breatimeacht a bhf éadfadh tionchar a bheith acu ar infheistíocht

dhíreach eachtrach a aithint agus a mhaolú.

Lena chois sin, ón reif reann sa RA i Meitheamh 2016, chuardaigh GFT Éireann deiseanna

chun infheistíocht bhreise a bhaineann leis an mBreatimeacht a mhealladh go hÉirinn agus


—— 85

fuarthas 92 infheistíocht a bhféadfadh 5,900 post a bheith ag gabháil leo le linn an achair

sin. Tá bearta déanta ag an IDA chun a margaí foinse a éagsúlú ó thaobh infheistíocht

dhíreach eachtrach de. Tá a oibríochtaí Eorpacha athstruchtúraithe aige chun plé leis an RA

mar mhargadh ar leith agus lonnófar acmhainní breise sa Mheán-Oirthear, san Áise agus i

Meiriceá Laidineach.

Tá GFT Éireann ag leanúint de bhéim a chur ar chroíghnéithe thairiscint na hÉireann don

infheistíocht dhíreach eachtrach. Ár mbuanna - lena n-áirítear timpeallacht beartais atá

fabhrach don fhiontraíocht, lucht saothair Béarla a bhfuil ardoideachas acu agus ár

mballraíocht den Aontas Eorpach - tá siad seo uile tarraingteach ag infheisteoirí

idirnáisiúnta.

OIFIGÍ FIONTRAÍOCHTA ÁITIÚLA Tá bearta Breatimeachta tríd an 32 Oif ig Fiontraíochta Áitiúla (LEO) ar fud na tíre dírithe ar

fhaisnéis agus feasacht, éagsúlú margaidh, iomaíochas méadaithe agus an nuálaíocht a

chur chun cinn. Chomh maith leis an mBreatimeacht, meantóireacht ag us oiliúint

bhainteach, sheachaid na LEOnna fosta saintionscnaimh Breatimeachta do mhionfhiontair,

lena n-áirítear:

• 3,267 rannpháirtí a d'fhreastail ar imeachtaí Faisnéis Breatimeachta a bhí dírithe ar

chroíchliaint agus eile trí ardáin oiliúna ar líne na LEOnna;

• Bhí Cúnamh Teicniúil ar fáil do Dheontais Micri-Easpórtálaithe chun cliaint a dhreasú le

deiseanna nua margaidh a fhiosrú agus a fhorbairt. Faomhadh cúnamh do 1,072 cliant

faoin mbeart seo in 2020, breis is dhá oiread an lín a faomhadh in 2019.

I IDIR-THRÁDÁIL ÉIREANN Ós rud é go bhféadfadh tionchar suntasach a bheith ag Breatimeacht ar na FBManna dá

dtugann Idir-Thrádáil Éireann cúnamh, d'fhaomh an Roinn arís maoiniú breise do ITI in

2020. Dá thairbhe seo bhí Idir-Thrádáil Éireann in ann na nithe seo a leanas a fheabhsú a

thuilleadh:

▪ An tSeirbhís Chomhairleach Breatimeachta trína soláthraítear réimse de bhearta

saincheaptha. San iomlán, bhí an tSeirbhís Chomhairleach Breatimeachta i dteagmháil

dhíreach le breis is 3,897 FBM ar fud an oileáin.

▪ 'Dearbháin Breatimeachta Tús le Pleanáil' dar luach €2,250, chun a chur ar chumas

comhlachtaí sainchomhairle a fháil ar cheisteanna amhail pleanáil airgeadra, taraif í agus

custaim, riachtanais rialála agus ceisteanna cánach. In 2020, fuair Idir-Thrádáil Éireann

962 iarratas ar Dhearbháin 'Tús le Pleanáil' do FBManna agus faomhadh 856 díobh.


—— 86

ÚDA RÁ S UM C H A IG H DEÁ IN N Á IS IÚN TA N A hÉIREA N N Is é fócas an Údaráis um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann (ÚCNÉ) i dtaca leis an

mBreatimeacht, na rioscaí agus deiseanna do ghnólachtaí i dtéarmaí teastasú ÚCNÉ agus

feidhmiú chaighdeáin AE, ISO agus na Breataine iar-Bhreatimeacht. Le linn 2020, bhí an-

rannpháirtíocht ag Aonad Breatimeachta ÚCNÉ le gnólachtaí agus le heagrais trádála ar fud

na hÉireann, ag reáchtáil sraith de sheónna bóthair agus ag eisiúint bileoga eolais ar réimsí

sainiúla earnála. Tá bearta faisnéise forbartha ag ÚCNÉ chun cabhrú le gnólachtaí

Éireannacha ina n-ullmhúcháin le tionchar na Breatimeachta a íoslaghdú, a slabhraí

soláthair a chosaint agus rochtain mhargadh RA a choinneáil.

In 2020, d'éirigh leis an ÚCNÉ a lán tionscnaimh Breatimeachta a chur i gcrích, lena n-áirítear:

• Cur le rochtain ábhair Bhreatimeachta trí thairseach Breatimeachta;

• Ceisteanna Coitianta ar Threalamh Leictreachais agus ar Dheimhniú Táirgí;

• Bileoga eolais maidir le croí-earnálacha;

• Aistríodh Teachtaireachtaí Breatimeachta chuig ardáin ar líne le;

▪ 11 seimineár gréasáin Breatimeachta lena n-áirítear Cumann Easpórtálaithe na

hÉireann, IBEC, Cumann na Suirbhéirí Cainníochta agus an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta,

▪ Seachadadh sraith de sheimineáir ghréasáin Bhreatimeachta san fhómhar le breis agus 650 i láthair,

▪ Cur i láthair ar chomhdhálacha Slabhra Soláthar Déantúsaíochta agus Déantóirí Táirgí Leictreachais agus an Cumann Dáileacháin

• D'éascaigh Aonad Breatimeachta ÚCNÉ cruinnithe de chuid Líonra Comhlachtaí dá dTugtar Fógraí na hÉireann le cois trí fhoghrúpa nua, Foirgníocht, Árthaí Bhrú agus Leictreach/Raidió

Chuidigh ÚCNÉ le tionscnaimh Éire a Ullmhú don Bhreatimeacht trí chur i láthair agus Sraith

Lón agus Foghlaim na LEOnna, Seisiún Faisnéise Foirgníochta Breatimeachta Chomhairle

Co. Mhuineacháin agus Seisiún Faisnéise Chumann Trádála Dhún Dealgan/ITI agus Seisiún

Faisnéise LEO Dhún Dealgan.

E A GR A Í O C HT I D I RNÁ I SI ÚNTA SA O TH AI R

Is í an Roinn atá i gceannas ar rannpháirtíocht na hÉireann san Eagraíocht Saothair

idirnáisiúnta (ILO) 9, sainghníomhaíocht de chuid NA. Tá Éire ag déanamh téarma mar bhall

Teidealach (cearta cainte agus vótála) den Fhoras Rialaithe (GB). Grúpa Idir-rannach a

chomhordaíonn seasaimh náisiúnta ar chlár oibre GB, a thugann le chéile Ranna ar a bhfuil

f reagracht bheartais as míreanna ar chlár oibre leathan GB. Croíghné d'obair an Ghrúpa is

9 I Meitheamh 2017, toghadh Éire mar bhall Teidealach d'Fhoras Rialachais (GB) an ILO. De bharr phaindéim Covid-19,

síneadh an tréimhse Theidealach go 2021. Seo an chéad uair a toghadh Éire i suíochán Teidealach (gona chearta cainte

agus vótála) ó chláraíomar leis an ILO in 1923. Chomhlánaigh Éire téarma mar Chomhordaitheoir Réigiúnach Ghrúpa

Iarthar na hEorpa den ILO i mí na Samhna 2020.


—— 87

ea rannpháirtíocht na bPáirtithe Sóisialta, chun go léireofar gur eagraíocht thríthaobhach í

an ILO.

Chuir paindéim COVID-19 as go mór d'fhéilire oibre an ILO. Cuireadh ar ceal an cruinniú GB

agus an Chomhdháil Idirnáisiúnta Saothair i Márta agus Meitheamh faoi seach. Mar sin féin,

lean an ILO dá chlár oibre a thabhairt chun cinn go f íorúil trí chórais ar líne agus tionóladh

GB mhí na Samhna ó chian thar thréimhse choicíse. I mí Iúil, ar Chruinniú Mullaigh

Domhanda 'Todhchaí oibre níos fearr a thógáil', pléadh thar 5 lá os comhair an chruinnithe

ar líne is mó riamh d'oibrithe, fostóirí agus de rialtais, mar is féidir aghaidh a thabhairt ar

thionchair eacnamaíochta agus sóisialta na paindéime. Labhair an tUachtarán Micheál D. Ó

hUiginn lena raibh i láthair ar Lá na gCeannairí Domhanda.

C O MH A O NTUI TH E T R ÁD ÁLA A GUS MI S I N T R Á DÁ LA

D'oibrigh an Roinn i ndlúthpháirt, ar son na hÉireann, le Coimisiún an Aontais Eorpaigh agus

le Ballstáit chun an iomad comhaontú trádála a chur i gcrích go sásúil.

Aontaíodh an pacáiste éascaithe trádála chun dleachtanna custaim a scor nó a laghdú i leith

líon beag línte taraife idir an AE agus SAM i Lúnasa 2020. Ba shuntasach an beart é an

chéad chomhaontú ar scor taraif í idir an AE agus SAM le breis agus f iche bliain agus féadtar

é a fheidhmiú mar dhul chun cinn dearfach a bhí de dhíth go géar i gcaidreamh trádála AE-

SAM.

Ar 1 Lúnasa 2020, tháinig Comhaontú Saorthrádála (FTA) AE-Vítneam i bhfeidhm, i ndiaidh

gur síníodh é an bhliain roimhe. Ar 28 Aibreán 2020, thug an AE agus Meicsiceo chun críche

an ghné dheiridh lena gcumhdaítear oscailt chómhalartach margaí soláthar poiblí, in

idirbheartaíocht FTA nua AE-Mheicsiceo. Leis an gComhaontú nua, sínfear an comhaontú

reatha le go gcuimseofar comhoibriú rialála, trádáil bhreise sa talmhaíocht agus soláthar

poiblí. Cuirfear ardán ar fáil leis an gcomhaontú chun easpórtálacha go Meicsiceo a

mhéadú, lena n-áirítear earnáil thábhachtach Agrai-bhia go háirithe earraí déiríochta,

muiceola agus mairteola. Leanadh in 2020 d'idirbheartaíochtaí FTAnna ar leith leis an Astráil

agus an Nua-Shéalainn agus táthar ag dúil le teacht ar chomhaontú sa dá idirbheartaíocht in

2021.

Shínigh an AE agus an tSín comhaontú déthaobhach chun 100 Tásc Geografach (GI) a

chosaint sa tSín, lena n-áirítear Uisce Beatha agus Uachtar na hÉireann agus 100 GI

Síneach san Aontas Eorpach i gcoinne forghabhála agus aithrise. Tiocfaidh an Comhaontú i

bhfeidhm in 2021. Lena chois sin, ag deireadh 2020, chuir an AE agus an tSín i gcrích

idirbheartaíochtaí a bhain le Comhaontú Cuimsitheach ar Infheistíocht (CAI) agus nuair a

fhaomhfar é, feabhsófar rochtain mhargaidh d'infheisteoirí na hÉireann agus na hEorpa ar

mhargadh na Síne ina bhfuil 1.4bn duine i ngach earnáil gheilleagair. Nuair a dhaingneofar

é, is é an CAI seo an comhaontú infheistíochta is uaillmhianaí dá ndearna an tSín riamh le

tríú tír. Le cois rialacha i gcoinne aistriú faoi bhrú teicneolaíochtaí, beidh an CAO ar an

gcéad chomhaontú oibleagáidí i leith iompraíocht f iontair faoi úinéireacht stáit agus rialacha

cuimsitheacha trédhearcachta ar fhóirdheontais a sheachadadh.

Lean an Roinn fosta den chomhoibriú le Coimisiún na hEorpa agus le Ballstáit chun a

chinntiú go gcuirfear chun cinn agus go gcumhdófar leas na hÉireann in idirbheartaíochtaí

trádála eile atá idir lámha ag an AE. Leanadh den obair ar athrú ar ionstraimí cosanta

trádála AE agus ar reachtaíocht eile cosanta trádála de chuid an AE, lena n-áirítear


—— 88

Rialachán Forfheidhmiúcháin arna chomhaontú i nDeireadh Fómhair 2020 agus ar an

gcaibidil leanúnach ar thabhairt chun cinn na hIonstraime Soláthair Idirnáisiúnta a nglactar

léi mar bhunsprioc reachtaíochta don AE in 2021.

I ndiaidh thabhairt chun críche idirbheartaíochtaí Chomhaontú Chomhlachas AE-Mercosur i

Meitheamh 2019, chuir an Roinn tairiscint amach i mí na Nollag 2019 ar Mheasúnacht

Tionchair Eacnamaíochta agus inbhuanaitheachta ar mhargadh trádála AE-Mercosur i

gcomhar leis an Roinn Trádála, Bia agus Mara. Tá an Mheasúnacht Tionchair le cur i gcrích

go luath in 2021.

C O MH O I BRI Ú NÍ O S D L ÚI THE L E NÁR n GNÍ OMHA I REA C HTA Í C H UN

SP R I O C A NNA T R ÁDÁ LA A GUS I NF H E I STÍ OC HTA A GH NÓ T HÚ

Mar gheall ar fhás an chosantais i margaí idirnáisiúnta trádála, lagú an ollstruchtúir

iltaobhaigh trádála, díospóidí móra domhanda trádála, cinneadh RA tarraingt siar ón AE faoi

31 Nollaig 2020 agus na dúshláin a tháinig le COVID-19, leanadh den ghá a bhí le forbairt

ionchuir chuí ón Roinn ó thús deireadh 2020. Ba é toradh comhordú éifeachtach idir an

Roinn agus a Ghníomhaireachtaí, forbairt f reagairtí beartais straitéiseach i réimsí forbairt

f iontraíochta, nuálaíochta, beartas trádála agus idirbheartaíochtaí agus, san am céanna, ag

iarraidh leibhéil reatha infheistíocht isteach agus feidhmíocht láidir easpórtála a choinneáil.

Is cuidiú é don Rialtas Misin Trádála agus Infheistíochta faoi stiúir Airí i mórfheachtas an

Rialtais i dtreo éagsúlú margaidh. Le blianta beaga anuas, díríodh sna Misin seo ar chur

chun cinn inniúlachtaí nuálacha agus ar thairiscintí iomaíocha comhlachtaí Éireannacha do

cheannaitheoirí idirnáisiúnta in earnálacha amhail seirbhísí a thrádáiltear go hidirnáisiúnta,

teicneolaíocht airgeadais, foirgníocht ardteicneolaíochta, innealtóireacht, TFC agus

eolaíochtaí beatha. Níl sna Misin Trádála ach cuid amháin de chlár cuimsitheach

d'imeachtaí idirnáisiúnta trádála a sheachadann gníomhaireachtaí f iontraíochta na Roinne, a

thugann deis do chomhlachtaí Éireannacha bualadh le ceannaitheoirí féideartha agus líonrú

le lucht tionchair i dtíortha ar fud an domhain.

Bhí clár d'imeachtaí poiblíochta beartaithe chun a dtionól in 2020, a ceapadh chun na buntáistí a bhaineann le comhaontuithe den chineál seo d'easpórtálaithe na hÉireann a

leagan amach. Mar gheall, áfach, ar shrianta ar chruinnithe in airéiní faoi dhíon, cuireadh

bac ar ghnóthú éifeachtach an chuspóra seo. Ó d'éirigh sé soiléir nárbh fhéidir na cruinnithe

páirtithe leasmhara a bhíothas a bheartú a thionól mar gheall ar rioscaí sláinte COVID -19,

bhain an Roinn feidhm as deiseanna gréasáin agus ardáin eile meáin shóisialta chun

feasacht a ardú ar an ábhar atá forbartha ag an Roinn, ag a gníomhaireachtaí agus ag

Coimisiún na hEorpa chun na buntáistí atá le comhaontuithe trádála AE d'easpórtálaithe na

hÉireann, lena n-áirítear tuairisc na Roinne ar an ról atá aici f éin agus a gníomhaireachtaí i

gcuspóirí trádála agus infheistíochta a chur chun cinn in 2019. Leanadh de chur chun cinn ár

gcomhlachtaí thar lear trí obair ár nGníomhaireachtaí Stáit agus, go háirithe, a n-oif igí atá

lonnaithe ar an talamh ar bhonn idirnáisiúnta.

Sa cheathrú dheiridh de 2020, chuaigh an Roinn i bpáirt lena gníomhaireachtaí chun a

fhiosrú an bhféadfaí Clár Misean Trádála faoi stiúir Airí a fhorbairt chun a sheachadadh in

2021, de bharr mhéadú seasmhach i gcásanna COVID-19 a bhraitear ar fud na cruinne. I


—— 89

gClár Misean Trádála 2021, beidh meascán de mhisin trádála, idir fhíorúil agus le daoine

ach beidh a bhfeidhmiú ag brath ar an gcomhairle is déanaí sláinte phoiblí maidir le taisteal.

Chomh maith leis na hiarrachtaí domhanda le cúnamh ár nGníomhaireachtaí, ag croí an

ratha a bhí orainn i bhfás easpórtálacha le blianta beaga anuas bhí ár dtiomantas do liobrálú

trádála d'fhonn margaí nua a oscailt dár n-earnálacha dúchais. Mar a sonraíodh cheana,

d'éirigh leis an AE roinnt comhaontuithe tábhachtacha trádála a thabhairt chun críche le

comhpháirtithe trádála agus tá obair idir lámha in idirbheartaíocht nó uasghrádú a

chomhaontuithe le go leor eile.

ST R A I T ÉI S MH A RGA DH A O NA I R D I GI TE AC H A E

Seoladh straitéis nua AE mheántéarmach dhigiteach dar teideal Todhchaí Dhigiteach na

hEorpa a Mhúnlú ar 19 Feabhra 2020. Go ceann cúig bliana, beidh an Coimisiún ag díriú ar

thrí bhunchuspóir chun a chinntiú go gcabhróidh réitigh dhigiteacha leis an Eoraip dul a

bealach féin i dtreo claochlú digiteach atá le leas an phobail trí mheas a léiriú ar luachanna

Eorpacha. Is iad na cuspóirí seo: Teicneolaíocht a oibríonn do na daoine; geilleagar

digiteach atá cothrom agus iomaíoch; agus sochaí oscailte, dhaonlathach agus

inbhuanaithe. I Meán Fómhair 2020, mhol Uachtarán an Choimisiúin croíthionscnamh do

2021 - Cumarsáid 10 mBliana Dhigiteach na hEorpa: Spriocanna Digiteacha 2030. Moltar

leis seo plean comónta don Eoraip dhigiteach ina mbeadh spriocanna a shainmhíneofaí go

soiléir i dtreo 2030 agus fócas ar shonraí, intleacht shaorga, ardáin dhigiteacha agus

nascacht.

I ndiaidh cruinniú de thíortha D9+ i Vársá i mí na Nollag 2019, d'ullmhaigh an D9+ páipéar

leathoif igiúil do Choimisiún na hEorpa i mí na Bealtaine 2020 ar Phacáiste an Achta um

Sheirbhísí Digiteacha. Is grúpa leibhéal Aireachta é an D9+ de thíortha atá ar aon intinn,

Éire san áireamh, bunaithe ar a n-ionad ar an Innéacs Geilleagar agus Sochaí Dhigiteach a

thagann i gceann a chéile chun ceisteanna Margadh Aonair Digiteach a phlé. Ar an ngrúpa

tá na naoi dtír Eorpacha is airde aicmiú ar Innéacs Bliantúil Innéacs Geilleagar agus Sochaí

Dhigiteach Choimisiún na hEorpa le cois roinnt bheag tíortha eile a bhfuil na huaillmhianta

céanna acu ó thaobh Margadh Aonair Digiteach de. Bhí cruinniú f íorúil ag an D9+ i

Meitheamh 2020 agus an fócas ar Pháipéar Bán AE ar an intleacht shaorga, I nDeireadh

Fómhair 2020, thug an D9+ páipéar leathoif igiúil do Choimisiún na hEorpa ar Intleacht

Shaorga nuálach, iontaofa.

S A O TH A RLA NN N Á IS IÚN TA MÉA DREO LA ÍO CH TA Tá Saotharlann Náisiúnta Méadreolaíochta (NML) an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na

hÉireann ina páirtí de chuid Chlár Méadreolaíochta na hEorpa um Nuálaíochta agus

Taighde (EMPIR) a chomhordaíonn tionscadail taighde chun dul i ngleic le dúshláin

mhórscála sa tsláinte, fuinneamh, comhshaol agus tionsclaíocht le cois acmhainn taighde a

chothú ar fud bhallstáit an AE. Ghlac NML páirt i dtrí thionscadal EMPIR in 2020. Tá

comhthionscadal taighde VersICaL, atá á chomhordú ag an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin

Náisiúnta na hÉireann sa bhliain deiridh anois.

Ba chomhúdar é an tÚdarás um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann ar chur i láthair ar dhá

chomhdháil idirnáisiúnta agus ar pháipéar a foilsíodh in Idirbhearta na hInstitiúide Innealtóirí

Leictreacha agus Leictreonacha ar Ionstraimíocht agus Tomhas. De thoradh an tionscadail,

tógadh droichead digiteach coiscis ag NML agus táthar á bhailíochtú faoi láthair. San am atá


—— 90

le teacht, ba chóir go gcuirf í ar chumas NML scála tagartha a fhíorú gan a bheith ag brath ar

chalabrúcháin fhorleathana sheachtracha.

Le linn 2020, feabhsaíodh calabrú Ama agus Minicíochta NML a thuilleadh óir glacadh lena

chaighdeán príomhúil minicíocht caeisiam i Rannóg Ama an Bhiúró Idirnáisiúnta Meáchan

agus Tomhas (BIPM) mar chlog adamhach atá anois ag cur le ríomh Am Idirnáisiúnta

Adamhach agus Am Uilíoch Comhordaithe (UTC) trí Chiorclán T 394.

Coinníonn an NML anois Amscála Náisiúnta a aithnítear go hidirnáisiúnta (UTC (an tÚdarás

um Chaighdeáin Náisiúnta na hÉireann)) agus atá inrianaithe chuig Am Uilíoch

Comhordaithe (UTC) agus f iosróidh an t-amscála seo a scaipeadh ar eintitis ar spéis leo é le

linn 2021. Foráiltear sa Chaighdeán Príomhúil seo i gcomhair inrianaitheacht dhíreach chuig

sainmhíniú I.R. ar shoicind.


—— 91

Sprioc 7: I NF H E I ST Í OC HT A D H É A NA MH I NÁ R BH F OI RE ANN A GUS

T A C A Í O C H T A T H A BH AI RT D Ó I BH L E NA N -A C MH AI NNEA CH T A O NA I R

A GUS C H O MH C HO I TEA NN A F H E A BHSÚ; A R DC HA I GHDE ÁI N R I A LTA S

C H O R P A RÁI DE A CH A C H I NNT IÚ; A GUS Á R N -A C MH A INNÍ GO L É I R A

BH A R R FH EA BHSÚ L E NÁ R ST RA I TÉI S , MI SE A N A GU S SP R I O CA NNA A

SH O L Á T HA R

I measc na bhfeidhmeanna Corparáideacha a chuimsítear faoin gcuspóir seo tá na réimsí

idir-rannacha seo a leanas: Rialachas, Acmhainní Daonna, TF, Airgeadas, Cumarsáid,

Bainistíocht Saoráidí (lena n-áirítear Sláinte & Sábháilteacht) agus Iniúchadh Inmheánach.

FREA G A IRT IN MH EÁ N A C H A R C O VID - 1 9

Bhí ról ceannasach ag na feidhmeanna Corparáideacha maidir le tacú leis an Roinn agus

lena hOif igí leanúint orthu de bheith ag feidhmiú agus seirbhísí feabhsaithe a sholáthar le

linn na paindéime. I measc na mbuaicphointí tá na nithe seo a leanas:

▪ Feistíodh gach ball foirne chun oibriú ón mbaile laistigh de laethanta ó threoir an

Rialtais agus rinneadh córais TFC a fheabhsú agus a uasghrádú, lena n-áirítear f ís-

chomhdháil, lena chinntiú go leanfaí de na seirbhísí go léir a sholáthar;

▪ Rinneadh ár bhfoirgnimh sábháilte de réir na treorach sláinte poiblí le

comharthaíocht, TCP agus prótacail maidir le scaradh sóisialta agus sábháilteacht

na foirne a raibh sé riachtanach dóibh obair a dhéanamh ar an láthair a chinntiú;

▪ Cuireadh córais i bhfeidhm chun baill foirne a athlonnú go tapa chuig réimsí a raibh

géarghá leo chun f reagairt do riachtanais na f iontraíochta - léirigh an fhoireann

solúbthacht mhór agus iad ag glacadh le róil nua agus á gcruthú;

▪ Mhéadaigh Vóta ár Roinne faoi dhó le linn 2020, rud a léiríonn an t -ardú

easpónantúil i scéimeanna atá ann cheana agus scéimeanna nua chun f reastal ar

riachtanais ghnó;

▪ Bogadh ár gcur chuige cumarsáid inmheánach agus seachtrach ar líne le méadú

mór ar ár láithreacht ar na meáin shóisialta agus ar ár gcórais chumarsáide

inmheánacha - fuarthas bealaí nuálacha chun plé le baill foirne ar gach leibhéal agus

leibhéil arda nascachta a chinntiú;

▪ Cuireadh Ionad Faisnéise Fiontraíochta nua ar bun mar acmhainn thiomnaithe le

haghaidh faisnéise ar an raon leathan tacaíochtaí atá ar fáil do ghnó a dhéileálann le

COVID-19 i dtús báire, ach a leathnaíodh ansin chun faisnéis faoin mBreatimeacht a

áireamh - d’fhreagair an tIonad os cionn 11,200 glao agus ríomhphost in 2020.

▪ I ndiaidh suirbhé a dhéanamh ar an bhfoireann, bunaíodh Grúpa Oibre inmheánach

COVID-19 ina raibh 40+ ball foirne as gach grád agus as gach réimse sa Roinn chun

cabhrú le bonn eolais a chur faoi na céimeanna a glacadh chun tacú le baill foirne

atá ag obair ón mbaile agus an obair chumaisc atá á pleanáil don todhchaí;

▪ Bogadh comórtais i gcomhair ardú céime agus foghlaim agus forbairt don fhoireann

ar líne - bhain sé seo le hathdhréachtú próiseas agus nósanna imeachta agus le


—— 92

modhanna oibre nua lena n-áirítear baill foirne nua a thabhairt ar bord agus tacú le

soghluaisteacht foirne;

▪ Sheolamar ár gcéad Chreat Folláine an 1 Bealtaine 2020 a chuimsigh sraith

tionscnamh nua chun tacú le folláine choirp, mheabhrach agus shóisialta na foirne

uile.

TEIC N EO LA ÍO C H T A ÚS Á ID C H UN ÉIFEA C H TA C H T A LO RG A G US

C H UN S EIRB H ÍS DO C H US TA IMÉIR Í A FH EA B H S Ú Chuaigh COVID-19 i bhfeidhm go mór ar sheirbhís inmheánach TFC na Roinne. Mar

fhreagairt ar an gcéad dianghlasáil, b’éigean don Roinn aistriú faoi ghearrfhógra ó mhún la

oibríochta oif ig-bhunaithe den chuid is mó go dtí cianobair iomlán do gach ball foirne ach

mionlach a bhí ag teastáil ar an láithreán. Áiríodh leis seo imlonnú rathúil níos mó ná 800

ball foirne, ag úsáid meascán de ríomhairí glúine agus deasc, chun cianobair a dhéanamh.

Ar a bharr sin, méadaíodh seirbhísí f ís-chomhdhála go mór chun comhoibriú leanúnach idir

baill foirne a éascú, go háirithe i bhf ianaise méaduithe suntasacha ar go leor ualaí oibre mar

fhreagairt don ghéarchéim.

Rinneadh roinnt feabhsuithe ar líonraí na Roinne i rith na bliana chun coinneáil suas leis an

trácht líonra méadaithe a d’eascair as cianobair. Mar gheall ar an aistriú chuig cianobair,

agus an gá leanúint orainn le seachadadh seirbhíse do chustaiméirí na Roinne a bhí ag

úsáid múnlaí seachadta cianda, cuireadh feabhsúcháin phróisis i bhfeidhm go tapa i roinnt

réimsí gnó. Ina measc sin bhí próiseáil agus eisiúint ceadanna fostaíochta, próiseáil

ceadúnais easpórtála agus próisis sa Chúirt Oibreachais.

In ainneoin an ghá a bhí le f reagairt go tapa ar an ngéarchéim, rinneadh roinnt tionscnaimh

eile a sheachadadh i rith na bliana:

▪ tugadh straitéis nua TFC chun críche agus comhaontaíodh í don Roinn, a leagann

amach ár n-uaillmhianta maidir le seachadadh seirbhíse agus athraithe TFC go 2025;

▪ tugadh tacaíocht don Oif ig um Chlárú Cuideachtaí chun athnuachan an-suntasach a

dhéanamh ar a córais cúloif ige agus phoiblí dá custaiméirí;

▪ in Oif ig Maoine Intleachtacha na hÉireann, rinneadh comhdhlúthú a sheachadadh ar a

gcórais phoiblí, rud a fheabhsóidh roghanna i gcomhair tacaíochta;

▪ cuireadh tacaíocht ar fáil don Choimisiún um Chaidreamh san Ionad Oibre le múnla nua

a sholáthar le cabhrú le seirbhísí idirghabhála;

▪ lean an Roinn uirthi lena clár chun seirbhísí a aistriú chuig an ardán seirbhísí

comhroinnte ‘Tógáil le Roinnt’, lena n-áirítear córais le haghaidh bainistíocht riosca agus

tacaíocht inmheánach deasc chabhrach;

▪ i bhf ianaise na rioscaí breise a bhaineann leis an aistriú chuig cianobair, leagadh fócas

leanúnach ar oideachas agus feasacht chibearshlándála, lena n-áirítear feachtas

feasachta ar fhioscaireacht a rolladh amach; agus ar deireadh

▪ leanadh d'fhócas láidir a chur ar sheirbhísí atá láidir, slán agus oiriúnach a sholáthar do

chustaiméirí inmheánacha agus seachtracha.


—— 93

Á R S O C RUITH E C Ó IRÍO C H TA A O IR IÚN Ú MA R FH REA G A IRT DO

C O VID- 1 9 Mar fhreagairt do COVID-19, b’éigean don Roinn agus a hOif igí roinnt beart a bhaineann le

cóiríocht a chur i bhfeidhm go tapa inár láithreacha chun iad a chosaint ar COVID -19 agus le

sláinte agus sábháilteacht ár bhfoirne agus aon chuairteoirí a bhí ar an láthair ag tabhairt

faoi aon ghnó riachtanach a chosaint. Tá an Roinn agus a hOif igí lonnaithe ar fud 11

fhoirgneamh éagsúla ar fud na tíre. De ghnáth, roinnimid suíomhanna le comhlachtaí poiblí

eile agus/nó le cuideachtaí na hearnála príobháidí agus mar sin bhí f reagairt shaincheaptha

ag teastáil ó gach suíomh chun an riosca COVID-19 a laghdú do gach foirgneamh ar leith. I

measc na mbeart a bhí ann mar fhreagairt bhí na nithe seo a leanas: coigeartuithe f isiciúla

ar oif igí agus ar limistéir pobail chun riachtanais um scaradh sóisialta a éascú;

comharthaíocht a bhaineann le COVID-19; soláthar TCP áirithe; agus prótacail nua maidir le

láithreacht ar an suíomh de réir riachtanais sláinte phoiblí.

FÓ C A S A R FH O LLÁ IN E B A ILL FO IRN E LE L IN N C O VID - 1 9 Ón tús thuig an Bord Bainistíochta go maith an gá le tacaíocht a thabhairt d’fhoireann na

Roinne plé leis na dúshláin ghairmiúla agus phearsanta a bhaineann leis an bpaindéim.

Rinneamar é sin trí fhreagracht fheidhmiúil as Fo lláine a leithdháileadh ar Aonad sa Roinn

agus d’fhorbraíomar agus sheolamar ár gcéad Chreat Folláine an 1 Bealtaine 2020 le bheith

ann ag an am céanna leis an Lá Náisiúnta Folláine san Áit Oibre. Cuimsíonn an Creat na

ceithre chroíréimsí seo a leanas: Aclaíocht Fhisiciúil, Aclaíocht Mheabhrach, Cothú agus

Folláine Shóisialta, agus forbraíodh é i gcomhairle le baill foirne a chuaigh go deonach le

bheith mar chuid dár nGrúpa Oibre Folláine. I measc na dtionscnamh a seachadadh tá:

Acmhainní folláine ar ár nInlíon agus Nuachtlitir Folláine mhíosúil, seimineáir ghréasáin ag

am lóin le Seirbhís Chúnaimh d’Fhostaithe sa Státseirbhís agus le saineolaithe ar ábhair

sláinte éagsúla, club leabhar, ranganna ióga/pilates ar líne.

Chun tacú go hiomlán leis an bhfoireann agus chun a chinntiú go raibh faisnéis cothrom le

dáta acu ar gach forbairt chorparáideach a bhaineann le COVID-19, chuireamar rannán ar

bun tiomnaithe ar inlíon na Roinne (Bob). Ar a bharr sin, d’eisigh an tArd -Rúnaí r-phost don

fhoireann uile gach lá ó lár mhí an Mhárta go dtí deireadh mhí an Mheithimh. Ó mhí Iúil,

d’aistrigh sé go nuashonrú seachtainiúil agus lean sé ar aghaidh ó shin mar tá an-tóir ag an

bhfoireann air, chun iad a nascadh agus iad a choinneáil suas chun dáta leis an méid atá á

dhéanamh ag an Roinn chun tacú le f iontar trí bheartas agus chláir, agus lena bhfuil ag tarlú

ag leibhéal corparáideach.

A C MH A IN N Í DA O N N A A G US FREA G A IRT DO C O VID - 1 9 In ainneoin an mhéadaithe shuntasaigh ar fheidhmeanna na Roinne, agus go leor

scéimeanna nua agus dúbailt an Bhuiséid, bhain an Roinn é seo go léir amach le méadú

measartha ar an bhfoireann. Ba iad na huimhreacha a bhí ag feidhmiú sa Roinn ná 927

(879.87 FTE) ag deireadh 2019 agus 940 (895.51 FTE) ag deireadh 2020. Nuair a tharla

athrú sa Rialtas in 2020, bhí athruithe i struchtúr na Roinne agus ina sainordú le haistriú cuid

dá feidhmeanna taighde chuig an Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde,

Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta nuabhunaithe agus aistriú a gníomhaíochtaí gnóthaí

fostaíochta a bhaineann le gníomhaíochtaí ón Roinn Gnóthaí Fostaíochta agus feidhmeanna

trádála ón Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha.


—— 94

Chuaigh paindéim COVID-19 i bhfeidhm go mór ar fheidhmeanna Acmhainní Daonna (AD)

in 2020: rinneadh an t-aistriú mórdhíola chuig cianobair agus na riachtanais acmhainní a

tháinig chun cinn mar fhreagairt don ghéarchéim mar phríomhfhócas AD i rith na bliana agus

bhí gá le tús áite a thabhairt athuair do réimsí áirithe oibre.

Chruthaigh forbairt na cianoibre mar

phríomh-mhodh oibre i rith 2020

deiseanna don Roinn teicneolaíocht

a úsáid chun tuilleadh cuíchóirithe

agus 'bogadh ar líne' a dhéanamh

nuair is féidir.

Chuir suirbhé foirne a rinneadh i mí

an Mheithimh sonraí cothrom le dáta

ar riachtanais na foirne ar fáil agus

d’éascaigh sé bearta f reagracha a

dhéanamh.

Rinne Acmhainní Daonna iarrachtaí

breise dul i dteagmháil le cohóirt

foirne áirithe lena chinntiú go raibh a

gcuid riachtanas á gcomhlíonadh i

bhf ianaise na ndúshlán a bhaineann

le cianobair agus an phaindéim.

Áiríodh leo sin cruinnithe breise rialta leis na Ceardchumainn tríd an gComhairle Roinne,

agus teagmháil duine le duine le hiontrálaithe nua sa Roinn.

MEITH EA L C O VID- 1 9 Mar thoradh ar an suirbhé foirne a rinneadh i mí an Mheithimh forbraíodh plean

gníomhaíochta agus bunaíodh Meitheal COVID-19 chun maoirseacht a dhéanamh ar dhul

chun cinn, faoi stiúir AD agus na nAonad Bainistíochta Saoráidí (lena n-áirítear Sláinte &

Sábháilteacht), le níos mó ná 40 comhghleacaí ó gach cuid den Roinn rannpháirteach ó

gach Rannán agus ó gach ceann de na hOif igí. Aithníodh 14 ghníomh ardleibhéil a raibh

beagnach 50 tionscnamh / gníomhaíocht mar bhonn fúthu.

Cuimsíonn siad sin cúig réimse théamacha de Threalamh & Eirgeanamaíocht, Foireann a

Bhainistiú go cianda, Sláinte & Folláine, Cumarsáid le haghaidh Foirne agus Cianobair anois

agus i ngnáthuaireanta.

EA RC A ÍO C H T, P O IS T A G US P LEA N Á IL DO N LUC H T S A O TH A IR I bhf ianaise srianta COVID-19, d’fhorbair AD modheolaíochtaí nua chun píblínte acmhainní a

sheachadadh go leanúnach. Bhog feachtais cur chun cinn inmheánacha agus comórtais eile

ar líne. Bhí 16 chomórtas inmheánach ann le linn 2020, a chuimsigh 218 iarratas; Rinneadh

bainistíocht fhíorúil ar 15 de na comórtais sin.

Lean AD orthu ag dul i gcomhairle leis an tSeirbhís um Cheapacháin Phoiblí (CPS) chun

gráid ghinearálta a earcú ó fheachtais earcaíochta oscailte agus idir-rannacha. Rinne an

CPS bainistíocht f reisin ar 10 bhfeachtas eile thar ceann na Roinne chun earcú do phoist s a


—— 95

Choimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre agus in Oif ig an Stiúrthóra um Fhorfheidhmiú

Corparáideach, agus chun sainscileanna dlí a fháil don Roinn.

Mar chuid de phleanáil chomharbais na Roinne agus leis an gcumas scileanna ar leith a

earcú go tráthúil, rinne an Roinn iarratas ar cheadúnas earcaíochta agus fuair sí é ón

gCoimisiún um CPS.

Trí úsáid a bhaint as pleanáil don lucht saothair agus rannpháirtíocht leis an mbainistíocht

shinsearach, chinntíomar go leanfaí de lucht saothair atá ‘oiriúnach don fheidhm’ a thógáil,

ag uasmhéadú tacar scileanna agus ag ceangal duine-le-post ar an mbealach is fearr chun

cuspóirí na Roinne a bhaint amach. Ceadaíodh 40 ball foirne breise chun aonaid bheartais a

neartú ar fud na Roinne agus ceadaíodh 10 ball foirne breise don Choimisiún um

Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre. Faomhadh na poist bhreise chun tiomantais nua a leagadh

amach sa Chlár Rialtais a sholáthar agus chun cabhrú le f reagra na Roinne ar COVID -19.

Chabhraigh poist a líonadh le tionscnaimh amhail dearadh, forbairt agus feidhmiú

céimneach scéimeanna ríthábhachtacha le cabhrú le gnóthaí in Éirinn a ndeachaigh an

ghéarchéim sláinte agus Ionad Faisnéise Fiontraíochta nua i bhfeidhm orthu.

Bhí athrú foirne nádúrtha, acmhainní breise agus deiseanna cur chun cinn mar chúis le

‘hathnuachan’ shuntasach foirne i rith na bliana:

• 95 iontrálaí nua;

• 92 imeacht, lena n-áirítear 32 scor;

• 78 aistriú inmheánach; agus

• 36 ardú céime.

Ag teacht le hAthnuachan na Státseirbhíse, tá an Roinn i ndiaidh dul i dteagmháil go láidir le

Scéimeanna Soghluaisteachta Leathan na Státseirbhíse do gach leibhéal grád

rannpháirteach ó bunaíodh í.

Lean an Roinn uirthi f reisin ag cinntiú tacaíocht leordhóthanach d’fhoireann ina naoi

nGníomhaireacht agus sna Boird Stáit atá faoina coimirce. Próiseáladh 186 iarratas chun

déileáil le líonadh folúntais agus poist nua a bhunú do Ghníomhaireachtaí, agus ba é an t -

ualach mór oibre mar gheall ar an ngá le méadaithe acmhainní mar thoradh ar an

mBreatimeacht a ba chúis leis, i bpáirt.

FO G H LA IM A G US FO RB A IRT Ag teacht leis an atosaíocht straitéiseach a d’eascair as an bpaindéim, rinneadh formhór na

foirne san Aonad Foghlama agus Forbartha a athlonnú le cabhrú le f reagra na Roinne ar

COVID-19 agus d’fhan siad ag gabháil do na gníomhaíochtaí seo ar feadh cuid mhaith den

bhliain.

Mar sin féin, cuireadh punann de dheiseanna oiliúna agus acmhainní foghlama ar fáil ar líne

do bhaill foirne ar fud na Roinne. I rith na bliana, d’fhreastail os cionn 300 ball foirne ar

réimse seisiún a bhain le sainchúram na Roinne lena n-áirítear beartas iomaíochais, próisis

chaighdeánaithe náisiúnta, an Coimisiún Eorpach nua agus an próiseas reachtach.

Tríd an Scéim Réamhíocaíochta Táillí, mhaoinigh an Roinn clárú 21 ball foirne i gcúrsaí

acadúla in 2020 agus lean sí de thacaíocht a thabhairt do 28 ball foirne a lean lena gcuid


—— 96

staidéir ar cháilíochtaí ón Dioplóma go leibhéal Dochtúireachta i ndisciplíní atá ailínithe le

tosaíochtaí straitéiseacha na Roinne amhail Eacnamaíocht, Eolaíocht in Anailís Bheartais,

Dlí Fostaíochta agus Riarachán Gnó.

Cuireadh tairiscintí oiliúint meantóireachta agus feidhmiúcháin in oiriúint chun soláthar ar

líne a éascú agus leanadh orthu ag feidhmiú mar uirlisí suntasacha chun cabhrú le fás agus

forbairt foirne. Ghlac thart ar 70 ball foirne páirt faoi mheantóireacht nó mar mheantóirí sa

chlár meantóra. Dírithe ar an mbainistíocht shinsearach, rinne 16 bhall foirne ar leibhéal an

Phríomhoif igigh Cúnta agus an Phríomhoif igigh rochtain ar chúrsa de sheisiúin duine le

duine oiriúnaithe le teagascóirí feidhmiúcháin seachtracha atá deimhnithe go gairmiúil.

Tugadh cabhair bhreise d’fhorbairt ceannaireachta trí rannpháirtíocht na foirne sa chlár

Ceannaireachta Feidhmiúcháin Príomhoif igeach agus sa Chlár Dul i gCeannas - Mná sa

Cheannaireacht. Chuir an Fóram Bainistíocht Shinsearach, a seachadadh i mí Eanáir 2020,

fócas straitéiseach ar dhúshláin agus ar dheiseanna gníomhaíochta aeráide ar fáil.

Le linn na bliana, mhéadaigh OneLearning, Seirbhís Foghlama agus Forbartha na

Státseirbhíse, a sheirbhís ar líne, ag soláthar beagnach 30 cineál cúrsa éagsúil trí

sheomraí ranga f íorúla. In 2020, chríochnaigh baill foirne

na Roinne beagnach 350 cúrsa OneLearning, 311 díobh

go f íorúil, i réimsí lena n-áirítear bainistíocht daoine,

scileanna cumarsáide agus cur i láthair agus seirbhísí do

chustaiméirí. Chomh maith leis sin, dhearamar clár

taighde gníomhaíochta ar a dtugtar 'Foirne Nasctha',

agus muid ag súil go mbeidh obair chumaisc sa bhaile,

sa mhol nó san ionad oibre mar chuid den saol amach

anseo, tá sé mar chuspóir ag an tionscnamh modhanna

cianoibre agus cumaiscthe de na cleachtais is fearr a

shainaithint agus a chur chun cinn agus cuirfear i

bhfeidhm iad go céimneach sa chéad leath de 2021.

A IRG EA DA S

Freagairt na Roinne don BHREATIMEACHT agus COVID-19 a Mhaoiniú Chuir Imleabhar na Meastachán Athbhreithnithe a d’fhoilsigh an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí

agus Athchóirithe i mí na Nollag 2019 leithdháileadh comhlán de €970.9m ar fáil don Roinn

le húsáid in 2020. Mhéadaigh an f íor-Mheastachán a d’fhaomh an Dáil i mí an Mheithimh

2020 leithdháileadh na Roinne go €1.453bn. Méadaíodh é sin ina dhiaidh sin go €1.907bn

sa Mheastachán Athbhreithnithe Breise a d’fhaomh an Dáil i mí na Samhna 2020. Bhí an

dúbailt nach mór seo ar mhaoiniú Vóta na Roinne ríthábhachtach chun a chur ar chumas na

Roinne, ár nOif igí agus ár nGníomhaireachtaí, tionscnaimh riachtanacha thráthúla a

fheidhmiú go céimneach chun cabhrú le gnóthaí agus le tomhaltóirí agus iad ag iarraidh a

mbealach a dhéanamh trí dhúshláin an-suntasach COVID-19 agus an Bhreatimeachta.

Chuige seo, bhí gá le hanailís mhionsonraithe agus soláthar scéimeanna iomchuí chun

cabhrú le gnó ag gach céim den phaindéim.

I measc na bpríomhscéimeanna a sheol an Roinn in 2020 bhí an Deontas Atosaigh, an Ciste

Fiontar Cothaitheach, an Scéim Táirgí COVID-19, an Scéim Ullamh le hAghaidh Custaim,

agus an Scéim Leanúnachas Gnó. Freisin, chuir an maoiniú méadaithe ar chumas na


—— 97

Roinne a sraith rochtana ar bhearta airgeadais a leathnú trí na háiseanna atá ar fáil faoin

Scéim Iasachta Fáis Amach Anseo, an Scéim Caipitil Oibre, an Scéim Iasachta Micrea-

airgeadas Éireann a leathnú chomh maith leis an Scéim Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa COVID -

19 scoite a thabhairt isteach.

Chomh maith leis na tionscnaimh nua a cuireadh i bhfeidhm in 2020, bhí an Roinn in ann an

maoiniú a mhéadú do chomhlachtaí mar na hOif igí Fiontair Áitiúla, Intertrade Ireland chomh

maith leis an maoiniú do Scéimeanna atá ann cheana a mhéadú mar an Scéim Miondíola Ar

Líne agus an Scéim Dearbhán Trádála Ar Líne.

D'éiligh paindéim COVID-19 f reisin ar an Roinn a nósanna imeachta a oiriúnú don

timpeallacht chianoibre lena chinntiú go leanfadh sí uirthi ag comhlíonadh go rathúil a c uid

oibleagáidí i leith a soláthraithe agus a fostaithe.

C UMA RS Á ID Nuair a cuireadh srianta COVID-19 i bhfeidhm go luath in 2020, níorbh fhéidir beartais na Roinne a chur chun cinn a thuilleadh trí imeachtaí geallsealbhóirí agus preasráitis. Cuireadh béim níos mó mar sin ar bhealaí digiteacha a úsáid chun obair ár nAirí, agus forbairt agus

cur i bhfeidhm beartas agus clár a chur in iúl. I measc na bhfeachtas a reáchtáladh ar ár n-ardáin dhigiteacha bhí cabhrú le gnó trí

thionchair COVID-19 agus Breatimeacht, lena n-áirítear: feachtas COVID-19 Tacaíochtaí do

Ghnólachtaí; an Prótacal Náisiúnta um Fhilleadh ar an Obair go Sábháilte; an Scéim

Ráthaíochta Creidmheasa; an Scéim Miondíola Ar Líne; Feachtas maidir le Siopadóireacht

go Sábháilte; agus tacaíochtaí Breatimeachta do Ghnólachtaí.

Mar thoradh ar an athrú béime seo tharla rannpháirtíocht níos mó dá réir ar ár gcainéil

dhigiteacha, go háirithe ar LinkedIn, a mhéadaigh beagnach ceithre huaire ó bhonn díreach

faoi bhun 10,000 leantóir, go beagnach 50,000 leantóir faoi lár 2021. Fágadh imprisin os

cionn 1.6m postálacha ar ár gcuntas LinkedIn i rith na bliana.

Tharla fás f reisin ar lucht leanúna Twitter na Roinne (@DeptEnterprise), cé gur measartha é

ná ár rannpháirtíocht LinkedIn. Mhéadaigh líon na leantóirí níos mó ná an cúigiú cuid go dtí

os cionn 28,000 agus fuair ár gcuid tvuíteanna breis agus 11.9m imprisean. Bhain an

rannpháirtíocht go príomha le tacaíochtaí COVID-19 do ghnó, agus tacaíochtaí

Breatimeachta ina dhiaidh sin, Siopadóireacht Shábháilte agus an Ciste Nuálaíochta um

Theicneolaíochtaí Bunathraitheacha.

Logáil suíomh gréasáin na Roinne os cionn 2.4m seisiún, ó níos mó ná 1.3m úsáideoir in

2020. Ba mhéadú é seo de 36% agus 83%, faoi seach, ar fhigiúirí 2019. Is é an t -ábhar is

mó a bhfuil tóir air ná Ceadanna Fostaíochta, tionscnaimh ghnó COVID-19 agus an Prótacal

um Obair go Sábháilte. Lean rannpháirtíocht níos traidisiúnta sa phreas idir an dá linn, trí

phreasráitis a eisiúint agus trí phlé le ceisteanna iriseoirí ó gach ardán sna meáin.

Go hinmheánach, d’athraigh cianobair go bunúsach an dóigh ar idirghníomhaigh baill foirne

sa Roinn. Ghluais formhór mór na foirne ó chomhghleacaithe agus cairde a fheiceáil go

pearsanta, go glaonna f íse nó teileafóin. In éagmais na hidirghníomhaíochta daonna sin,

d’fhás tábhacht inlíon na Roinne (Bob), mar fhoinse iontaofa faisnéis chorparáideach agus

shóisialta. Fuaireamar amach gur cuireadh ailt bhreise agus ábhar f íse ar ardchaighdeán ar

Bob in ionad na n-ócáidí traidisiúnta sin ina dtagaimid le chéile amhail an Nollaig, ceiliúradh


—— 98

ar scor agus ár seirbhís bhliantúil d’iarchomhaltaí. Bhí sé thar a bheith dearfach go raibh

caidreamh láidir ag an bhfoireann leis na hócáidí sóisialta nua grianghrafadóireachta agus

f ís-bhunaithe seo, agus iad ag roinnt scéalta pearsanta faoi na dúshláin a bhí rompu agus

an mianach a fuair siad agus iad ag plé le deacrachtaí agus ag déanamh a mhór den bhliain

a bhí ann.

A TH RÚ A IN M, A IS TRIÚ FEIDH MEA N N A A G US TA RMLIG EA N C H UIG

A IR Í S TÁ IT Tar éis an athraithe Rialtais, athraíodh ainm na Roinne agus leis sin rinneadh roinnt

athruithe ar fheidhmeanna. Tugadh faoi obair ar fud na Roinne leis an ainm nua a chur i

bhfeidhm le hathruithe lena n-áirítear brandáil, seoladh ríomhphoist, ainm fearainn an tsuímh

ghréasáin, na meáin shóisialta agus cumarsáid inmheánach. Socraíodh Orduithe

Toscaireachta chun foráil a dhéanamh maidir le feidhmeanna gnó, fostaíochta agus

miondíola a tharmligean chuig an Aire English agus feidhmeanna cur chun cinn trádála,

agus rialacháin dhigiteacha agus chomhlachta chuig an Aire Troy. Tugadh faoi obair

shuntasach chun cinntí a chur i bhfeidhm maidir le haistriú feidhmeanna isteach agus amach

as an Roinn. Tugadh faoin obair sin de réir nósanna imeachta atá leagtha amach sna

Treoirlínte um Aistriú Feidhmeanna agus sa Lámhleabhar Dea-Chleachtais agus áiríodh ann

cur síos ar scóip na bhfreagrachtaí atá le haistriú, baill foirne agus acmhainní airgeadais a

shainaithint le haistriú agus socruithe a dhéanamh do na dátaí éifeachtacha agus athruithe

iarmhartacha ar ár Vóta.

Bhí cúig shruth oibre ar leith i gceist, ceithre cinn a bhain le feidhmeanna nua ag teacht

isteach sa Roinn agus ceann amháin a bhain le haistriú na hoibre a bhí ann cheana.

Aistríodh feidhmeanna eolaíochta, lena n-áirítear f reagracht as Fondúireacht Eolaíochta

Éireann agus Institiúid Tyndall, chuig an Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais,

Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta le héifeacht ón 1 Eanáir 2021. I measc na réimsí

oibre a aistríodh isteach sa Roinn le linn 2020 bhí:

• Cur chun cinn trádála ón Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha;

• Cearta fostaíochta, beartas iomarcaíochta agus dócmhainneachta ón Roinn

Coimirce Sóisialaí;

• An Coimisiún um Pá Íseal ón Roinn Cosanta Sóisialta;

• Grúpa Cothromaíochta dó Ghnó Níos Fearr ón Roinn Dlí agus Cirt;

• Dearbháin Trádála ar líne ón Roinn Comhshaoil, Aeráide agus Cumarsáide.

FREA G RA IN MH EÁ N A C H A R DH ÚS H LÁ N N A G N ÍO MH A ÍO C H TA

A ERÁ IDE

Plean Gníomhaíochta um Éifeachtúlacht Acmhainní 2019/20 . Foilsíodh an chéad Phlean Gníomhaíochta um Éifeachtúlacht Acmhainní (REAP) de chuid

na Roinne i lár 2019 agus tá sé ar fáil ar ár láithreán Gréasáin. Leagtar amach ann go leor

gníomhaíochtaí atá á ndéanamh againn go hinmheánach ar fud ár bhfoirgneamh le fócas ar

4 réimse téamacha Fuinneamh, Bainistíocht Dramhaíola, Úsáid Uisce agus Éiceolaíocht /

Saol plandaí, agus tá an dara plean gníomhaíochta le foilsiú go luath in 2021.

Tá an REAP faoi stiúir ag ‘Foireann Ghlas’ inmheánach an-ghníomhach ina bhfuil níos mó

ná 40 ball ar fud na Roinne agus a hOif igí a oibríonn i gcomhar lena chéile chun feasacht a


—— 99

mhúscailt ar shaincheisteanna ‘Glas’, tionscnaimh a chur i bhfeidhm agus feabhsúcháin ar

phróisis agus ar fhoirgnimh a bhainistiú ar fud na 4 réimse téamacha.

Ó foilsíodh an chéad REAP tá 78 gníomh sonrach sainaitheanta ag ‘Foireann Ghlas’ na

Roinne, ag comhlánú 40 díobh, agus 23 gníomh eile ar siúl agus 15 bheart breise beartaithe

le tosú in 2021. Ba é an mórthionscadal a seachadadh go rathúil in 2020 ná uasghrádú

Soilsiú LED a críochnaíodh ar cheanncheathrú na Roinne ag 23 Sráid Chill Dara, Baile Átha

Cliath, mar chuid de chlár an OOP Optimizing Power @ Work.

Feidhmíocht Fuinnimh

Taispeánann Tuarascáil Bhliantúil 2020 Údarás Fuinnimh Inbhuanaithe na hÉireann 2020 ar

fheidhmíocht Éifeachtúlacht Fuinnimh na hEarnála Poiblí gur sholáthair an Roinn 52.9% i

gcoigilteas fuinnimh ón mbliain bhonnlíne (2009), is é sin coigilteas i bhfad níos mó ná an

sprioc thosaigh 33% a leagadh síos do chomhlachtaí poiblí agus atá suite go maith le

soláthar thar sprioc de 50% faoi 2030 a bhaint amach.

Oibleagáidí chun Monatóireacht agus Tuairisciú a dhéanamh ar Sholáthar

Poiblí Glas

Éilíonn Ciorclán 20/2019 na Roinne Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe go gcaithf idh gach

Roinn tuairisciú go bliantúil ar a soláthar poiblí glas (GPP) ag tosú le Tuarascálacha

Bliantúla 2020.

Tá monatóireacht agus meastóireacht ar GPP á meas ag leibhéal an AE agus rinneadh

tagairt dó le déanaí i Socrú Glas an AE. Cuimsítear sa teimpléad in Aguisín 3 na hocht n-

earnáil tosaíochta atá liostaithe i dTreoir Soláthar Glas 2014 na Gníomhaireachta um

Chaomhnú Comhshaoil don Earnáil Phoiblí agus taispeánann sé luach iomlán na gconarthaí

a d’eisigh an Roinn seo in 2020, ar luach os cionn € 25,000 de réir na hearnála tosaíochta, a

ionchorpraíodh in GPP.

A TH N UA C H AN N A S TÁ TS EIRB H ÍS E Thacaigh an Roinn go láidir leis na gníomhaíochtaí a leagadh amach i bPlean Athnuachana

na Státseirbhíse agus bhí ról ceannasach aici ar roinnt tionscadal, lena n-áirítear sannadh

foirne chun tacú leis an gclár oibre seo sa Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe. An

tríú Suirbhé ar Rannpháirtíocht Fostaithe sa Státseirbhís a seoladh in 2020, léiríonn sé deis

d’fhoireann a dtuairim a thabhairt ar an gcaoi ar fhreagair a n-eagraíochtaí féin le torthaí

dúshlánacha suirbhéanna roimhe seo.

Cuireadh Gradaim Bhliantúla Barr Feabhais agus Nuálaíochta na Státseirbhíse ‘ar sos’ in

2020. Ina áit sin, reáchtáladh Imeacht Aitheantais Fíorúil an 26 Samhain le haitheantas a

thabhairt do na tionscnaimh a forbraíodh mar fhreagairt do ghéarchéim COVID-19 i

dtimpeallacht dhúshlánach atá ag athrú go tapa; bhreithnigh an Roinn roinnt tionscadal

f iúntach agus roghnaigh sí an tionscadal don Phlean Teagmhasach chun Leanúint Chóras

Ceadanna Fostaíochta na hÉireann a Chinntiú. Chuir Oif igí na Roinne seirbhís teileafóin

glao-ghlao an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre um Fhaisnéis Oibre agus Seirbhís

do Chustaiméirí, agus Seomra Cúirte Fíorúil na Cúirte Oibreachais isteach. I measc na

dtionscadal nuálach eile bhí an tIonad Faisnéise Fiontar agus Agallaimh Físe cianda.


—— 100

Innovate@ETE Ag deireadh 2020, faoi réir an athraithe ar ainm oif igiúil na Roinne, rinneadh an grúpa

stiúrtha ‘dbeinnovation’ a athbhrandáil mar ‘Innovate@ETE’. In 2020, thug seacht

bhfoghrúpa de bhaill foirne faoi chláir oibre faoi rialachas an ghrúpa stiúrtha Innovate @

ETE. I measc na n-éachtaí lárnacha in 2020 bhí:

1. Coiste na Roinne um Dheich mBliana na gCuimhneachán: Cainteanna ag 23 Sráid

Chill Dara – ‘An Chuntaois, Iad siúd a Gortaíodh agus an Státseirbhís.’

2. Cultúr Nuálaíochta: Seimineár gréasáin ar dheiseanna agus constaicí ar nuálaíocht

3. Bainistíocht Eolais: Treochlár gníomhaíochta

4. Iompraíocht Bhainisteora: Páipéar ar chultúr ‘Oiliúna’ sa Roinn a fhorbairt

5. Gluaiseacht: Ag obair le grúpa COVID-19 ar an doiciméad

‘Prionsabail na Cianoibre’

6. Folláine: Sceideal imeachtaí agus nuachtlitir choicíse le tacú le folláine na foirne

7. Foireann Ghlas: Feachtas feasachta agus eolais; uasghrádú ar fhuinneamh, teas

agus uisce.

LEA S Ú N A hEA RN Á LA P O IB L Í Tá sé mar aidhm ag Gníomh 6 de ‘Ár Seirbhís Phoiblí 2020’ ‘Cultúr Nuálaíochta a Chur

Chun Cinn sa tSeirbhís Phoiblí’. Bhí ról lárnach ag an Roinn i gcur chun cinn an Ghnímh seo

leis an Ard-Rúnaí, an Dr Orlaigh Quinn, agus le POF Fhiontraíocht Éireann, Julie Sinnamon,

ag feidhmiú mar cheannairí ainmnithe. Is í an Rúnaí Cúnta Pauline Mulligan Urraitheoir an

Ghnímh agus tá sí f reagrach as cathaoirleacht a dhéanamh ar fhoireann Ghníomh 6, a

bunaíodh i mí na Bealtaine 2018 agus a chuimsíonn saineolaithe earnála ar fud na Seirbhíse

Poiblí.

Faoi dheireadh 2020 sholáthair an grúpa agus an Oif ig Bainistíochta Tionscadail (PMO) sa

Roinn Caiteachais agus Athchóirithe Poiblí na tionscnaimh seo a leanas.

▪ Staidéar ar aibíocht ár gcóras nuálaíochta ag tabhairt bunlíne dúinn chun dul chun cinn a

thagarmharcáil:

▪ Dréachtú agus glacadh leis an Dearbhú Seirbhíse Poiblí;

▪ Saineolaithe earnálacha a chur ar iasacht chuig an Oif ig Bainistíochta Clár (PMO);

▪ Ciste Nuálaíochta na Seirbhíse Poiblí a Bhunú;

▪ Líonra Nuálaíochta na Seirbhíse Poiblí a Bhunú;

• Gradaim Barr Feabhais agus Nuálaíochta na Státseirbhíse a leathnú amach don

tSeirbhís Phoiblí i gcoitinne do chatagóirí ar leith; agus

• Forbairt agus feidhmiú céimneach réimse seirbhísí nuálaíochta L&D le tógáil ar chumas

agus ar acmhainn na foirne nuálaíocht a leabú ina gcuid oibre ó lá go lá.


—— 101

Tá sé mar aidhm ag an ngrúpa leanúint de thacaíocht a thabhairt do chlár oibre leanúnach

leasaithe na Seirbhíse Poiblí i 2021.

RIA LA C H A S C O RP ARÁ IDEA CH Cuireann an Roinn béim mhór ar rialachas corparáideach atá láidir agus éifeachtach. Faigheann an Bord Bainistíochta tacaíocht ón bhfoireann san Aonad Tacaíochta Rialachais, Faisnéise agus Bainistíochta chun dea-chleachtas agus cloí lenár n-oibleagáidí uile a chinntiú.

Creat Rialachais Leagann Creat Rialachais na Roinne amach an tuiscint atá againn ar rialachas, an fáth a

bhfuil sé tábhachtach, an dóigh a ndéanann an Roinn a cuid oibre agus mar a oibríonn sí

chun a sainordú agus a feidhmeanna a chomhlíonadh. Cinntíonn sé go bhfuil an bealach a

ndéanann an Roinn cinntí agus beartais a chur i bhfeidhm níos trédhearcaí don phobal

agus, chomh tábhachtach céanna, don fhoireann laistigh den Roinn.

Creat Comhlíonta Tá Creat Comhlíonta i bhfeidhm agus soláthraíonn sé léargas ginearálta ar gach

gníomhaíocht dearbhaithe comhlíonta sa Roinn agus sainaithníonn sé cé atá f reagrach as

gach oibleagáid comhlíonta.

Bainistíocht Riosca Cuireadh sraith seisiúin oiliúna maidir le feasacht riosca ar fáil i rith 2019 agus 2020

d’fhoireann ag gráid Príomhoif igigh agus Príomhoifigigh Chúnta agus d’fhreastail dhá thrian

den fhoireann sna gráid sin ar na seisiúin a forbraíodh agus a soláthraíodh go hinmheánach.

I mí an Mhárta 2020, fuarthas tuarascáil deiridh an Iniúchta ar Bhainistíocht Riosca sa Roinn

agus léirigh an Coiste Iniúchta gur thug an tuarascáil dearbhú go rabhthas ag cloí le dea-

chleachtais bhainistíochta riosca agus go raibh na struchtúir bhainistíochta riosca atá i

bhfeidhm sa Roinn go láidir. Fuarthas amach sa tuarascáil go raibh cultúr dearfach ann

maidir le bainistíocht riosca ag leibhéal na bainistíochta sinsearaí sa Roinn.

I mí na Samhna 2020, chomhaontaigh an Bord Bainistíochta Beartas Bainistíochta Riosca

athbhreithnithe don Roinn a chuimsigh moltaí ón iniúchadh inmheánach ar riosca, moltaí ó

bhaill foirne ag na seisiúin feasachta agus oiliúna, agus córas nua scórála riosca chun ailíniú

leis an bhfeidhmchlár eRisk atá á fhorbairt ag an OGCIO agus a bheifear a thabhairt isteach

ar fud na Roinne go luath in 2021.

IN IÚC H A DH IN MH EÁ N A C H Thug an fheidhm Iniúchta Inmheánaigh dearbhú don Ard-Rúnaí agus comhairle maidir le

próisis agus nósanna imeachta inmheánacha airgeadais agus próisis inmheánacha eile le

linn 2020, bunaithe ar chaighdeáin a nglactar leo go hidirnáisiúnta a ghlac an Roinn

Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe don Státseirbhís. Is é ról an Iniúchta Inmheánaigh athbhreithniú a dhéanamh ar éifeachtacht na rialuithe inmheánacha atá i bhfeidhm ar fud na

Roinne agus meastóireacht a dhéanamh ar cé chomh maith agus atá rioscaí á mbainistiú trí

cháilíocht na bpróiseas bainistíochta riosca, córais rialaithe inmheánaigh agus próisis

rialachais chorparáidigh a mheas ar fud na heagraíochta.

Rinne an tAonad Iniúchta Inmheánaigh athbhreithniú ar a phlean oibre bliantúil in 2020, i

gcomhthéacs thionchar COVID-19 ar oibríochtaí agus ar thosaíochtaí gnó na Roinne agus

ghlac sé cur chuige cothrom maidir le gníomhaíocht iniúchta a chur ar aghaidh. I measc na


—— 102

réimsí a ndearnadh athbhreithniú orthu in 2020 bhí athbhreithniú ar an gcreat bainistíochta

riosca, athbhreithniú ar chomhlíonadh RGCS agus riachtanais chosanta sonraí, agus ar

mhaoirseacht ar shampla gníomhaireachtaí faoi choimirce na Roinne. Sa tábla thíos tá liosta

de na tuarascálacha iniúchta a cuireadh i gcrích i rith na bliana.

A N RIA LA C H Á N G IN EA RÁ LTA MA IDIR LE C O S A IN T S O N RA Í Le linn 2020, lean Oif igeach Cosanta Sonraí (OCS) lánaimseartha na Roinne air ag obair le

hAonaid Ghnó ar fud na Roinne agus a n-Oif igí chun athbhreithniú a dhéanamh ar a

gcleachtais sonraí pearsanta agus le cabhrú leo beartais agus prótacail nua a fhoirmliú.

Rinneadh obair f reisin le roinnt Aonaid Ghnó a raibh baint acu le cabhrú a sholáthar do ghnó

i gcomhthéacs phaindéim COVID-19. Chomh maith leis na seisiúin oiliúna agus faisnéise

caighdeánacha a sholáthraíonn ár OCS don fhoireann, dearadh agus seachadadh roinnt

seisiún oiliúna oiriúnaithe chun cabhrú le baill foirne déileáil le riachtanais bhreise um

chomhlíonadh sonraí a bhaineann le paindéim COVID-19. Freisin, rinne an OCS bosca poist

tiomnaithe le cosaint sonraí a riar chun plé le ceisteanna cosanta sonraí ó bhaill an phobail.

In 2020, fuair an Roinn agus a hOif igí 40 Iarratas ar Rochtain ar Ábhair agus próiseáladh iad

seo de réir fhorálacha na nAchtanna um Rialachán Ginearálta um Chosaint Sonraí agus

Cosaint Sonraí 1988 go 2018.

A N tA C H T UM B RÚS TO C A IREA CH T A R IA LÁ IL , 2015 Ceapadh an tAcht um Bhrústocaireacht le heolas a chur ar fáil don phobal faoi cé atá ag

brústocaireacht, cé air a bhfuiltear ag brústocaireacht, agus cad é an t -ábhar

brústocaireachta. Rinneadh liosta dár nOif igigh Phoiblí Ainmnithe a athshonrú faoin Acht seo

in 2020 agus foilsítear é ar ár láithreán Gréasáin.

A N tA C H T UM N O C H TA DH C O S AN TA, 2014

D’fhoilsigh an Roinn a Tuarascáil Bhliantúil ar Nochtadh Cosanta do 2019 ar shuíomh

Gréasáin na Roinne i mí an Mheithimh 2020.

Tuarascálacha iniúchta a cuireadh faoi bhráid an Choiste iniúchta in 2020

Bainistíocht Riosca

Comhlíonadh RGCS

GFT Éireann – Idirchaidreamh & Rialachas

An Clár Forbartha Eolaíochta & Teicneolaíochta – Idirchaidreamh & Rialachas

Údarás Maoirseachta Iniúchta agus Cuntasaíochta na hÉireann – Idirchaidreamh & Rialachas

Athbhreithniú ar Chórais Rialaithe Inmheánaigh 2019

Síntiúis le hEagraíochtaí Idirnáisiúnta

Bainistíocht Sócmhainní Seasta


—— 103

A N tA C H T UM ÍO C A ÍO C H TAÍ P RA S , 1997 Le linn 2020 d’fhoilsigh an Roinn tuarascálacha ráithiúla ar fheidhmíocht íocaíochta don

Roinn agus do na comhlachtaí atá faoina coimirce.

C O TH RO MA ÍOC HT IN S C N E A R B H O IRD S TÁ IT Leanann an Roinn uirthi ag cur cothromaíocht inscne chun cinn ar gach ceapachán de chuid

an Bhoird Stáit. Déanann Bainistíocht Shinsearach na Roinne tagairt i gcónaí do

chothromaíocht inscne i roghnú ball boird. Breithníonn Airí comhdhéanamh inscne reatha an

bhoird i gcónaí ar cheapacháin / athcheapacháin.

S C ÉIM N A G A EILG E 2019 - 2 0 2 2 Tháinig Tríú Scéim Gaeilge na Roinne, a d’fhormheas an Roinn Cultúir, Oidhreachta agus

Gaeltachta, i bhfeidhm in 2019 agus leagtar amach a mhéad atá seirbhísí ar fáil trí Ghaeilge

faoi láthair agus sainaithníonn sé réimsí le haghaidh forbartha amach anseo. Le linn 2020,

chinntigh an Roinn gur cuireadh gealltanais i bhfeidhm maidir le seirbhísí a sholáthar i

nGaeilge.

C A IRT C H US TA IMÉIR Í A G US P LEA N G N ÍO MH A ÍO C H TA S EIRB H ÍS E

DO C H US TA IMÉIR Í 2019 - 2 0 2 1 Is ráiteas poiblí é Cairt Chustaiméirí na Roinne 2019-2021 a leagann amach na caighdeáin

agus an leibhéal seirbhíse ar féidir le custaiméirí a bheith ag súil leis agus iad ag plé lenár

Roinn. Sonraíonn Plean Gníomhaíochta um Sheirbhís do Chustaiméirí 2019-2021 na bealaí

a gcuireann an Roinn na príomhghníomhartha a leagtar amach sa Chairt i bhfeidhm.

Ar fud 2020, chinntigh an Roinn gur cuireadh na tiomantais a rinneadh maidir le seirbhísí do

chustaiméirí a sholáthar faoi Chairt Chustaiméirí na Roinne 2019-2021 agus Plean

Gníomhaíochta Custaiméirí 2019-2021 i bhfeidhm.

Bhí cruinnithe rialta ag Coiste Monatóireachta Tras-rannach inmheánach na Roinne, a

dhéanann monatóireacht ar chur i bhfeidhm na ngealltanas a tugadh i bPlean

Gníomhaíochta um Sheirbhísí do Chustaiméirí agus Scéim na Gaeilge i rith 2020. Rinne an

fóram sin a chinntiú gur tugadh aghaidh ar aon dúshláin a tháinig chun cinn maidir le

gealltanais a chomhlíonadh a bhí le seachadadh in 2020.

S A O RÁ IL FA IS N ÉIS E

Foilsíodh Scéim Foilsithe um Shaoráil Faisnéise (FOI) na Roinne den chéad uair in 2016

agus rinneadh í a nuashonrú in 2018 de réir Alt 8 den Acht um Shaoráil Faisnéise 2014.

Leagann an Scéim amach faisnéis, faoi 6 cheannteideal, chun cabhrú le baill an phobail ina

dtuiscint ar an Roinn agus a feidhmeanna. In 2020 fuair an Roinn 218 iarratas um Shaoráil

Faisnéise agus próiseáladh iad seo de réir fhorálacha an Achta um Shaoráil Faisnéise 2014.

A TH B H REITH N ITH E C RIT IC IÚLA TRÉIMH S IÚLA Cuimsíonn an Cód Cleachtais um Rialachas Comhlachtaí Stáit 2016 ceanglas go ndéanfaí

Athbhreithnithe Criticiúla Tréimhsiúla (PCRanna) ar Ghníomhaireachtaí Rialtais gach cúig

bliana. D’fhoilsigh an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblí agus Athchóirithe an Treoir ar Athbhreithniú

Criticiúil Tréimhsiúil ar Chomhlachtaí Stáit Neamhthráchtála i Meán Fómhair 2020. Mar

gheall ar nádúr eisceachtúil 2020 agus ról ceannasach na Roinne i bhfreagra uile-Rialtais ar


—— 104

ghéarchéim COVID-19 agus in ullmhúcháin Breatimeachta, cuireadh PCRanna den sórt sin

do Ghníomhaireachtaí na Roinne seo ar athló in 2022.

A N tA C H T FÁ C H O IMIS IÚN N A hÉIREA N N UM C H EA RTA A N DUIN E

A G US C O MH IO N A N N AS , 2 0 1 4

De réir ár n-oibleagáidí faoin Acht seo, tá an Roinn tiomanta a cuid beartas, nósanna

imeachta agus seirbhísí i gcoitinne a dhéanamh níos doichte ar fud a réimsí gnó lena

chinntiú go gcomhlíonann an Roinn a cuid riachtanas i réimse chearta an duine agus an

chomhionannais.

In 2020, bunaíodh foireann le hionadaithe ó gach Rannán le cur i bhfeidhm Dhualgas um

Chearta an Duine agus Dhualgas Comhionannais na Seirbhísí Poiblí a chur chun cinn.

Áirítear na nithe seo a leanas le samplaí d’obair na Roinne i réimse Chearta an Duine agus

an Chomhionannais:

An Coimisiún um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre Is é an Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre an comhlacht neamhspleách a bunaíodh de

réir dlí le gearáin faoi leithcheal a imscrúdú nó le hidirghabháil a dhéanamh ina leith. Tá an

Coimisiúin um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre clúdaithe ag an gCoinbhinsiún Eorpach um

Chearta an Duine. Tarlaíonn leithcheal nuair nach gcaitear chomh maith céanna le duine

agus a chaitear, a chaitheadh, nó a gcaithf í le duine eile. Clúdaíonn an reachtaíocht íospairt

f reisin.

Freagracht Shóisialta Chorparáideach Is ann don Fhreagracht Shóisialta Chorparáideach nuair a dhéanann gnólachtaí agus

eagraíochtaí eile a bhfreagrachtaí sóisialta agus comhshaoil a chomhtháthú ina n-oibríochtaí

gnó príomhshrutha agus nuair a dhéantar cinntí gnó ina dtagraítear do shaincheisteanna

inbhuanaitheachta níos leithne. Soláthraíonn an Roinn rúnaíocht don Fhóram

Geallsealbhóirí Fhreagracht Shóisialta Chorparáideach faoi stiúir f iontar a dhéanann

maoirseacht ar chur i bhfeidhm na ngníomhaíochtaí sa Phlean Náisiúnta um Fhreagracht

Shóisialta Chorparáideach.

Straitéis Náisiúnta na mBan agus na gCailíní Tá ionadaíocht ag an Roinn ar Choiste Straitéis Náisiúnta na mBan agus na gCailíní 2017-

2020. Cuirimid leis na comhghníomhartha amhail forbairt saineolais intí i ngníomhaíochtaí

príomhshruthaithe inscne agus muid ag tabhairt aird ar thionchar inscne i bhforbairt straitéisí

nua.

An Straitéis Náisiúnta um Chuimsiú Míchumais Glacann an Straitéis Náisiúnta um Chuimsiú Míchumais 2017-2021 cur chuige uile-Rialtais

maidir le feabhas a chur ar shaol daoine faoi mhíchumas ar bhealach praiticiúil agus f reisin

maidir leis na deiseanna is fearr agus is féidir a chruthú do dhaoine faoi mhíchumas a

gcumas a chomhlíonadh. Tá ionadaíocht ag an Roinn ar ghníomhartha faoin Straitéis

Náisiúnta um Chuimsiú Míchumais 2017-2021 agus faoin Straitéis Fostaíochta

Chuimsitheach do Dhaoine faoi Mhíchumas 2015-2024 agus tá sí á gcur chun cinn.

In 2020, tháinig Coiste Comhairleach Míchumais na Roinne (DCC) i gceann a chéile uair

amháin go f íorúil agus scaipeadh 18 ríomhphost ar na baill i rith na bl iana chun


—— 105

nuashonruithe a sholáthar ar COVID-19. Freisin, scaipeadh faisnéis ar bhaill faoi

cheardlanna agus seimineáir ábhartha a tionóladh le linn 2020. Tá ballraíocht an DCC

comhdhéanta d’ionadaithe ón nGrúpa Geallsealbhóirí Míchumais, ón Údarás Náisiún ta

Míchumais agus ó bhaill foirne ar fud na Roinne agus a hOif igí agus a Gníomhaireachtaí.

Chomh maith leis an méid thuas, oibríonn an Roinn laistigh den dlí fostaíochta agus

reachtaíocht ábhartha eile a fhéachann le cearta an duine agus comhionannas a chinntiú, i

measc rudaí eile, mar shampla:

An tAcht um Rialáil Státseirbhíse, an tAcht um Bainistíocht na Seirbhíse Poiblí, an tAcht um

Shaoire agus Sochar Atharthachta, an tAcht Comhionannais, an tAcht um Chaidreamh

Tionscail, an tAcht um Chaidreamh san Áit Oibre, an tAcht um Chosaint Sonraí, an tAcht um

Fhostaithe (Faisnéis agus Comhairliúchán a Sholáthar), an tAcht um Shábháilteacht, Sláinte

agus Leas ag an Obair, An tAcht um Chosaint Máithreachais, an tAcht um Shaoire

Cúramóra, an tAcht um Eagrú Ama Oibre, an tAcht um Dhífhostú Éagórach.

A N tA C H T UM LEA N A Í A R DTÚS , 2015 Tá Ráiteas um Chosaint Leanaí i bhfeidhm ag an Roinn a forbraíodh de réir na gceanglas

faoin Acht um Leanaí Ar dtús 2015, an Chéad Treoir Náisiúnta do Leanaí agus Cosaint

Leanaí Tusla: Treoir maidir le beartas, nós imeachta agus cleachtas. Tá an Roinn tiomanta

do chur i bhfeidhm an Ráitis um Chosaint Leanaí seo agus na nósanna imeachta a

chabhraíonn lenár rún leanaí a choinneáil slán ó dhochar agus iad ag obair le foireann na

Roinne.


—— 106

___________________________________

Aguisín 1 B ILL Í A A C H TA ÍO DH IN 2020

▪ Achtaíodh an tAcht um an gCiste Iasachta do Mhionfhiontair (Leasú) 2020 10 Iúil 2020

▪ Achtaíodh an tAcht um Ráthaíocht Chreidmheasa (Leasú) 24 Iúil 2020

▪ Achtaíodh Acht na gCuideachtaí (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) (COVID-19) 1 Lúnasa 2020


—— 107

_____________________________________

Aguisín 2

IO N S TRA IMÍ REA C H TÚLA A R IN N EA DH IN 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 2 de 2020 Rialacháin Sábháilteachta, Sláinte agus Leasa san

Ionad oibre (Feidhmiú Ginearálta (Leasú) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 14 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Comhoibriú idir Údaráis

Náisiúnta atá Freagrach as Forfheidhmiú Dlíthe Cosanta

Tomhaltóirí) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 18 de 2020 Rialacháin Phobail na hEorpa (Dea-chleachtas

Saotharlainne), 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 24 de 2020 An Acht um Chaidreamh Tionsclaíoch (Leasú) 2019 (Tosú)

Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 42 de 2020 Ordú Bunaithe 2020 Scoileanna Béarla Comhchoiste

Saothair

▪ I.R. Uimh. 64 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Bearta Coisctheacha

maidir le Veiniséala) 2020


maidir leis an tSiombáib) 2020


maidir le Poblacht Dhaonlathach an Chongó) 2020


maidir le Poblacht na hAfraice Láir) 2020


maidir leis an mBurúin) 2020


maidir leis an tSiria) 2020


maidir le Nicearagua) 2020


maidir leis an Túinéis) 2020


maidir le Poblacht na Guine) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 78 de 2020 Rialacháin (Leasú) Scéim Iasachta do Mhionfhiontair 2020

https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Legislation/SI-No-2-of-2020.html


—— 108

▪ I.R. Uimh. 84 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Rialú Easpórtálacha

Trealamh Cosanta Pearsanta) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 102 de 2020 Rialacháin (Leasú) Sábháilteachta, Sláinte agus

Folláine san Ionad Oibre (Foirgníocht)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 147 de 2020 An tAcht um Shubstaintí Dainséaracha 1972 (Forógra Cuid

IV) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 156 de 2020 Rialacháin (Leasú) Ceadúnais Fostaíochta 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 159 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Rialú Easpórtáil Trealamh

Cosanta Pearsanta)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 256 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Cothroime agus

Trédhearcacht a Chur chunCinn d'Úsáideoirí Gnó Seirbhísí

Eadrána Ar Líne) (Uimh. 2) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 275 de 2020 Ordú Cóipchirt agus Cearta Bainteacha (Deimhniú

Scéim Cheadúnaithe do Bhunscoileanna) (Gníomhaireacht

na hÉireann um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt Teoranta) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 276 de 2020 Ordú Cóipchirt agus Cearta Bainteacha (Deimhniú Scéim

Cheadúnaithe d'Iar-bhunscoileanna) (Gníomhaireacht na

hÉireann um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt Teoranta) 2020


Scéim Cheadúnaithe d'Institiúidí Ardoideachais)

(Gníomhaireacht na hÉireann um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt

Teoranta) 2020


Scéim Cheadúnaithe do Sholáthraithe Breisoideachais)

(Gníomhaireacht na hÉireann um Cheadúnú Cóipchirt

Teoranta) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 325 de 2020 Scéim Ráthaíocht Chreidmheasa COVID-19 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 359 de 2020 An tAcht um an Dlí Sibhialta agus an Dlí Coiriúil

(Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) Act2020 (Alt 31) (Coimisiún um

Chaidreamh Ionad Oibre (Ainmniú) Order 2020


maidir le Veiniséala) (Uimh.2) 2020


maidir le Nicearagua) (Uimh.2) 2020


maidir leis an Iaráin)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 389 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh (Bearta Coisctheacha maidir

leis an Iaráin) (Uimh.2) 2020


—— 109


le Poblacht na hAfraice Láir) (Uimh.2) 2020


le Poblacht na Cóiré)


le Poblacht Dhaonlathach Chongó) (Uimh.2) 2020


leis an tSiria) (Uimh.2) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 510 de 2020 Rialacháin Ceadúnais Fostaíochta (Leasú) (Uimh. 2) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 514 de 2020 Acht um an Dlí Sibhialta agus an Dlí Coiriúil (Forálacha

Ilghnéitheacha) 2020 (Alt 29) (Cúirt Oibreachais) Ordú

2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 515 de 2020 Acht um an Dlí Sibhialta agus Dlí Coiriúil (Forálacha

Ilghnéitheacha) 2020 (Alt 31) (Cúirt Oibreachais) (Ainmniú)

Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 519 de 2020 Gnó, Fiontar agus Nuálaíocht (Athrú Ainm na Roinne agus

Teideal an Aire) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 539 de 2020 Rialacháin 2020 Sábháilteachta, Sláinte agus Folláine san

Ionad Oibre (Oibreáin Bhitheolaíochta) (Leasú)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 579 de 2020 Fiontar, Trádáil agus Fostaíocht (Tarmligean Feidhmeanna

Aireachta) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 580 de 2020 Fiontar, Trádáil agus Fostaíocht (Tarmligean Feidhmeanna

Aireachta) (Uimh.2) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 586 de 2020 Beartas agus Cláir Taighde (Aistriú Riarachán Roinne agus

Feidhmeanna Aireachta) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 608 de 2020 Rialachán Fostaíochta (Leasú) (Comhchoiste Saothair

Glantóireacht Conartha) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 609 de 2020 Rialacháin Acht na gCuideachtaí 1990 (Urrúis

Neamhdheimhnithe) (Leasú) 2020


leis an mBurúin) (Uimh.2)


le Poblacht na hAfraice Láir) (Uimh.3)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 617 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh 2020 (Bearta Coisctheacha

Maidir le hIomadú agus Úsáid Airm Cheimiceacha)


le Daon-Phoblacht Dhaonlathach na Cóiré) (Uimh.2)


—— 110


le Poblacht Dhaonlathach an Chongó) (Uimh.3)


maidir leis an tSiria) (Uimh.3) 2020


le Veiniséala) (Uimh.3) 2020


leis an Iaráin) (Uimh.3)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 623 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh 2020 (Údarú Ginearálta

Náisiúnta Easpórtála)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 624 de 2020 Rialacháin an Aontais Eorpaigh 2020 (Prótacal Airm Thine

NA)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 625 de 2020 Rialachán an Aontais Eorpaigh 2020 (Riachtanais

Éiceadheartha um tháirgí áirithe fuinnimh) (leasú)

▪ I.R. Uimh. 626 de 2020 Rialacháin Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 (Táillí) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 627 de 2020 Rialacháin Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 (Foirmeacha) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 628 de 2020 Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 ( (Cineál agus Ábhar Cáipéisí a

Sheachadtar chuig an gCláraitheoir) 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 629 de 2020 Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 (Mír 897) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 630 de 2020 Acht na gCuideachtaí (Iniúchtaí Reachtúla 2018 (Tosú) Ordú

2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 631 de 2020 Acht na gCuideachtaí 2019 (Leasú) (Tosú) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 633 de 2020 Acht um Ráthaíocht Chreidmheasa 2020 (Leasú) (Síneadh

Dáta Ráthaíochta) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 671 de 2020 Acht um Chumainn Tionscail agus Choigiltis (Alt 14A (1))

(COVID-19) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 672 de 2020 Acht na gCuideachtaí 2014 (Alt 12A (1)) (COVID-19) Ordú

2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 674 de 2020 Acht um Chaidreamh Tionsclaíochta 1990 (Cód Cleachtais

d'Fhostóirí agus d'Fhostaithe ar Chosc agus Réiteach

Bulaíochta san Ionad Oibre) Ordú 2020

▪ I.R. Uimh. 680 de 2020 An tAcht um Tharraingt Siar na Ríochta Aontaithe as an

Aontas Eorpach (Forálacha Iarmhartacha) 2020 (Cuid 5)

(Tosú) Ordú 2020

https://www.enterprise.gov.ie/en/Legislation/SI-No-626-of-2020.html





—— 111

Aguisín 3 S O LÁ TH A R P O IB L Í G LA S

Bliain tagartha

2020

A. Líon

iomlán

conarthaí a

eisíodh

thar

€25,000 de

réir earnáil

tosaíochta

B. Luach

iomlán

conarthaí a

eisíodh thar

€25,000 de

réir earnáil

tosaíochta

C. Líon iomlán

conarthaí a

eisíodh thar

€25,000 de réir

earnáil

tosaíochta ina

bhfuil GPP

ionchorpraithe

D. Luach

iomlán

conarthaí a

eisíodh thar

€25,000 de réir

earnáil

tosaíochta ina

bhfuil GPP

ionchorpraithe

Earnáil Tosaíochta

Iompar Náid Náid Náid Náid

Tógáil Náid Náid Náid Náid

Fuinneamh Náid Náid Náid Náid

Seirbhísí Bia &

Lónadóireachta 1 €88,000 1 €88,000

Táirgí agus Seirbhísí

Glantóireachta 1 €35,261 1 €35,261

Teicstílí Náid Náid Náid Náid

Trealamh TF 3 €164,130.50 Náid Náid

Páipéar Náid Náid Náid Náid

Eile

Aistriú Troscáin 1 €65,000 1 €65,000

Comhairleoireacht 4 €353,350 Náid Náid

Staidéar Taighde 1 €107,561 1 €107,561

Staidéar Measúnacht

Tionchair 1 €199,500 Náid Náid

Seirbhísí Dlí 1 €132,612 Náid Náid.

Iomláin 13 €1,145,414.50 4 €295,822

May 2021

enterprise.gov.ie

Annual Report 2020


—— 113

Table of Contents

Foreword ...................................................................................................................114

Executive Summary....................................................................................................119

Vision, Mission, Values ...............................................................................................129

Introduction to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment .............................130

Department Structure ................................................................................................132

Organisation Chart ....................................................................................................133

Offices and Agencies of the Department.......................................................................134

Statement of Strategy 2018-2021.................................................................................135

Goal 1: Create and sustain high quality enterprise and employment across all regions

of the country .............................................................................................135

Goal 2: Lead a whole-of-Government approach to developing the most competitive

environment for investment, productivity and sustainable jobs.........................147

Goal 3: Position Ireland as a Global Innovation Leader ..............................................156

Goal 4: Deliver positive workplace relations supports, well-functioning dispute

resolution mechanisms, robust enforcement of employment rights and a safe

working environment ...................................................................................168

Goal 5: Ensuring that business regulation facilitates business investment and

development, competition in the marketplace, high standards of consumer

protection and corporate governance............................................................176

Goal 6: Working ambitiously with our EU and International Partners across a wide

range of interests, including Brexit ................................................................186

Goal 7: Invest in our staff and optimise our resources ................................................197

Appendix 1 Bills Enacted In 2020 …………………….…………………………………… 211

Appendix 2 Statutory Instruments made in 2020..…………………………………...…... 212

Appendix 3 Green Public Procurement ….………………………………………………… 216

file://///dete/shared/PLAN2/ANNUAL%20REPORTS%20-%20STRATEGY%20STATEMENTS/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%202020/Annual%20Report%20-%203rd%20Draft.docx%23_Toc65166070


—— 114

FOREWORD

T Á NA I ST E A ND MI NI STE R F O R E NT ERP RI SE,

T R A D E A ND E MP L OY MENT

LEO VA RA DKA R, T . D

My Department’s Annual Report for 2020 sets out the actions and initiatives undertaken by

the Department in 2020 in fulf illing its mandate and its commitments under the Programme

for Government. This Report highlights the extensive programme of work undertaken during

the most challenging of times, facing the twin crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and

preparations for Brexit. In doing so, we never lost focus on the twin transition; digital and

green.

With the onset of the pandemic, the Department immediately responded to ensure

businesses and service delivery were impacted to the least possible extent. We played a

major role in helping businesses during the crisis, by sustaining viable enterprises and jobs

and giving companies extra assistance to reopen and stay open.

We continued to provide and to enhance grants and loan guarantee schemes to help with

cashf low and business planning. We provided more and af fordable loan f inance and funding,

and helped businesses get ready for Brexit. We focussed on building resilience across

enterprise as we strive to ensure the economy and society fully recovers af ter the pandemic,

and as we prepared for Brexit.

We provided the foundation and guidance for businesses to operate and re-open in a safe

manner. The Return to Work Safely Protocol provided an assurance to employers and

workers in relation to the ability of businesses to stay open and reopen during the period of

the pandemic. We changed our company regulation to facilitate companies in their

governance responsibilities. In publishing the national Remote Working Strategy and the

Right to Disconnect Policy, we will build on the positives experienced f rom remote working

during the pandemic and manage associated risks to make it work for employees and

employers.

During 2020, innovation continued to feature strongly for my Department and for the third

year in a row, Ireland is top in the European Innovation Scoreboard for both the employment

impacts and sales impacts of innovation. The Department’s Disruptive Technology

Innovation Fund projects continued to deliver, with SMEs collaborating with multinational

companies and research institutions on large-scale industrial research projects that are at

the foref ront of technological change.

Climate Action is a core element of the Department’s enterprise and innovation policies and

in our Agencies’ programmes and activities. We actively engaged with the Government’s


—— 115

Climate Action Plan and provided input into the development of the economy-wide Long

Term Strategy outlining Ireland’s net-zero 2050 target.

Improving terms and conditions for all workers is a major aspect of the Department’s

mission. Work is well underway to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme to bring Ireland

in line with other European countries, with a full public consultation taking place last year. I

intend to bring forward legislation on the scheme in 2021 with a view to having the scheme

in place by the end of the year. Work has also been initiated on the move to a Liv ing Wage

for Ireland.

In 2020, the Department worked closely with the European Union Commission and Member

States to bring several trade agreements to a successful conclusion. Promotion of our

companies abroad continued through the work of our State Agenc ies and their internationally

located of fices.

During 2020, the Department built on work previously done on the successful development

of a stable, transparent and modernised company law f ramework in Ireland and continued to

develop and shape responses to new and emerging challenges in company law, competition

and consumer policy at EU and at national level, in particular on Brexit and COVID -19.

Since my appointment to this Department in June 2020, I have been signif icantly impressed

by the calibre, commitment and dedication of the staf f from across the Department, its

Of f ices and Agencies. I would like to acknowledge the work of my predecessor Minister

Heather Humphreys, T.D., and Ministers of State Pat Breen, T.D., and John Halligan, T.D.,

who contributed greatly to the achievements of the Department in 2020. I would also like to

thank my colleagues, Ministers of State Damien English T.D., and Robert Troy T.D., for their

continuing work and commitment.


—— 116

FOREWORD

SE C R E T A RY GE NE RA L

D R O R L A I GH Q UI NN

This is the f inal Annual Report on the Department’s Statement of Strategy 2018 to 2021 and

outlines the progress made by the Department on achieving our goals and objectives in

2020. A new Statement of Strategy for the period 2021 to 2023 was agreed in January 2021.

The Department faced an unprecedented series of business challenges in 2020, particularly

in addressing the major impacts arising f rom Brexit and COVID-19. We also managed

organisational changes and transfer of new functions following the election of the new

Government in June 2020.

As we started the year, our focus was on Brexit and trade where we led on assisting

businesses through f inancial schemes and advisory services; we also provided analysis and

advice across government on the implications of the EU negotiations. This work continued

as a major priority as we also switched our attention to the COVID-19 crisis. A dedicated

COVID-19 Unit was established, ensuring a coordinated and coherent approach to the

pandemic and its many challenges across the Department. We took immediate and

responsive action to enable staf f to work from home and our teams moved, at short notice,

f rom a predominantly of fice-based operating model to full remote working for all but a

minority of staff, where their work could not be done remotely.

It is a huge credit to all members of our team that we responded so quickly and flexibly to

meet the urgent needs of enterprise. We redeployed staff and created new roles as we

developed and implemented new f inancial schemes and advisory services, regulatory

changes to company law, new health and safety protocols in the workplace and a wide

range of workplace relations and employment initiatives, such as virtual courtrooms in the

WRC and Labour Court. We also worked collaboratively with many other Government

Departments and agencies to assist in the national ef fort; we fast -tracked and prioritised

employment permits for front-line health service workers; we took a leading role in assisting

the HSE in the sourcing of PPE during a time of great pressure and we redeployed staf f on

temporary reassignments to areas of the public service where additional resources were

needed.

The doubling of our budget enabled us, working with our Agencies and Off ices, to deliver

much needed assistance to the enterprise sector. This required detailed analysis and

delivery of appropriate schemes to assist businesses, sectors and regions at every stage of

the pandemic. We also established a new Enterprise Information Centre and communication

approaches that enabled us to move online and connect with all our stakeholders. We

published extensive guidance, including our Guide to Supports for Businesses, the National

Work Safely Protocol and guidance on safe shopping. We also maintained a major focus o n


—— 117

trade and global relationships and our overseas team were to the forefront in assisting us in

our international relationships and working closely with the European Union Commission and

Member States to bring several trade agreements to a successful conclusion. We also

continued to deliver across all other important areas of our business programme, including

major policy areas of digital, climate, remote working and the right to disconnect.

Extensive and ongoing contacts with our stakeholders was a priority for us during 2020. We

met regularly with employers, employees and representative groups, including the Enterprise

Forum, the Retail Forum, the SME Taskforce, the Company Law Review Group and the

Labour Employer Economic Forum, as well as a wide range of other groups to assist and

inform the Department's ongoing responses to Brexit and COVID-19. These stakeholder

engagements were extremely valuable in informing us of the needs of businesses, the

impact of our measures and how improvements could be made.

During 2020, following the change of Government, the Department was renamed f rom the

Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation to the Department of Enterprise, Trade

and Employment. The trade promotion function was transferred to this Department f rom the

Department of Foreign Af fairs, and employment rights and redundancy and insolvency policy

transferred f rom the Department of Social Protection. The Department also assumed

responsibility for the Low Pay Commission. We have also taken on responsibili ty for the

Balance for Better Business Group f rom the Department of Justice, and Trading Online

Vouchers f rom the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment.

For each of these new areas of work, we established teams and developed new priorities

and work plans, all of which are now being implemented. Some new priorities include

development of sick pay legislation, redundancy policy, strengthened trade promotion and

outreach, and a stronger focus on gender issues across all our remit. With ef fect f rom 1

January 2021, certain research and innovation functions, including Science Foundation

Ireland and the Tyndall Institute, transferred to the Department of Further and Higher

Education, Research, Innovation and Science. We will miss our science and innovation

colleagues but look forward to continued collaborative working and we wish them every

success in their new Department.

Across the Civil Service, we have taken a leading role on innovation. Through our

‘Innovate@ETE’ team, all staf f are f ully engaged and encouraged to make positive changes

to how we work and to the working environment. The importance and value of this was never

so critical, as staf f responded and brought in new ways of working during 2020. A Virtual

Recognition Event for the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards was held to

formally recognise and showcase the initiatives developed in response to the pandemic. In

our adoption of the Declaration on Public Service Innovation, we continued to promote a

culture of innovation in our organisation. We also contributed to the national Decade of

Centenaries commemorations, by organising ‘The 23 Kildare Street Talks - The Countess,

Casualties and The Civil Service’, a series of short lectures on the revolutionary period

between 1919 to 1923.

During this past year, where we have had little face-to-face contact with our colleagues, we

have tackled and delivered on many new and unexpected challenges, which is a testimony

to the dedication and public service values of our Department. I am enormously proud of the


—— 118

team and I would like to thank each and every one for their ongoing commitment. I would

also like to thank and acknowledge my colleagues on the Management Board and the senior

leaders in our Of f ices and Agencies for their leadership and support. Finally, I must

acknowledge and thank the many stakeholders who have engaged with us so positively

during the year, which is greatly valued. I look forward to working with them on our many

shared agendas as we emerge f rom the crisis in the year ahead.


—— 119

Executive Summary

Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has put considerable strain on societies

across the world. In 2020, global economic output is estimated to have fallen by between

3.25% - 3.4%, which represents a far larger shock to economies than the recession in the

wake of the global f inancial crisis. In the case of Ireland, the impact on economic output has

been cushioned by multinationals based here, with real GDP growing by 3.4% last year.

However, strong export growth, which was largely accounted for by a surge in

pharmaceutical exports and continued strength in the IT sector, masked a decline in

domestic demand as the economy was impacted by the pandemic. The level of State

support over the course of the year was substantial to insulate businesses and workers f rom

the worst of the pandemic. The cost to the State over the course of the year was €25bn

which included €8.8bn of income supports via the Employee Wage Subsidy Scheme, its

precursor the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment

Payment.

The 2020 strategic plan for the Department was, therefore, impacted significantly with the

onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the focus on Brexit preparedness continued as a

major priority, the Department responded f rom an early stage across all aspects of our remit

to support business during the pandemic. This included sectors in which the Department

has not traditionally been involved and we engaged broadly in all areas possible to support

business and the national ef fort. The Department played a major role in helping businesses

during the crisis, by sustaining viable enterprises and jobs and giving companies extra

assistance to reopen and stay open. On our regulatory remit, the Department worked to

provide certainty and administrative f lexibility for companies and measures were introduced

to assist f irms in responding to the challenge covering company regulation, health and

safety, and workplace relations.

The Department also provided extensive economic analysis and advice to Government and

worked closely with other Government Departments on a range of schemes to support

business and wages, including the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Pandemic

Unemployment Payment, the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, the Restart Schemes,

and the COVID-19 Restrictions Support Scheme other sectoral supports.

During 2020, the Department’s work entailed:

• Assisting enterprise through stakeholder engagement, undertaking of analysis to assess

the impact of the pandemic on the economy and through the development of a suite of

initiatives including f inancial and non-f inancial measures and regulatory supports.

• Developing policies for workplace safety to provide assurance to employers, employees

and customers and to enable businesses to remain open and to reopen safely during

certain periods of the pandemic.

• Ensuring full continuity in the operations of the Department and enhanced delivery of its

services, using technology to seek efficiencies and improve customer service.


—— 120

• Driving innovation to assist companies in responding to the pandemic with innovative

products and solutions and in support of the national ef fort.

• Continuing extensive work to ensure a coordinated and coherent approach to Brexit

across the Department and its Of f ices and Agencies including engagement across

Government on Brexit readiness in preparation for all Brexit outcomes, including a no -

deal.

• Future-proof ing the economy and society for the twin transition to a sustainable low

carbon economy and the acceleration of digitalisation.

• Working with our enterprise development Agencies, leading on creating and sustaining

high quality enterprise and employment.

• Maintaining close and mutually benef icial relationships with the EU, the UK, and globally.

C O VID- 19 RES P O N S E - A S S IS TA N C E FO R B US IN ES S Working closely with our Of f ices and Agencies, our colleagues across Government and

enterprise stakeholders, the Department participated in many cross-government groups to

address key risks arising in the context of COVID-19. In the very early days, we supported

the procurement and distribution of PPE and supply chain issues arising f rom the impact of

the pandemic. A wide range of new policies and enterprise advisory and funding schemes

were developed by the Department, agreed by Government and delivered rapidly. This

included a suite of funding and advisory schemes for business, including new grant, liquidity

and loan f inancing schemes to assist impacted businesses during the pandemic. Regulatory

and legislative amendments to support companies were agreed and enacted, while major

work was completed in relation to health and safety in the workplace.

Stakeholder Engagement

The Department launched a new Enterprise Information Centre, a dedicated resource for

information on the wide range of assistance available to business. The Unit was set up in

March to deal with queries in relation to COVID-19 and was expanded to include Brexit

information. The Centre responded to over 11,200 calls and emails in 2020.

The Retail Forum continued its focus on the developmental needs of the sector in 2020 and

intensif ied its work on Brexit preparedness, including in the mitigation ef forts necessary to

minimise disruption to food supply chains and the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.

The Enterprise Forum on Brexit and Global Challenges, with representatives f rom the

key business sectors and representative organisations, acted as a strong advisory body to

the Department and met regularly throughout the year.

A new SME Growth Taskforce was established in 2020 to provide a platform for structured

engagement between entrepreneurs, business representatives and Government in the

delivery of a National SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan, which will map out an

ambition long-term strategic blueprint beyond COVID-19.

The Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), a forum for high-level dialogue between

government, union and employer representatives on labour market issues provided

invaluable information and advice, particularly in relation to workplace experience and health


—— 121

and safety. Participants in this process included Ibec, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions,

Chambers Ireland and the Construction Industry Federation.

A stakeholder engagement event for the National Economic Plan was convened by the

Tánaiste in October to exchange ideas on the National Economic Plan, which will set out the

Government’s guiding priorities and policy objectives for a sustainable recovery. The event

was structured around three breakout sessions, addressing building resilience across our

enterprises and sectors; an inclusive and balanced recovery; and future proof ing our

economy and society.

During 2020, the Department rolled out numerous focused communications campaigns

on COVID-19 Business Supports, the Shop Safely Campaign and the Work Safely Protocol.

A new voluntary Code of Conduct between landlords and business for commercial

rents, developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including Ibec, Retail Excellence

Ireland, Chambers Ireland, Dublin Town and Irish Institutional Property, was published on 1

October 2020. The Code sets out a structured approach for engagement between both

commercial landlords and tenants, based on their mutual interest in continuing to work

together.

Economic Analysis Extensive modelling and analysis were undertaken and three papers on Economic

Considerations for Reinstating Economic Activity were developed by the Department at

phases one to three of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. These papers

were developed in conjunction with the Department of Finance and the Department of Public

Expenditure and Reform and provided an assessment of the economic impact of the COVID -

19 pandemic.

Financial Supports The Future Growth Loan Scheme expanded in July 2020 to bring the total lending

available under the scheme to €800m for eligible Irish businesses and the primary

agriculture and seafood sectors to assist strategic long-term investment.

The SBCI-COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme was introduced in March 2020 as an

immediate response to the liquidity challenges facing COVID-19 impacted SMEs and small

mid-caps at the onset of the pandemic. Together with the Brexit Loan Scheme, €337.5m of

lending has been made available to help the liquidity needs of SMEs, as of the end of 2020,

through these two loan schemes. A further expansion is in progress to bring available

lending up to €500m.

In March 2020, Microfinance Ireland responded quickly to the impact of COVID-19 with its

COVID-19 Business Loan with reduced interest rates. It approved €27.4m in loans assisting

2,972 businesses, more than four times its loan level in 2019. In November, Microf inance

Ireland also launched its Brexit Business Loan. The Microenterprise Loan Fund

(Amendment) Act 2020 was passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas allowing for

greater equity funding f rom the Government and for the Strategic Banking Corporation of

Ireland (SBCI) to become a lender to Microf inance Ireland.


—— 122

The COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme was devised, legislated for and signed into law

by the President in July to respond to Irish business needs for additional liquidity and to give

stability to the SME lending market. With no portfolio cap and a state guarantee of 80

percent, loans of up to 5.5 years and €1m are available at reduced interest rates. Af ter less

than 4 months in operation, 1,890 businesses had drawn down funding worth over €98m by

year end. This represents more than a 600% increase on the €14.8m drawn in the entirety of

2019 under the Credit Guarantee Scheme.

The Sustaining Enterprise Fund helped to sustain business so that they can return to

viability and contribute to the recovery of the Irish economy. Funding of €124m under the

Sustaining Enterprise Fund helped sustain 418 companies and 17,710 jobs across the

country.

Working with the local authorities, €685m was made available with over 108,000 grants

through the Restart Grant and the Restart Grant Plus. This contributed towards the cost of

re-opening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and

customers.

Almost 1,000 companies were provided with funding to develop a robust financial plan

through the COVID-19 Business Financial Planning Grant.

To develop their online presence through the Online Retail Scheme, 330 retailers were

provided with grants in 2020, totalling €11.8m,

Schemes and programmes to deal with the changing external environment ensuring that

they helped business in tackling existing and emerging economic challenges for business

continued to be developed and adapted. The Business Continuity Voucher scheme,

introduced in March 2020, provided vouchers for companies and sole traders to develop

short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the initial COVID-19 pandemic and to plan

for eventual recovery and reopening of the economy. The Trading Online Voucher

Scheme of fered skills training, mentoring and f inancial assistance to help small and micro -

businesses to develop their ecommerce capability. The Microenterprise Assistance Fund

targeted those micro enterprises that could not avail of existing government measures.

Regulatory Supports The Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid -19) Act 2020 was enacted on 1 August

2020 and makes temporary amendments to ensure that 240,000 companies and 950

industrial and provident societies in Ireland can hold their Annual General Meetings and

general meetings by electronic means. It also makes provision in respect of business

solvency by increasing the period of examinership to 150 days and increasing the threshold

at which a company is deemed unable to pay its debts to €50,000.

DEVELO P IN G P O LIC IES FO R W O RKP LA C E S A FETY The Department, in conjunction with NPHET, conducted a survey in May to determine

business capability and capacity to physically implement COVID-19 prevention measures in

the workplace. This provided insight into the needs of businesses seeking to enforce

COVID-19 public health guidelines.


—— 123

As a result of the Public Health restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a

Government decision to partially reopen the economy f rom 18 May 2020 was accompanied

by the introduction of the Return to Work Safely Protocol. The Protocol set out in a clear

and comprehensive way, the steps and processes that businesses needed to take to

mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. It was developed on a collaborative

basis, led by the Department and involving the Health and Safety Authority, the Department

of Health and the HSE. The members of the Labour Employer Economic Forum were also

heavily involved in working on and agreeing the Protocol.

The Protocol was revised and relaunched as the Work Safely Protocol in November 2020,

still containing information and practical advice on a range of topics such as the

management and control of outbreaks, selection of hand sanitisers, wearing of masks,

ventilation of workplaces and symptoms. The revision brought together knowledge

developed in these areas as the pandemic continued and it was considered important that

the guidance ref lected the most up to date public health advice available.

The Health and Safety Authority has acted as the lead Agency in co -ordinating compliance

with the Work Safely Protocol. It has been helped in this role by inspectors from a range of

other Government Departments and State Bodies (Workplace Relations Commission;

Environmental Health Of f icers; Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Department

of Education; Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and Tusla). Over 24,000 COVID -19

inspections on compliance with the Protocol were carried out between May and the end of

December 2020. This provided an assurance to employers and enabled businesses to

remain open during the period of the pandemic.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland produced a suite of useful resource

documents and guides to assist SMEs, particularly those in the retail sector, to get up -and-

running in advance of society reopening. These are easy to follow guides and provide clear

steps on how retail operators can make their premises, staf f and customers safe in a post-

COVID environment. These included the COVID-19 Workplace Protection and

Improvement Guide; the COVID-19 Retail Protection and Improvement Guide; and the

COVID-19 Shopping Centre Recovery and Improvement Guide.

DEP A RTMEN T’S O P ERA TIO N S IN RES P O N S E TO C O VID - 1 9 The work of the Department was signif icantly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with the

Department shif ting at short notice f rom a predominantly office-based operating model to full

remote working for all but a minority of staff who were needed on site. This involved the

successful deployment of over 800 staf f , using a mix of laptops and desktops, to remote

working. In addition, video conferencing services were ramped up substantially to facilitate

ongoing collaboration between staf f , particularly in light of significant increases in many

workloads in response to the crisis.

The Department also responded early and quickly by redeploying many staff to other areas

within the Department to ensure existing services and emerging areas of critical need were,

and are, being appropriately supported.

In March 2020, the Employment Permits Section implemented a COVID-19 contingency

plan to ensure that the employment permit regime could continue to operate throughout the

crisis with operations moving to a fully remotely environment. Operational practices were


—— 124

adjusted to replace the paper-based elements of the service to allow for a fully online

process. Agreement was reached with the Immigration Service Delivery in the Department

of Justice to introduce, on a temporary basis, a type of ‘e-employment permit’. Employment

permit applications f rom medical personnel were prioritised with over 4,490 granted f rom

mid-March to the end of 2020.

At the Virtual Recognition Event for the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation

Awards to formally recognise and showcase the initiatives developed in response to the

COVID-19 crisis in a challenging and fast changing environment, the Department’s selected

project was the Contingency Plan to Ensure the Continuation of Ireland’s Employment

Permit System. The Off ices of the Department submitted the WRC Remote Working

Information and Customer Service lo-call phone service, and the Labour Court Virtual

Courtroom. Other innovative projects included the Enterprise Information Centre and

Remote Video Interviews.

A staf f survey conducted in June provided up-to-date data on staff needs and allowed for

responsive actions to be taken. A COVID-19 Working Group was established to oversee

progress on initiatives/activities related to Equipment and Ergonomics, Managing Staff

Remotely, Health and Wellbeing, Communications for Teams and Remote Working now and

in normal times.

DRIVIN G IN N O VA TIO N Driving innovation for enterprise, and internally, continued as a priority in 2020.

Knowledge Transfer Ireland created a dedicated COVID-19 Non-Exclusive Royalty-Free

(NERF) Licence, that is aimed at speeding up the dissemination of critical COVID-19 related

intellectual property f rom Irish Higher Education Institutions to companies. The COVID-19

NERF provides cutting edge IP f ree of charge to organisations engaged in critical research

and development activities for the sole purposes of diagnosing, preventing, containing,

treating and/or minimising the impact of the virus.

During the year, the COVID-19 Products Scheme was developed under a European

Commission Temporary Framework, allowing additional aid to be granted by EU Member

States to companies developing or producing medicinal products used in the f ight against

COVID-19. The Products Scheme, which is delivered through IDA Ireland and Enterprise

Ireland, allows for up to €200m in targeted State assistance to facilitate the research and

development of COVID-19 products. These enable the construction or upgrading of testing

and upscaling inf rastructures that contribute to the development COVID-19 relevant products

and assist the production of products needed to respond to the pandemic.

A total of 62 applications were received under Call 3 of the Disruptive Technologies

Innovation Fund which will be evaluated for funding in 2021.

During 2020, 936 collaborative projects between companies and Irish Higher

Education Institutes were helped by Enterprise Ireland as part of driving an increased

focus on business development.

Within the organisation, through our ‘Innovate@ETE’ group, staff are encouraged to make

positive changes to how we work and to the working environment. A Virtual Recognition

Event for the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards was held to formally


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recognise and showcase the initiatives developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis in a

challenging and fast changing environment.

In our adoption of the Declaration on Public Service Innovation, we continued to promote

a culture of innovation in our organisation. As part of the Decade of Centenaries commemorations, we organised ‘The 23 Kildare Street Talks - The Countess, Casualties

and The Civil Service’, a series of short lectures on the revolutionary period between 1919

to 1923.

The Department continues to play a central role in leading Action 6 of ‘Our Public Service

2020’ with the aim to ‘Promote a Culture of Innovation in the Public Service’. Secretary

General Dr Orlaigh Quinn and Enterprise Ireland CEO Julie Sinnamon act as designated

leads, and Assistant Secretary Pauline Mulligan is the Action’s Sponsor, chairing the Action

6 team comprising sectoral experts across the Public Service.

P REP A RIN G FO R B REXIT In 2020, the Department continued its extensive work to ensure a coordinated and

coherent approach to Brexit across the Department and its Of f ices and Agencies includ ing

engagement across Government on Brexit readiness in preparation for all Brexit outcomes,

including a no-deal. This included intensive engagement with the Department’s stakeholders

to assist businesses to get Brexit ready by end 2020. This work involved Ministerial

engagement through key stakeholder groups such as the Enterprise Forum on Brexit and

Global Challenges and the Retail Forum as well as with the Department’s enterprise and

regulatory Agencies.

A C C ELERA TIO N O F DIG ITA LIS A TIO N Ireland rose to 6th place on EU Digital Economy and Society Index 2020 and 1st place

on integration of digital technology and is the fastest growing digital f rontrunner on the index

and a key measure of national competitiveness. The f irst national platform legislation - the

Platform to Business Regulation - was signed into law in July 2020 via S.I. No. 256/2020 -

European Union (Promoting Fairness and Transparency for Business Users of Online

Intermediation Services) Regulations 2020. The Competition and Consumer Protection

Commission has been designated as the Irish enforcement body for the Regulation.

Comprehensive national cross government submissions were developed on the EU Digital

Services Act and the Digital Markets Act packages and ref lected in the EU Commission’s

proposals.

A comprehensive cross government national submission was developed on the EU Artif icial

Intelligence Whitepaper and in line with other digital f rontrunner Member States.

Work commenced on the development of the national Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy

which will be launched in mid 2021. The Strategy will outline a vision for Ireland to be an

international leader in using AI to the benef it of our population, through a people-centred and

ethical approach to AI development, adoption and use.

TO W A RDS A S US TA IN A B LE LO W C A RB O N EC O N O MY The Department actively engaged with the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, its

governance processes and has monitored progress and provided input into the development


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of the economy-wide Long-Term Strategy outlining Ireland’s net-zero 2050 target. It

committed to further Departmental and cross agency climate actions for the interim period to

the development of Climate Action Plan 2021 and work commenced on the contributions

f rom the Department to Climate Action Plan 2021.

The Department participated in discussions with the European Commission on the

enterprise aspects of the Commissions reference scenario which will form the basis of

Ireland’s national ef fort-sharing target following the increase in EU ambition to reduce

greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030.

Research was undertaken into technologies that could be adopted in specific sub-sectors of

the manufacturing sector to reduce emissions and in the context of the development of

sectoral targets, analysis was conducted to quantify CO2 abatement if investment in these

technologies occurred over the period to 2030. It progressed the Department’s actions f rom

the Climate Action Plan 2019 regarding those applying to the food/drinks and cement

sectors and inputted to the quarterly published progress reports on the Climate Action Plan

on actions including those undertaken by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science

Foundation Ireland and NSAI. Throughout the year the Department provided analysis and

policy input into matters relating to climate action policy and ensured consideration of

competitiveness impacts in policy options.

S UP P O RTIN G JO B C REA TIO N TH RO UG H O UR A G EN C IES

Enterprise Ireland Job creation closely matched the performance in 2019, with 16,496 new jobs created in

Enterprise Ireland supported companies. However, in a challenging year, with a signif icant

COVID-19 impact, job losses increased to 17,368 which resulted in net job losses of 872 in

client companies. Total employment in Enterprise Ireland supported companies was

220,613 at the end of 2020. 65% of total employment was outside Dublin.

IDA Ireland IDA Ireland performed strongly in 2020 with client companies creating 20,123 gross new

jobs on the ground. The net gain was 8,944 additional jobs. Total foreign direct investment

employment in Ireland at the end of 2020 stood at 257,394, the highest ever number

employed in the multinational sector, exceeding targets set by Government contained in IDA

Ireland’s Strategy – Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019. Of the 246 new

investments won in 2020, 128 (52%) were in regional locations.

Local Enterprise Offices During 2020 the Local Enterprise Of f ices (LEOs) focused on assisting business owners to

identify the initiatives available to them to respond to this unprecedented crisis and help

them keep their businesses viable. During what was a challenging year, a total of 5,585 new

jobs (gross) were created by LEO clients, with a net decrease of 1,494 jobs.

W O RKIN G G LO B A LLY The Department, on behalf of Ireland, worked closely with the European Union Commission

and Member States to bring several trade agreements to a successful conclusion. On 1

August 2020 the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force, following its


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signing the previous year. The EU and Mexico on 28 April 2020 concluded the last

outstanding element covering the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets, in the

negotiation of the new EU-Mexico FTA.

On 21 August 2020 the EU and US announced agreement on a package of tarif f reductions

across a number of US and EU exports, the f irst such negotiated reductions in duties in

more than two decades. An Economic and Sustainability Impact Assessment of the EU-

Mercosur trade deal for Ireland and partner countries was commissioned. The EU and China

signed a bilateral agreement to protect 100 European Geographical Indications (GIs) in

China, including Irish Whiskey and Irish Cream and 100 Chinese GIs in the European Union

against usurpation and imitation. The Agreement will enter into force in 2021.

At the end of 2020, the EU and China concluded negotiations in relation to a Comprehensive

Agreement on Investment that once ratif ied will improve market access for Irish and

European investors to the Chinese market of 1.4bn people across economic sectors.

The EU also adopted an amended Enforcement Regulation that allows the EU to defend the

interests of Member States in the event that a 3rd country breaches its commitments or

obligations under international trade law and a WTO Dispute Panel upholds a complaint

made by the injured party (EU).

O TH ER S IG N IFIC A N T IS S UES Improving terms and conditions for all workers continued in 2020. In September, the

Department commenced the development of a National Remote Working Strategy with a

vision to make remote working a permanent feature of the Irish workplace in a way that

maximises the economic, social and environmental benef its. It was published in early

January 2021.

Work is well underway on introducing a Statutory Sick Pay Scheme. A public consultation

was launched on 16 November 2020 and ended on 18 December 2020.

Work on the Right to Disconnect Policy began in 2020, with the Code of Practice on the

Right to Disconnect launched in early 2021.

The Low Pay Commission has the principal function of examining and making

recommendations to the Tánaiste on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage

and related matters. Its current work programme includes research on the transition to a

Living Wage.

The f irst Progress Reports for the Regional Enterprise Plans to 2020 were published in

early 2020. The Plans continued to be implemented during 2020 and each region submitted

their Final Progress Reports at the end of 2020 for publication in early 2021.

Under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, a further 26 collaborative and

innovative projects were awarded over €45m in funding in 2020. This brings the total

number of projects funded under the Fund to 68, with €100m in approved funding across the

three calls to date. Under the new Border Enterprise Development Fund, 11 projects

were approved funding of over €17m in 2020.

The third report f rom Balance for Better Business was launched by the Tánaiste in

December 2020. The report shows that encouraging progress is being made in some areas


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and that the gap between Ireland and the European Union average for women on boards

has continued to narrow, f rom 8% in 2018 to 1.2% in 2020 with Ireland now ranked in 13th

position, compared to 17th in 2018.

The General Scheme of the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and

Sporting Events) Bill 2020 was approved by the new Government for draf ting on 29

September 2020. The Bill’s main provision is a prohibition on the sale or advertising for sale

of tickets or ticket packages above their original sale price for events in designated venues

with a capacity of 1,000 or more. It includes also a ban on the unauthorised resale of tickets

for matches and events taking place during the EURO 2020 football championship.

Focus on Sectors 2020 was published in August 2020. This series of sectoral reports that

present concise overviews of 16 key sectors of the economy to assist horizontal oversight of

economic performance across these sectors and a platform to facilitate cooperation. The

2020 reports identify some initial indications of the impact of COVID-19 on these sectors.


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Vision

W E W I L L M A K E I R E L A N D T H E B E S T P L A C E T O S U C C E E D I N B U S I N E S S,

D E L I V E R I N G S U S T A I N A B L E F U L L E M P L O Y M E N T A N D H I G H E R S T A N D A R D S

O F L I V I N G A C R O S S A L L R E G I O N S O F T H E C O U N T R Y .

Mission

W E W I L L L E A D O N T H E C R E A T I O N A N D M A I N T E N A N C E O F H I G H Q U A L I TY

A N D S U S T A I N A B L E F U L L E M P L O Y M E N T A C R O S S A L L R E G I O N S O F T H E

C O U N T R Y B Y C H A M P I O N I N G E N T E R P R I S E A N D I N N O V A T I O N A C R O S S

G O V E R N M E N T , B Y S U P P O R T I N G A C O M P E T I T I V E B U S I N E S S B A S E T O

I N C E N T I V I S E W O R K , E N T E R P R I S E , T R A D E , I N N O V A T I O N A N D I N V E S T M E NT

A N D B Y P R O M O T I N G F A I R A N D C O M P E T I T I V E M A R K E T S A S W E L L A S B E S T

B U S I N E S S P R A C T I C E T H R O U G H T H E R E G U L A T O R Y A N D E N F O R C E M E NT

W O R K O F T H E D E P A R T M E N T , I T S O F F I C E S A N D I T S A G E N C I E S .

Values

A S A D E P A R T M E N T , W E F O S T E R A C U L T U R E O F A C C O U N T A B I L I TY,

E F F I C I E N C Y A N D V A L U E F O R M O N E Y , W H I C H I S R O O T E D I N A P U B LIC

S E R V I C E E T H O S O F I N D E P E N D E N C E , I N T E G R I T Y , I M P A R T I A L I T Y , O P E N N E SS,

D I G N I T Y A N D R E S P E C T .

A S C I V I L S E R V A N T S , W E E S P O U S E T H E H I G H E S T S T A N D A R D S O F

P R O F E S S I O N A L I S M , H O N E S T Y , O B J E C T I V I T Y A N D Q U A L I T Y , W H I C H A RE

C E N T R A L T O F U L F I L L I N G O U R R O L E S I N S U P P O R T I N G T H E D E M O C R A T IC

P R O C E S S A N D S E R V I N G T H E P E O P L E .


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Introduction to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

The title and remit of the Department changed f rom Business, Enterprise and Innovation to Enterprise, Trade and Employment, following the formation of a new Government in June 2020. The Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, TD was appointed as Minister and two Ministers of State, Minister English and Minister Troy took up new roles in the Department. A comprehensive brief was prepared for the Tánaiste and Ministers, in line with the Public Service Management Act 1997, and a new Statement of Strategy was developed and submitted to the Tánaiste before the end of 2020. In line with the Programme for Government, this strategy sets out a revised Mission, Strategic Goals and the overall direction for the Department over the next three years. Prior to June, the Department was led by Minister Heather Humphreys, TD and Ministers of State, Pat Breen TD and John Halligan, TD.

Signif icant negotiations and work took place in relation to the transfer of functions, which

involved f ive separate streams of work, four relating to new functions coming into the

Department and one relating to the transfer out of existing work. The trade promotion

function was transferred to this Department f rom the Department of Foreign Affairs, and

employment rights and redundancy and insolvency policy transferred f rom the Department of

Social Protection. The Department also assumed responsibility for the Low Pay

Commission which has the principal function of examining and making recommendations to

the Tánaiste on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage and related matters. The

Department also took on responsibility for the Balance for Better Business Group f rom the

Department of Justice and the Trading Online Vouchers f rom the Department of

Communications, Climate Action and the Environment. Work was completed on transferring

out responsibilities in relation to science, including Science Foundation Ireland and the

Tyndall Institute. This will, with ef fect f rom 1 January 2021, transfer to newly formed

Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The Department’s mission is to lead on the creation and maintenance of employment across

all sectors and regions of the country. We play a key role in implementing the Government’s

policies of stimulating the productive capacity of the economy, supporting enterprise and

trade and creating an environment which assists job creation and maintenance. The

Department also has a remit to promote fair competition in the marketplace, protect

consumers and safeguard workers.

Working together with its Agencies and Off ices, the Department’s remit covers a wide range

of activity including:

▪ Leading on helping entrepreneurs and businesses create and sustain high quality employment across all regions of our country, by developing a strong indigenous enterprise base, attracting Foreign Direct Investment and increasing trade.

▪ Promoting quality employment, positive workplace relations, well-functioning dispute resolution mechanisms and a safe working environment.

▪ Creating a strong entrepreneurial culture.


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▪ Assisting enterprise with their research and development needs to maintain and create new jobs and contribute to building a better society.

▪ Identifying the future skills needs of enterprise and working across Government to develop policies to meet these needs, including through upskilling.

▪ Leading a whole-of -Government approach to developing a competitive environment for investment, productivity and sustainable jobs.

▪ Ensuring our business regulation facilitates investment and development, competition in the marketplace, high standards of consumer protection and corporate governance, and provides Ireland with a competitive advantage in the global market.

▪ Working ambitiously across Government with our EU and international partners to achieve progress in EU and International fora, across a wide range of interests, including Brexit.

▪ Representing and negotiating for Ireland’s interests in relevant EU fora, including:

- Competitiveness Council (incorporating Internal Market, Industry Space and Research),10

- Foreign Af fairs Council (meeting in its Trade formation)

- Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Af fairs Council (EPSCO)11

and relevant international bodies;

- World Trade Organisation (WTO),

- International Labour Organisation (ILO),

- Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),

- World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

- Council of Europe (Social Charter)12

10 Responsibility for research at Competitiveness Council transferred from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and

Employment to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science 1 January 2021

11 Responsibility for EPSCO transferred from the Department of Social Protection to the Department of Enterprise, Trade

and Employment on 14 October 2020 12 Responsibility for Council of Europe (Social Charter) transferred from the Department of Social Protection to the

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on 14 October 2020


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Department Structure

Management Board

The Department’s Management Board comprises of the Secretary General, seven Assistant

Secretaries and the Head of the Governance, Information and Management Support Unit.

The Management Board met weekly, in person and then virtually, during 2020.

MI N I ST ER I A L MA N A G EMEN T B OA R D In 2020, Ministerial Management Board meetings took place regularly. The Minister, the

Ministers of State and the Special Advisors to the Minister attended these meetings, along

with the members of the Management Board.

OF F I CES A N D A G EN CI ES The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has seven Off ices and eight

Agencies. With ef fect f rom 1 January 2021, Science Foundation Ireland transferred to the

remit of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and

Science.


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Organisation Chart


—— 134

Offices and Agencies of the Department


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Statement of Strategy 2018-2021

ST A T E ME NT O F ST RA TE GY 2 018 -20 21

The Department’s Statement of Strategy for 2018-2021 sets out seven overarching high-

level goals capturing strategic priorities across the broad range of areas for which the

Department has responsibility 13

Goal 1: L E A D O N C R E A TI NG A ND SUST A I NI NG H I GH Q UA LI TY

E NT E R P RISE A ND E MP LO YMENT A C R OSS A L L R E GI O NS O F T H E

C O UNT R Y BY SUP P O R TI NG A ST R O NG I ND IGE NO U S E NTE RPR ISE BA SE ,

T H E C O NT I NUE D A T TRA CT IO N O F F O REI GN D I REC T I NV E STMENT A ND

A ST R O NG E NT REP RENE URI AL C UL T URE

In 2020, global economic output is estimated to have fallen by between 3.25% - 3.4%, which

represents a far larger shock to economies than the recession in the wake of the global

f inancial crisis. At the peak, in April 2020, the COVID-adjusted unemployment rate was

30.5%, with over 1.2m of the workforce in receipt of some form of income support. Over the

course of last year, the unemployment rate has fallen and at year end the COVID-adjusted

unemployment rate14 was 20.4%.

The level of State support over the course of the year was substantial to insulate businesses

and workers f rom the worst of the pandemic. The cost to the State over the course of the

year was €25bn, which included €8.8bn of income supports via the Employee Wage Subsidy

Scheme, its precursor the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Pandemic

Unemployment Payment.

The expectations for the forthcoming year recent forecasts suggest that the economy has

weathered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with forecasts suggest that Irish GDP will

grow by between 4.4% and 4.9% in 2021, and by between 4.5% and 5.2% in 2022.

ST A KE H O LDE R E NGA GEME NT

Enterprise Information Centre With the f irst closures were announced in March because of the pandemic, the number of

calls to the Department f rom business seeking advice and assistance increased signif icantly.

A dedicated COVID-19 Business Support Call Centre was established immediately to

provide information on the various new and existing schemes and f inancial measures

available. A dedicated helpline phone number and email address were established and

these details were advertised on the Department’s website and social media. The Centre

responded to over 11,200 calls and emails in 2020.

13 A new Statement of Strategy for 2021 to 2023 was published in January 2021 as required following

appointment of a new Minister and can be found at www.enterprise.gov.ie 14 https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/labourmarket/monthlyunemployment/monthlyunemploymentandcovid -

19adjustedestimatesmarch2020technicalnote/


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Having been proven to be a valuable addition to the public service offered by the

Department, it was decided to continue and to expand the Call Centre function and for it be

grown into a business information service addressing all business initiatives and measures

in a post-Covid environment, including those Brexit-related. The Centre provides a central

point of contact within the Department for businesses to learn about the assistance and

services available f rom the Department, its Of f ices and Agencies and across Government

and where and how to access them.

The Centre was included in the Excellence in Customer Services Case Studies published in

December 2020 as part of Our Public Service 2020 as an example of how the Department is

continually working to improve customer service and put citizens at the centre of service

design and delivery.

Retail Forum The Retail Forum continued its focus on the developmental needs of the sector in 2020. It

also intensif ied its work on Brexit preparedness, including mitigations to minimise disruption

to food supply chains and helped the sector with the impact of COVID-19, the periods of

closure of non-essential retail and the ongoing public health guidance. In relation to Brexit

preparedness, the Forum supported by the Brexit Unit, facilitated engagement with a range

of Government Departments and relevant bodies including the Departments of Agriculture,

Food and the Marine and Transport, Revenue Commissioners, Food Safety Authority of

Ireland, Environmental Health Services, Dublin Port. In addition to the three scheduled

meetings of the Retail Forum, Minister English, formerly Minister Humphreys, as Chair of the

Retail Forum met with the Grocery, Retail and Distribution Sector regularly throughout 2020

on COVID-19 and Brexit.

COVID-19 has accelerated structural changes in the retail sector, including the move to

digital and online. Trading online is a very important route for retail to grow and improve their

business in the current crisis and will be an important element in their recovery over the

longer term. The COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme, which is administered by Enterprise

Ireland on behalf of the Department, was introduced in 2020 with the aim of helping

indigenous Irish retailers to sustain their business through the crisis and into the future by

strengthening their online of fering, increasing their customer base, and building a more

resilient business in the domestic and global marketplace both online and of fline. During

2020 two calls were announced under the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme with 330

retailers awarded €11.9m.

Additional issues considered by the Forum in 2020 included town centre renewal, cost of

insurance, skills needs, commercial rates, commercial rents and the various COVID -19

business initiatives.


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Code of Conduct between landlords and business for commercial rents

On 1 October 2020, a new voluntary Code of Conduct between landlords and business for

commercial rents was published. The Code, which is a commitment in the Programme for

Government, was developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders , including Ibec, Retail

Excellence Ireland, Chambers Ireland, Dublin Town and Irish Institutional Property. It is

based on an approach taken in other jurisdictions, including Australia, France and the U.K.

The Code applies until 31 July 2021 and sets out a structured approach for engagement

between both commercial landlords and tenants, based on their mutual interest in continuing

to work together.

The Code sets out a number of principles that both parties should commit to abide by,

including transparency and collaboration. It asks commercial landlords to provide

concessions where they can and where this is not possible, asks them to set out clearly the

reasons for this. It lists some of the issues to consider when determining the impact of

COVID-19 and the public health restrictions on a business and the need for concession.

Where a concession is being considered, the Code provides some suggested options for

new arrangements. The Code also suggests that commercial tenants seeking new

arrangements should be clear as to why assistance is needed when seeking concessions

f rom their landlord.

Engagement with Small Business Community The Department’s engagement with the small business community is assisted by extensive

participation in international fora on SME policy matters. At EU level, the Department

continues to engage proactively as a member of the SME Envoy Network, contributing to the

development of the new EU SME Strategy in 2020. The Department was again an active

participant at the OECD’s Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship and, at Ministerial

level, co-chaired the OECD’s Digital for SME initiative at its events in 2020. This

engagement has helped to build strong relationships with our international partners and has

been a valuable resource for best international policy examples.

During 2020, the supportingsmes.gov.ie website provided up-to-date critical information for

SMEs regarding COVID-19 business initiatives, Return to Work Policy Guidelines, Brexit

supports and signposting facilities to business initiatives and training webinars.

In September 2020, the Department established an SME Growth Taskforce to design and

deliver a National SME Growth Plan, a long-term strategic plan for SMEs and entrepreneurs

which would look beyond Brexit and COVID-19. The membership of the SME Taskforce was

drawn f rom a wide range of representatives f rom the small business community, including

successful entrepreneurs, representative bodies, and other business leaders.

The Taskforce, which was chaired by the Tánaiste, met in plenary session on four occasions

between September and December. There was a further total of 18 meetings of four

subgroups, which worked on developing recommendations in thematic areas. The proposals

developed include measures to help SMEs to start up, scale up and access foreign markets,

as well as recommendations aimed at helping SMEs to become more productive and ready

for the transition to a digital, green economy. In addition, there is particular focus on creating

https://supportingsmes.gov.ie/


—— 138

and growing local business networks and clusters, which are an important driver of regional

development.

The work of the Taskforce concluded with the completion of its draft Report, which sets out

over 80 actions aimed at ensuring that Irish SMEs and entrepreneurs continue to grow and

become more productive in the years to come. In December, Government noted the Growth

Plan and approved its upcoming publication.

A C C ES S TO F IN A N C E

SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme The SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme was launched at the end of March 2020 to

provide an immediate response to liquidity needs of COVID-19 impacted SMEs and small

mid-caps. Loan amounts under this scheme are of fered at competitive rates for between

€25,000 and €1.5m for terms between one and three years, with no security required on

loans of less than €500k.

Between the SBCI Working Capital Scheme and the Brexit Loan Scheme, €337.5m of

lending has been made available to help liquidity needs of SMEs, as of the end of 2020. A

further expansion is in progress to bring available lending through these two schemes up to

€500m. In the f ive months to the end of September 2020, prior to the launch by this

Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of a tailor-made

liquidity loan scheme for COVID-19 impacted SMEs (the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee

Scheme - further details below), 808 loans under the SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital

Scheme were progressed to sanction at bank level to the value of €103.5m. A further 150

loans progressed to sanction to the value of €22m, as lenders reviewed their pipeline of

applications between September and December 2020. In total 958 loans to the value of

€126.5m were sanctioned over nine months of 2020.

COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme The Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Act was passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas

and signed by the President into law in July 2020. It allows for the COVID-19 Credit

Guarantee Scheme to be extended to the end of 2021. The COVID-19 Credit Guarantee

Scheme provides for €2bn in lending for Irish businesses and is the largest guarantee

scheme in the history of the State. Its function is to add certainty to businesses that funding

is available for working capital and inves tment purposes. Loans of up to €1m are available

for up to f ive and a half years at reduced interest rates. Loans under €250,000 do not

require collateral or personal guarantees. The Scheme is available to SMEs, small Mid-Caps

and primary producers.

The Open Call to the Scheme, operated by SBCI, saw the largest number ever of

applications f rom f inance providers in Ireland and by year end over 20 new f inance providers

had either completed the legal and operational process or were in the f inal stages. This

signif ies the largest ever successful interaction by private finance providers with a state

scheme and will add competition, regional spread and diversity into the SME lending market

into the future.

AIB, BOI and Ulster Bank launched the Scheme in September 2020, with Credit Unions and

non-bank lenders joining in December 2020. Af ter less than four months in operation, 1,890


—— 139

businesses had drawn down funding worth over €98m by year end. This represents more

than a 600% increase on the €14.8m drawn in the entirety of 2019 under the Credit

Guarantee Scheme. The Scheme was initially established to operate until end of 2020 but

was extended to 30 June 2021 by government decision in November 2020.

Future Growth Loan Scheme The €300m Future Growth Loan Scheme was launched in March 2019 to provide access to

lending to eligible Irish businesses and the primary agriculture and seafood sectors to assist

strategic long-term investment. The scheme was expanded in July 2020 to bring available

lending to €800m. Finance provided under this scheme is easier to access, more

competitively priced, and offered at more favourable terms than other lending for such

businesses. Loan amounts are of fered of between €100,000 (€50,000 for agriculture) to €3m

with unsecured loans up to €500,000. Loans are for terms of between seven and 10 years –

addressing a gap in the market for longer term f inance. The scheme is jointly funded by this

Department, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European

Investment Bank.

This scheme has been well received in the market such that at the end of 2020 there had

been 2,742 loans progressed to sanction at bank level, to a total value of €555m, of which

2,023 of these loans to the value of €415.1m were sanctioned in 2020 alone.

Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme The Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme, operated by Microf inance Ireland, was introduced

in 2012. The purpose of the fund is to provide loans to microenterprises which are def ined

as businesses with less than 10 employees and/or turnover of less than €2m.

In 2020, Microf inance Ireland approved €27.4m in funding to 2,202 small businesses

throughout the country, helping the creation or sustainment of 2,972 jobs with 74% of loans

going to microenterprises outside of Dublin.

Since the Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme became operational in 2012 to the end of

2020, 3,199 loans totalling €53.9m have been drawn which have helped to support 9,002

jobs.

Further to the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Act 2020, a governance review was

begun to evaluate the potential change in ownership/parentage of the company which owns

the sole share in Microf inance Ireland. This was done in tandem with an external due

diligence review of the organisation on behalf of SBCI to progress their ability to become a

lender to Microf inance Ireland.

RES TA RT G RA N T Working with the local authorities, the Department launched the Restart Grant and the

Restart Grant Plus Schemes which contributed towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a

business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. A total allocation of

€685m was made available through these schemes in 2020, with over 108,000 grants made.


—— 140

R E GI O NA L E NT E RPRI SE P L A NS

Overseen at the national level by the Department, and originally launched in 2019, the

purpose of the Regional Enterprise Plans is to identify growth opportunities, recognise

vulnerabilities, and in response, strengthen the regional enterprise ecosystem to enable job

creation in the regions.

Developed by regional stakeholders, each Plan contains a small number of agreed priority

Strategic Objectives and specific actions to help enterprise development and job creation

over a two-year work programme.

The Plans complement existing activities being undertaken by IDA Ireland, Enterprise

Ireland, the LEOs and the wider range of State Bodies d irectly involved in assisting

enterprise development in the regions and generate added value f rom regional and local

actors working collaboratively.

Nine ‘bottom-up’ and collaborative Regional Steering Committees implement the Regional

Enterprise Plans. Chaired by a person f rom the private sector, membership includes: the

enterprise Agencies, LEOs, local authorities, higher and further education bodies, private

sector and others.

In line with the focus on balanced regional development in the Programme fo r Government,

the Regional Enterprise Plans will be renewed for a further multi-year work programme

following a consultation and prioritisation exercise with the Regional Committees overseen

by the Department commencing in 2021.

R E GI O NA L E NT E RPRI SE D E V ELO PME NT F UND

The Regional Enterprise Development Fund, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland,

has been an ef fective instrument of policy to encourage and f inancially assist bottom-up

collaborative initiatives that seek to strengthen regional enterprise ecosystems and the

potential for job creation in the regions. The Fund complements the aims and objectives of

the Regional Enterprise Plans.

In January 2020, under the third call of the Fund, 26 projects were awarded funding totalling

€45m. Almost €100m in funding has now been approved for 68 projects across three

competitive calls under the Fund to date, with projects approved in every region, ranging

f rom the development of new start-up/enterprise hubs to nationally signif icant sector focused

applied research and innovation facilities that build on specific regional specialisms.

Successful projects under the third call include the Future Mobility Campus Ireland which

was awarded €4.7m in funding to establish a transport testbed based in Shannon Co. Clare

and Premier Lakelands Food hub, which was approved funding of over €1.3m to develop a

state of the art food-hub based in Longford.

A Border Enterprise Development Fund (BEDF) was launched in early 2020 to provide

assistance for collaborative, enterprise capability building projects, to advance

entrepreneurship, productivity and innovation in the Border region. The Fund was part of a

€28m Brexit economic stimulus package announced for the six border counties of Louth,

Monaghan, Cavan, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. In June 2020, under the BEDF, 11 projects

were approved funding totalling over €17m with projects approved in each of the Border


—— 141

counties. Winning projects under the BEDF range f rom an innovation-as-a-service project in

Donegal which aims to accelerate the uptake of disruptive technology solutions by SMEs, to

the establishment of an Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Training Centre in

Dundalk, Co. Louth.

E NT E R P RISE I R E LA ND

Ref lecting the impact of the pandemic on the Irish economy and global markets in 2020,

Enterprise Ireland client companies reported a decline in total employment. Enterprise

Ireland’s 2020 employment survey reported 220,613 people employed in Enterprise Ireland -

supported companies, a decrease of 0.4%, taking into account job gains and losses then

overall 872 net jobs were lost. Enterprise Ireland client companies in some sectors saw

signif icant growth in 2020, including Life Sciences (6.8%), Cleantech (6%) and Construction

(4.7% employment growth). The total spend of Enterprise Ireland clients in the Irish economy

across payroll and goods and services purchased reached €27 bn in 2019.

There were over 60 ‘International Virtual Buyer Events’ organised. In October, ‘ International

Markets Week’ launch witnessed 1,651 virtual attendees. Ireland’s largest exporter event

saw more than 700 companies meeting 140 market advisors f rom 40 overseas offices in

2,000 individual virtual one-to-one meetings to plan their COVID-19, Brexit and market

diversif ication strategies.

Enterprise Ireland launched Phase 2 of the ‘Enter the Eurozone’ programme for Irish

business, designed to maximise opportunities for Irish business in what is now the second

largest market for Enterprise Ireland client companies. With growth o f 15% in 2019 and

exports valued at €5.6bn, the Eurozone constitutes 22% of total exports.

In 2020 the challenge for Enterprise Ireland was to assist companies weathering the storms

of COVID-19 and Brexit. This was mainly achieved through the liquidity assistance provided

to companies via the Sustaining Enterprise Fund which was negotiated by the Department.

The main objective of the fund is to sustain business so that companies can return to viability

and contribute to the recovery of the Irish economy. €124m in funding helped sustain 418

companies and 17,710 jobs across the country.

Targeted COVID-19 funding to help companies stabilise, reset and recover included:

▪ 8,650 companies (including non-Enterprise Ireland clients) of fered advice and directed to

funding options.

▪ 989 companies provided with €4.9m in funding to develop a robust financial plan through

the COVID-19 Business Financial Planning Grant.

▪ 330 retailers provided with grants, totalling €11.8m, to develop their online presence

through the Online Retail Scheme.

▪ €5.4m provided to companies innovating and scaling to produce products to respond to

the COVID-19 pandemic under the COVID-19 Products Scheme.

▪ 95 regional enterprise centres throughout the country awarded €8.24m in total through

the Enterprise Centres Fund. The local business hubs received grants ranging f rom €10k

up to €150k to help them continue to of fer services to local businesses across Ireland.


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▪ 531 company representatives completed a Virtual International Selling Masterclass –

providing vital skills for businesses to continue to grow their export footprint during the

pandemic.

Building Scale:

▪ In 2020 a total 125 new start-ups were assisted through the HPSU programme and

Competitive Start Fund initiatives.

▪ In December, 15 women entrepreneurs were announced as participants in the

Competitive Start Fund.

▪ During 2020 Enterprise Ireland established partnerships for HPSUs with Amazon and

Microsof t.

Details of Enterprise Ireland’s strategic response to Brexit is included under Goal 6.

L O C A L E NT E RPRI SE O F F I CE S

The 31 Local Enterprise Of f ices (LEOs) are the ‘f irst-stop-shop’ for providing advice and

guidance, f inancial assistance and other measures to those wishing to start or grow their

own business. During 2020 the role of the LEOs focused more on assisting business

owners to identify the initiatives available to them to respond to this unprecedented crisis

and help them keep their businesses viable. During the year:

• a total of 5,585 new full and part-time jobs (gross) were created by LEO clients overall;

• there was a net decrease of 1,494 jobs (full and part-time); and

• the LEO portfolio in 2020 consisted of 7,529 client companies, with an employment total

of 35,236 (full-time and part-time jobs).

COVID-19 Measures As a key player in the government’s response to COVID-19, the LEOs developed new

measures and adapted existing ones to provide financial assistance to SMEs across the

country

• The Business Continuity Voucher scheme introduced in March 2020 provided a voucher, worth up to €2,500 in third party consultancy costs, for use by companies and sole

traders to develop short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the initial COVID-19

pandemic and to plan for eventual recovery and reopening of the economy. The scheme,

which was closed to new applications in May 2020, had an uptake of 14,871 applications

in this period and 12,077 approvals amounting to almost €26m.

• The Trading Online Voucher Scheme of fers skills training, mentoring and f inancial

assistance of up to €2,500 to help small and micro -businesses to develop their

ecommerce capability. New f lexibilities to the Scheme were introduced in April , including

reducing the requirement for co-funding from 50% to 10% and allowing businesses to

apply for a second voucher of up to €2,500 where they have successfully utilised their

f irst one. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, this scheme has proven to be a very popular

measure that can open up new markets to struggling businesses and has seen 17,197

applications and 12,946 approvals this year to a value o f €30.7m.


—— 143

• The Micro Enterprise Assistance Fund, introduced in September, targeted those micro

enterprises that could not avail of existing government measures. This Grant Fund

provided eligible businesses with a voucher of up to €1,000 in respect of vouched

expenditure, as a contribution towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a business

operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. This scheme saw 428

applicants and 196 approvals to date and with €185,000 approved.

Core Measures The LEOs continued to provide advice and assistance to entrepreneurs to pursue their

business ideas and look for opportunities to start up new businesses.

In 2020, the LEOs paid out direct f inancial assistance to 1,216 business projects, to the

value of €13.2m. Of these, 336 were priming grants for start-up companies of almost €5m.

In addition to the f inancial measures on of fer, the LEOs responded to the restrictions of lockdown by pivoting their training programmes, workshops and networking meetups to an online platform covering areas such as:

• cash management in a crisis;

• leading your business through COVID-19; and

• advice for employers impacted by the crisis.

The LEOs provided free of charge mentoring assistance to 16,231 participants, who work

with an experienced mentor to identify solutions to areas of exposure within their business.

With advice and guidance f rom their mentor, clients develop strategies that are more robust,

address issues and maximise potential opportunities including those around COVID-19

challenges.

There were also 77,466 participants in the COVID-19 training programmes.

The LEOs launched the LEO Client Training Initiative, a new ‘Lunch & Learn’ live training

webinar series, open and accessible to all LEO client companies and prospective clients

across the country, with no registration or sign-up required. This series is intended to

complement the online training and webinar programmes already in place for clients. This is

an interactive chat with a dif ferent expert every week under a ‘Lunch & Learn’ model and is

available on the national LEO Facebook Page and through the LEO YouTube channel.

A positive outcome of LEO investment and assistance is the progression of 133 LEO client

companies to the Enterprise Ireland portfolio in 2020. These clients are among the best

performing companies in the LEO client portfolio (and because of the transfer to Enterprise

Ireland their performance is not ref lected in the 2020 outturn above).

I D A I R E L A ND

IDA Ireland performed strongly in 2020 with client companies creating 20,123 gross new

jobs on the ground. IDA Ireland client companies now account for 12.4% of COVID -19

adjusted national employment.

Total Foreign Direct Investment employment in Ireland at the end of 2020 stood at 257,394

the highest ever number employed in the multinational sector.


—— 144

Of the 246 new investments won in 2020, 128 (52%) were for regional locations.

Every region, except the border region, grew employment in 2020. The mid-East showed the

strongest growth rate at 6.2%.

Through its Regional Property Programme, IDA Ireland is also developing appropriate

property solutions in designated regional locations to help attract overseas investment.

IDA Ireland Strategy: Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021-2024 Amid the context of COVID-19 related economic uncertainty and Brexit, IDA Ireland

developed its new strategy during 2020. The strategy, entitled ‘Driving Recovery and Growth

2021-2024’, is built on f ive interlinked pillars – growth, transformation, regions, sustainability

and impact. IDA Ireland aims to win a total of 800 investments and create 50,000 jobs over

the period 2021-2024. The ambition of the strategy is to deliver substantial job creation and

drive economic activity, targeting a 20% increase in client expenditure to maximise the

impact of foreign direct investment. Supporting the Climate Action Plan, the strategy also

aims to win 60 sustainability investments over the period to 2024 and will help future growth

through 170 Research, Development & Innovation and 130 training investments, enabling a

transformative recovery focused on sustainability and inclusiveness. The strategy was

launched in January 2021.

Details of IDA Ireland’s strategic response to Brexit is included under Goal 6.

I NT E R T RADE I REL AND

Intertrade Ireland (ITI) is one of the six North/South Implementation Bodies established under

the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Since then, ITI has been helping small businesses in

Ireland and Northern Ireland explore new cross-border markets, develop new products,

processes and services, grow their business and become investor ready. ITI’s suite of

programmes and services aim to help businesses to build competitive advantage in the crucial

areas of trade and innovation, all backed by evidence-based economic and business research.

The Department has been steadily increasing its funding to ITI, with increases every year,

including an additional €675k provided for 2021. This has seen our funding to ITI increase

f rom approximately €7.5 million in 2017 to over €11 million for 2021.

ITI’s activities in 2020 included: ▪ Providing opportunities and financial resources for North/South technology transfer

projects to develop new innovative products and services which can drive exports;

▪ Scoping new areas for co-operation between f irms North and South;

▪ Providing sales and marketing opportunities to help f irms find new cross -border markets;

▪ Providing access for SMEs to the €12bn all-island public procurement market;

▪ Continue to help Cross Border prepare and adapt to the new trading relationship following

Brexit; and

▪ Delivering a rapid response to business impacted by COVID-19.

Main outputs delivered by ITI in 2020: ▪ Jobs impact was 1,597 against a target for the year of 1,500;


—— 145

▪ Business Development Value for companies was €79m against a target of €75.6m;

▪ First time innovator companies were 63 against a target of 67; and

▪ First time exporters companies amounted to 78 against a target of 67.

BA L A NC E F O R BE TT ER BUSI NE SS

The third report f rom Balance for Better Business was launched by the Tánaiste at a virtual

event on 16 December 2020. Balance for Better Business was launched in 2018 by the then

Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar T.D., to improve gender balance in senior leadership in Ireland.

Co-chaired by Brid Horan and Gary Kennedy, the Balance for Better Business Review

Group comprises senior f igures in Irish business and the public service. This independent

Review Group examines the gender mix within the governance and senior management of

companies in Ireland and the issues which arise in connection with the appointment of

company directors and senior management.

The Review Group makes recommendations on how more women can be involved in

decision-making at the top level of businesses in Ireland including calling for a reform of the

current system to ensure more women play a role at board level and in senior leadership

teams. It has also set progressive targets to 2023 for the achievement of improved gender

balance on the boards and senior management of these companies.

This third report monitors progress against the targets to 1 September 2020 and now

includes major multinational companies operating in Ireland as well as companies listed on

Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange) and other large Irish private comp anies.

The report shows that encouraging progress is being made in some areas including:

▪ Overall for listed companies, 22.4% of directors are female, up f rom 19.1% in 2020 (and

up f rom 14% in 2018);

▪ ISEQ20 companies, at 27.4% female directors on average, exceeded the interim 2020

target of 25% and on track to achieve 2023 target of 33%. This is a signif icant

improvement f rom 18% in 2018;

▪ Two ISEQ20 companies have 50% female boards;

▪ Females on leadership teams of ISEQ20 companies increased f rom 17% in 2019 to 22%

in 2020; and

▪ The gap between Ireland and the EU28 average for women on boards has continued to

narrow, f rom 8% in 2018 to 1.2% in 2020 with Ireland now ranked in 13th position,

compared to 17th in 2018.

NA T I O NA L ST A NDA RDS A UT H ORI TY O F I R EL AND

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the State Agency responsible for

standardisation, conformity assessment and measurement. The NSAI saw continued demand for its services in 2020 against a backdrop of a strong performance by the Irish economy. There was a signif icant interest in standards and across the wider range of


—— 146

services for conformity assessment and measurement services as businesses sought to improve their performance and plan for Brexit.

NSAI’s response to COVID-19 had three main points of focus: financial and cash

management, continued operational activity and additional operational activity to assist the

COVID-19 response. Operationally the emphasis was directed at helping business over the

longer term through increased Knowledge Transfer activities which aim to build on the

extensive technical knowledge within NSAI to help companies ‘re-start’ and build post

COVID-19 and post Brexit.

NSAI published 1,349 standards during 2020. NSAI rapidly developed several COVID-19

guides in areas such as retail, shopping centre recovery, PPE, and barrier mask

specif ications. The objective of the guidance for Manufacturers and Retailers was to allow

staf f safely return to the workplace, and to also put in place measures which protect the

public. The documents offer practical advice on how to conduct risk assessments and put in

place safety protocols based on current information f rom NPHET, the HSE and others. On

the medical PPE side, standards were made f reely available to allow for the speedy delivery

of PPE equipment into the country.

THE NSAI published IS 10101 - National Rules for Electrical Installations (Wiring Rules) in

March 2020. The document is the f irst major revision to the standard in over 10 years and is

based on internationally agreed standards for safety of electrical installations including new

technologies such as charging of electric vehicles, solar photovoltaic systems and guidance

on energy ef f iciencies.

The total number of standards available in NSAI’s catalogue now exceeds 24,000. The

number of standards accessed by Irish users exceeded 224,769 (up 30% on 2019) and the

number of new registered users to the Agency’s ‘Your Standards, Your Say’ portal increased

by 351.

The certif ication environment was dramatically transformed in 2020 with the requirement to

pivot auditing to a virtual working environment, which engaged clients in facilitating remote

audits that enabled organisations to continue to use standards for competitive advantage.

Business commitment to standards was demonstrated as organisations sought to improve

their resilience in the face of COVID-19 impacts while simultaneously preparing for a post

Brexit environment. During 2020, NSAI continued to certify organisations to world class

business standards:

▪ Over 1,900 Quality Management Standard certif icates issued; and

▪ Product certif ication in accordance with the EU requirements for: Automotive (8,118);

Construction (866) and Medical Devices (188).

In place of the bi-annual certif ication ceremony, celebrations were taken online with a month-

long social media campaign, #NSAICertif ied during December 2020. The campaign was a

major success with NSAI clients and followers, garnering over 50,000 impressions across

media platforms.


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Goal 2: L E A D A W H O L E O F GO V E RNME NT A P P ROA C H T O

D E V E L OP ING T H E MO ST C O MP ETI TI V E E NV I RONMENT F O R

I NV E ST ME NT, P R ODUC TI VI TY A ND SUST AI NA BLE J O BS

I ND UST R Y 4 . 0 ST RA TE GY

Ireland’s Industry 4.0 Strategy 2020-2025 was published in December 2019. The vision

underpinning the strategy is that, by 2025, Ireland will be a competitive, innovation-driven

manufacturing hub at the f rontier of the fourth industrial revolution, and at the forefront of

Industry 4.0 development and adoption.

The Strategy has f ive goals and 18 strategic actions and the strategic actions are structured

around six themes. The Strategy recognises that Ireland is well positioned to pursue

opportunities arising f rom Industry 4.0, and that all f irms – large and small, foreign and

indigenous - should have the opportunity to engage in Industry 4.0. It also recognises that

one of the key policy challenges is to encourage the diffusion and adoption of the new

technologies by all f irms, particularly those with low absorptive capacity.

In 2020, work continued on the establishment of two key drivers of the Strategy:

▪ The establishment of ‘Future Manufacturing Ireland’ (FMI) – this new coordination

mechanism will ensure coherence and optimal delivery of Research, Development and

Innovation (RD&I) measures across publicly funded research centres of scale. FMI will

ensure maximum alignment of activities across the Research and Development centres

and avoid unnecessary duplication and f ragmentation of ef fort, providing a coordinated

approach to meet the needs of the Irish manufacturing industry.

▪ The establishment of an Industry 4.0 Stakeholder Forum to oversee the implementation

of the Strategy and to provide advice, guidance and inform future policy development.

The Forum members will include representatives of the manufacturing value chain,

Industry 4.0 experts, Higher Education Institutions, industry bodies, relevant state bodies

and the FMI Project Manager.

R E MO T E W O R K GUI D ANC E A ND ST RA TE GY

▪ Following the f indings of the December 2019 Remote Work in Ireland report, the

Department focussed on providing guidance to employers and employees on the topic of

Remote Work. An Interdepartmental Group (IDG) on Remote Work was formed to

deliver guidance on Remote Work.

▪ In July 2020, the Department launched the ‘Remote Work Guidance’ webpage. This

webpage brought together the information, guidance and legislation relevant to remote

working f rom across Government Departments and Agencies. In the same month, a

public consultation was launched, following which, the webpage was updated to address

the feedback received and to include an employer checklist. The checklist provides

employers a quick way to navigate the adoption of remote working arrangements in an

easy-to-use format for businesses.


—— 148

▪ In September, the Department commenced the development of a National Remote Work

Strategy, steered by the IDG on Remote Work. The Strategy was published in early

January 2021 and its vision is to make remote working a permanent feature of the Irish

workplace in a way that maximises the economic, social and environmental benef its. It

includes 15 actions to be taken to progress remote work in Ireland.

DIS RUP TIVE TEC H N O LO G IES IN N O VA TIO N FUN D

During 2020, Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) projects continued to deliver

on ambitions set out in Future Jobs Ireland 2019. There are 74 SMEs engaging in RD&I

through the Fund, collaborating with multinational companies and research institutions on

large-scale industrial research projects. These projects are at the forefront of technological

change in areas such as gene therapies, artif icial intelligence and carbon reduction. This

work will help not only to increase productivity across these companies but also to attract

new talent to these sectors in Ireland. See more about DTIF under Goal 3.

D E L I V ERI NG SKI L LS F O R A GR O W I NG E C O NO MY

The Department provides the secretariat for the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs

(EGFSN) and initiated and published the following reports in 2019 and 2020.

Building Future Skills: The Demand for Skills in Ireland’s Built Environment

Sector to 2030 The study focussed on the Future Skills Needs across Ireland's Built Environment Sector i.e.

activities related to Construction, Engineering, Architecture and Utilities. Framed by national

strategies such as Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, Project

Ireland 2040, and the built environment elements of the Climate Action Plan, the study was

completed in Q2 and approved by the National Skills Council prior to its publication at the

end of September 2020.

Management capacity and practices of Irish SME managers A study to examine management capacity and practice in Ireland was carried out by TU

Dublin for the EGFSN and with the assistance of the European Commission, between

October 2019 and June 2020. The project report was published in October 2020. An

implementation group was established following the publication of the report and will

convene for an initial period of two years with a view to extending its term to f ive years. The

implementation group will include members f rom the Department of Enterprise, Trade and

Employment, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and

Science, ISME, SFA, Chambers Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, LEOs, Solas and the Higher

Education Authority.

Together for Design - a new design skills study In 2019 the EGFSN commenced a new design skills study, Together for Design. The

objective of this report was to build on the foundations provided by the EGFSN’s 2017

Winning by Design report to understand the enterprise demand for digital, product and

strategic design skills and to measure the provision of educational courses addressing these

skillsets. The report identif ies recommendations to help drive forward skills supply in this


—— 149

area. Together for Design was published Q2 of 2020. The report's recommendations are

currently being progressed by an implementation group.

Skills to Enable the Low Carbon Economy to 2030 In late 2020, the EGFSN also initiated a study on Skills to Enable the Low Carbon Economy

to 2030. This study will seek to determine the demand for, and nature of , the skills required

to deliver on key elements of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan to Tackle Climate Breakdown

over the years to 2030. The study, which will involve comprehensive engagement with

enterprises across the low carbon economy and will be guided by a steering group

composed of the key public and private sector stakeholders, is scheduled to be completed in

May 2021. It will be published following its approval by both the Expert Group on Future

Skills Needs and National Skills Council.

L O W P A Y C O MMI SSI O N

Following the transfer of functions f rom the Department of Social Protection, the Department assumed responsibility for the Low Pay Commission which has the principal function of examining and making recommendations to the Tánaiste on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage and related matters. As part of this agenda the Department is representing Ireland in the negotiations on the draf t EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, which is expected to be f inalised in 2021. The Low Pay Commission’s current work

programme includes two major pieces of research on the transition to a Living Wage and the design of a Universal Basic Income pilot.

C O MP E T I TI VE NESS A ND P R ODUC TI VI TY

Research, analysis and the secretariat role for the National Competitiveness and

Productivity Council (NCPC) is undertaken by the Department. In accordance with the

European Council recommendation on the establishment of National Productivity Boards by

euro area countries, in March 2018, the Government mandated the National

Competitiveness Council as the body responsible for analysing developments and policies in

the f ield of productivity and competitiveness in Ireland. This underpins the decision to

rename the Council as the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council in November

2020.

The Council reports to the Taoiseach and the Government, through the Minister for

Enterprise, Trade and Employment on key competitiveness issues facing the Irish economy

and of fers recommendations on policy actions required to enhance Ireland’s competitive

position.

The Department places a high priority on ensuring that the key enterprise competitiveness

issues are identif ied and prioritised for action across the government system. Ireland is

currently ranked 12th according to the Institute for Management Development’s World

Competitiveness Ranking 2020 report.

The NCPC published the following reports during 2020:

▪ Ireland’s Competitiveness Scorecard 2020

▪ Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2020

▪ Competitiveness Bulletins 2020


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E C O NO MI C I NF RA STRUC TURE

During 2020 the Department engaged across Government on key issues and priorities for

business users across inf rastructure areas drawing on analysis carried out focussing on the

competitiveness of Ireland’s business environment.

The Department engaged with Irish Water and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities on

the delivery of water services for non-domestic users, worked with the relevant policy

makers in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications regarding the

competitiveness implications of energy inf rastructure on policy areas such as the

development of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme, a micro -generation scheme and

the development of a policy framework to encourage the uptake of Corporate Power

Purchase Agreements by large energy users.

The Department is represented by the Secretary General on the Project Ireland 2040

Delivery Board. The Department works closely with the Department of Public Expenditure

and Reform’s National Investment Of f ice as well as across other relevant Departments to

provide input on the inf rastructure needs of enterprise, to maintain a competitive and

attractive business environment, as part of achieving our national population, ‘place-making’

and employment ambitions.

In parallel, the Department engaged on an ongoing basis across the public and private

sectors to advocate for policy measures to improve the availability and quality of economic

inf rastructure to assist enterprise development and maintain the competitiveness of our

business environment.

E V A L UA TI O N A C T I VI TY

The Department carried out a number of evaluations in 2020 including a review of the

Department’s capital expenditure over the period 2006 to 2018. This exercise examined the

Department’s expenditure across a number of areas including theme, agency, policy

instrument and benef iciary. The paper provided some initial insights in the area of policy

alignment which are being further explored. An early evaluation of the Disruptive

Technologies Innovation Fund was also carried out through the Spending Review process.

The paper found that the programme is working towards its stated objectives and made a

number of recommendations around continued monitoring. A review of Enterprise Ireland’s

Research, Development and Innovation programme was carried out and will be published in

2021.

T A X A T I ON

The Department had ongoing engagement across Government with regard to the wage

subsidy schemes created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and delivered via the

Revenue Commissioners. The Department's engagement helped to shape the schemes to

ensure that they met the needs of enterprise and assisted employment insofar as possible.

The Department liaised widely with enterprise representative groups and worked closely with

the Department’s development Agencies to develop a joint agency Pre-Budget Submission.

The primary purpose of the submission was to ensure that Budget 2021 continued to assist

enterprise and that the views and needs of enterprise were taken into consideration.


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C L I MA T E A C T I ON

Climate Action is a core element of the Department’s enterprise and innovation policies and

in our Agencies’ programmes and activities. The Department recognises that enterprises

have important roles to play to develop and adopt innovative technologies, p roducts and

services that increase ef f iciencies, reduce waste and deliver sustainable development as

countries across the world transition to low carbon economies.

Pillar 5 of Future Jobs Ireland 2019 recognises the importance of climate action,

complements the all-of -Government Climate Action Plan and outlines three ambitions and

actions in transitioning to a low carbon economy:

4. to become a leader in adopting and developing standards in the low carbon economy;

5. to realise the opportunities for economic activity and job creation; and

6. to leverage Ireland’s natural resources, enterprise strengths and innovative capacity to

be a global leader in the circular and bio-economy.

Four of the projects funded under Calls 1 and 2 of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation

Fund address the theme of Energy, Climate Action & Sustainability. These projects include a

cooperative energy trading system; an advanced environmental decision support system to

address issues such as coastal pollution and f looding; a zero-emission, ref rigerant-f ree heat

pump and a sustainable bio-renewable energy f rom wastewater anaerobic digester for the

food and drink sector. Further details on the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund are

under Goal 3.

The Department actively engaged with the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, its

governance processes and has monitored progress and provided input into the development

of the economy-wide Long-Term Strategy outlining Ireland’s net-zero 2050 target. It

committed to further Departmental and cross agency climate actions for the interim period to

the development of Climate Action Plan 2021 and work commenced on the contributions

f rom the Department to Climate Action Plan 2021.

The Department participated in discussions with the European Commission on the

enterprise aspects of the Commissions reference scenario which will form the basis of

Ireland’s national ef fort-sharing target following the increase in EU ambition to reduce

greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030.

R E SE A R CH A ND P UBL IC A TI ONS

Climate Research was undertaken into technologies that could be adopted in specific sub -sectors of

the manufacturing sector to reduce emissions and in the context of the development of

sectoral targets, analysis was conducted to quantify CO2 abatement if investment in these

technologies occurred over the period to 2030. It progressed the Department’s actions f rom

the Climate Action Plan 2019 regarding those applying to the food/drinks and cement

sectors and inputted to the quarterly published progress reports on the Climate Action Plan

on actions including those undertaken by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science

Foundation Ireland and NSAI. Throughout the year the Department provided analysis and


—— 152

policy input into matters relating to climate action policy and ensured consideration of

competitiveness impacts in policy options.

Focus on Sectors 2020 Focus on Sectors 2020 was published in August and is a series of sectoral reports that

present concise overviews of 16 key sectors of the economy, encompassing both exporting

and locally trading activities. While a number of the sectors fall within the remit of this

Department and its Agencies, broader sectoral development responsibility spans a range of

government departments. The reports draw on existing Departmental research and a review

of recent national and international analysis undertaken in response to the pandemic. They

include inputs f rom across several government departments, enterprise Agencies and

industry representative organisations and outline some initial indications of the impact of

COVID-19 on these sectors.

The sectors covered in the reports are: Aerospace & Aviation; Agri-Food & Beverages;

Audiovisual; Biopharmachem; Construction; Energy, Sustainability & Natural Resources;

Engineered Products & Sub-Supply; Global Business Services & Business Process

Outsourcing; International Education Services; International Financial Services & Fintech;

Marine & Maritime; Medical Technologies; Retail; Technology; Tourism & Hospitality; and

Transport & Logistics.

E U D I GI T A L E C O NOMY P O LI C Y

In line with the Department’s goal of developing a competitive environment to boost

investment, improve productivity and create and sustain jobs, work on delivering the digital

transformation agenda continued throughout 2020. The Department continued to lead a

whole-of -Government activity and cross Government coordination of the Digital Single

Market (DSM) agenda at national and EU levels.

Ireland improved its performance in the EU Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)

Report for 2020 compared with 2019, now ranked in 6th place. Over the last f ive years,

Ireland has made continuous improvements in these rankings and is now the fastest growing

Member State in the EU.

One of the key successes last year was the delivery of the Platform to Business Regulation

by the Department which was signed into law in July 2020 via S.I. No. 256/2020 - European

Union (Promoting Fairness and Transparency for Business Users of Online Intermediation

Services) Regulations 2020.

This aims at creating a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for

businesses when using online platforms to trade. The Regulation had direct ef fect in EU

Member States f rom 12 July 2020 and was signed into law by the Tánaiste by way of S.I.

No. 256/2020 - European Union (Promoting Fairness and Transparency for Business Users

of Online Intermediation Services) Regulations 2020. The Competition and Consumer

Protection Commission has been designated as the Irish enforcement body for the

Regulations and will investigate and tackle any structural non-compliance with the provisions

of the Regulations.


—— 153

The Department prepared a national submission to the EU’s public consultation on the Digital Services Act package, then one combined package, in September 2020, which was

based on an extensive cross-Government collaboration of relevant departments and a wider

national stakeholder consultation.

In June 2020 the Department prepared a comprehensive national submiss ion to the EU’s

Public Consultation on the EU White Paper on Artif icial Intelligence that was based on

extensive cross- Government consultation.

Completing the Digital Single Market is a priority for Ireland and the Department continues to

work with the European Commission, European Parliament and other Member States in

delivering outcomes which are pro-trade, pro-enterprise and pro-innovation. Proposals have

been formulated for DSM 2.0 and the key areas that are to be focused on as part of the

future development of the digital economy are: Platforms and the Digital Services Act;

Artif icial Intelligence; and Better use of data.

N A TIO N A L A RTIF IC IA L IN TELL IG EN C E S TRA TEG Y Work commenced on the development of the national Artif icial Intelligence (AI) Strategy

which will be launched in mid 2021. The Strategy will outline a vision for Ireland to be an

international leader in using AI to the benef it of our population, through a people-centred and

ethical approach to AI development, adoption and use.

NA T I O NA L P L A N O N C O R PO RAT E SO C I A L R E SP ONSI BI LI TY

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Stakeholder Forum was established in 2014 to

drive the implementation of the f irst National Plan and was renewed for the second national

plan.

The CSR Stakeholder Forum is a business led voluntary Body with representatives f rom

business, civil society and Government. The primary goal of the Forum is to raise


—— 154

awareness of CSR and grow CSR activity within business in Ireland, working in partnership

with business, civil society and Government to deliver on the actions of the National Plan,

Towards Responsible Business, Ireland’s second National Plan on Corporate Social

Responsibility 2017-2020.

Some of the key achievements by the CSR Stakeholder Forum included;

• Development of CSRhub - CSR Hub as a dedicated national CSR resource, assisted by an active social media present to highlight good CSR practice;

• establishment of a f lagship CSR Annual CEO/Leaders’ Breakfast event;

• promoting CSR peer learning amongst businesses through SME outreach events;

• establishment of a dedicated ‘Public Sector CSR Network’ – a peer learning network for public sector organisations to develop their CSR strategies;

• establishment of the CSR virtual online network – for CSR practitioners and

organisations interested in developing their CSR strategies;

• an increase in the number of CSR Case Studies prof iled on the CSRhub.ie website. Case studies are an integral element of the work of the Forum as they provide a strong educational resource for businesses and organisations of all sizes. Case studies are available to download f rom CSRhub - CSR Hub and are accessible to all;

• growing a panel of active CSR ambassadors within the business community; and

• highlighting opportunities for the private and public sector to partner on impactful initiatives that align with public policy.

The Department continued to liaise with the CSR Stakeholder Forum throughout 2020 and

had started the consultation process on a new iteration of the CSR National Plan. However,

due to the prioritisation for COVID-19 and Brexit the initiative was paused in 2020.

S us ta i na bl e D e vel op me nt G o al s

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ ‘Sustainable

Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020’’ provides for a whole-of -

government approach to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 15.

The Department has lead role and stakeholder responsibility for the implementation of a

number of targets under the plan under Goal 8 (Good jobs and economic growth), Goal 9

(Innovation and inf rastructure) alongside the new Department for Further and Higher

Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Goal 12 (Sustainable consumption and

production).

The Department continued to progress work on targets under the SDGs in 2020 through

implementation of its policies including Future Jobs 2019 and Enterprise 2025 Renewed,

which sets an ambition for Ireland to be the best place to succeed in business delivering

sustainable employment and higher standards of living for all. A particular action on this f ront

15 In 2015, 193 United Nations Member States, including Ireland, adopted the Sustainable Development

Goals. The 17 goals cover the social, economic and environmental requirements for a sustainable future.




—— 155

in 2020 was the consultation on remote working which informed the National Remote

Working Strategy.

The Department also continued to promote the environmentally sound management of

chemicals through its chairing of an interdepartmental and interagency steering group on

Chemicals to coordinate national policy responses to chemicals -related issues.


—— 156

Goal 3: L E A D A W H O L E-O F-GOVE RNME NT A P P ROA C H T O

P O SI T I O N I R EL AND A S A GL O BA L I NNO V A TI ON L E AD ER, D R I VI NG A N

I NT E R NA TI ONA LLY C O MPE TI TI VE R E SE A RCH A ND D E VEL OPME NT

SY ST E M, C R E ATI NG A N I NNO V AT IV E E NT E RPRI SE BA SE A ND BUI L D I NG

A BE T T E R SO C I E TY

I NNO V A T I ON 2 020

Innovation 2020, Ireland’s national strategy for research and development, science and

technology, sets a vision for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader.

In the 2020 European Innovation Scoreboard, Ireland is now at 9th place in the EU and 15th place in the 2020 Global Innovation Index. Key actions in 2020 included:

▪ Commencement of the consultation process for the development of the next national

research and innovation strategy;

▪ Appointment of a National Open Research coordinator, co -funded by this Department

and the Department of Education;

▪ Appointment of a researcher under the Science Foundation Ireland Public Service

Research Fellowship to the Department to develop a standardised research

classif ication system;

▪ Continued success in Horizon 2020 - Irish researchers and innovators continue to

perform well with €1.09bn in competitive funding won by the end of December 2020;

▪ In June 2020, eight Irish start-ups and SMEs were awarded €31m in funding under the

Horizon 2020 Accelerator Programme;

▪ Ireland’s EuroHPC National Competence Centre was launched. Hosted by the Irish

Centre for High-End Computing, it will af ford training and inf rastructure access in high-

performance computing to Irish researchers and SMEs;

▪ The acquisition of a Quantum Learning Machine in 2020 will enable ICHEC to pursue

R&I activities in the emerging f ield of Quantum Computing;

▪ An allocation of €9m was made through the Capital Equipment Programme – providing

SMEs/industry with access to critical, leading-edge equipment and inf rastructure through

Technology Centres and Technology Gateways; and

▪ The f irst tranche of Innovation Roadmaps was launched to develop an Innovation

Roadmap for each of their clients that is consistent with their capabilities and ambition.

D I SR UP T IV E T E C HNOL OGI ES I NNO VA TI ON F UND

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, (DTIF), is a €500m enterprise-focused,

challenge-based, fund that encourages collaboration between and among SMEs,

multinational companies and Irish research institutions. The aim of the fund is to encourage

the enterprise sector to engage and invest in developing, deploying and commercialising

industrial research. Announced in 2018 as one of four National Development Plan funds

under Project Ireland 2040, the Department manages it in consultation with other


—— 157

Government Departments and Agencies. Enterprise Ireland administers the DTIF on behalf

of the Department.

The Fund is delivering on Pillar 1 of the Government’s Future Jobs Ireland f ramework –

Embracing Innovation and Technological Change – by funding the development and

deployment of disruptive innovative technologies on a commercial basis. It also aligns with

the ambition of making Ireland a Global Innovation Leader by increasing public and private

investment in RD&I due to its requirement for 50% co-funding from firms applying for DTIF

funds.

The third Call of the Fund was announced in September 2020 and 62 applications were

received by the closing date of 17 December 2020. These are checked for eligibility by

Enterprise Ireland and then undergo evaluation by panels of international experts and

successful projects were announced in Q1 2021.

In 2020 the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service conducted a Spending

Review of the Fund, with the key f indings summarised below:

▪ There is a strong rationale for a publicly funded programme making significant

investments in disruptive technologies. The funding provided through DTIF reduces risk

for participating firms thereby helping to bring these technologies forward. If successful,

the innovations emerging f rom DTIF of fer Irish companies a route to compete in (and

potentially disrupt) global markets. This would increase employment in those sectors and

drive Irish exports and output.

▪ DTIF is a distinct new programme among other RD&I measures to enterprise. A

combination of the scale of funding available for projects, the focus on collaboration and

commercialisation, in combination with its funding of disruptive innovation sets the fund

apart f rom other RD&I measures available in Ireland.

▪ The DTIF appears to be aligned well with a number of international initiatives, including

in Germany and the EU, which recognise the importance of SME partnerships for

innovation.

▪ The programme is working towards achieving its stated objectives. It is funding

signif icant innovations which could potentially capture global markets.

▪ The innovations which DTIF is funding are high-risk, high-return - public funding is

intended to help ensure that these technologies are brought forward.

▪ By lowering the risk prof ile of the innovations, the fund is also encouraging private co -

investment along with DTIF funding.

▪ In line with its objectives, it has maintained a focus on collaboration and building on

previous publicly funded research.

▪ It has secured strong involvement f rom SMEs within project consortia.


—— 158

▪ The scale of projects funded and the focus on collaboration has ensured that the DTIF is

suf f iciently different f rom other RD&I measures, thereby ensuring additionality.

The 43 successful projects under Calls 1 and 2 comprise of 159 partners from the enterprise

and research sectors based at locations all around the country as illustrated in this map.

Locations of the 159 project partners that were allocated funding under Calls 1 and 2 of the

Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund

SC I E NC E F O UND AT IO N I R E LA ND

During 2020 Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) continued to play a key role in assisting the

government’s vision for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, as outlined in

Ireland’s strategy for research and development, science and technology, Innovation 2020,

as well as implementing a number of actions in the Future Jobs and other national

strategies. With ef fect from 1 January 2021, SFI transferred to the remit of the Department of

Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.


—— 159

Key areas of progress in 2020 included:

▪ Research and Innovation, in health, academia and industry, continues to have a

signif icant role to play in the national and global response to COVID-19.

▪ A key element of the SFI’s plan was the COVID-19 Rapid Response Research and

Innovation Funding programme.

▪ SFI assisted researchers across the system undertook a vast array of actions to assist

and deal with the challenges that were faced as the country responded to the pandemic

These included key research expertise, donations of equipment, essential supplies, staff

for testing, modelling, 3D printing, etc. SFI also assisted the HSE by providing access to

expertise f rom HEIs to inform the development of the HSE national COVID-19 app.

▪ SFI has continued to deliver signif icant investments including: assisting Centres for

Research Training and Centres for Doctoral Training to deliver the skills needed for the

future of the economy; assistance to the network of world leading SFI Research Centres,

new awards to assist excellent independent researchers to conduct discovery research;

the introduction of dynamic funding models designed to address national and global

challenges; and strategic partnerships to assist research projects of scale in strategically

important areas.

▪ SFI jointly hosted the National European Research Council Support and Information

Forum with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Research Council.

Programmes and Awards Highlights A number of significant SFI Strategic Partnerships were supported:

▪ A €4.8m investment into a research partnership that investigates the immunology of

COVID-19 was assisted.

▪ SFI and Microsoft co-funded a €5m climate change project called Terrain-AI, led by

researchers at Maynooth University.

▪ An award was granted to the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) at DCU,

to assist ACORN, led by Prof . John Crown and Dr Denis Collins which aims to advance

cancer research skills in DCU and bring new f indings to clinical trials that will b enef it

cancer patients in Ireland and globally.

▪ The f irst awards were approved under the new SFI Frontiers for the Future programme,

which assists important investment in high-risk, high reward research, assisting

individual discovery research f rom early-career researchers through to well established

leaders. An important gender initiative is also implemented as part of the programme.

▪ As part of an overall Government plan to cultivate challenge-based funding in Ireland,

SFI continued the roll out of new Challenges through the SFI Future Innovator Prize, with

a focus on key issues such as AI for Societal Good, Zero Emissions, Plastics and Food.

▪ Twelve awards were approved under the SFI Public Service Fellowship. These support

researchers working across Government departments, in the Houses of Oireachtas


—— 160

Library & Research Services, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, etc. helping to inform

policy and improve services.

▪ Professor Jens Walter was recruited at UCC, to lead a €3.7m research programme at

APC Microbiome Ireland SFI Research Centre, through the SFI Research Professor

Programme and will investigate the impact of a modern lifestyle on the gut microbiome

and its relationship to increased chronic diseases.

▪ SFI continued to assist the network of 16 SFI Research Centres, which have been at the

core of transformational change in how we help research across the HEIs – with a drive

to undertake excellent research with economic and societal impact. The 16 SFI

Research Centres have been part of Ireland’s success at drawing down EU Horizon

2020 funding.

Careers, Education Support, Informal Learning

▪ Science Week 2020 ran f rom 8-15 November 2020 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in

2020, moving to a virtual festival, with the theme Choosing our Future, focusing on how

science can improve our lives for today and in the future. 13 Science Week Festivals,

assisted under the SFI Discover Programme also took place virtually across the country

in Cork, Cavan / Monaghan, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Tipperary, Mayo, Wexford,

Kilkenny, Kerry, south east and the midlands.

▪ 331 primary schools nationwide received an SFI Discover Primary Science and Maths

Award. The programme aims to increase interest in science, technology, engineering

and maths (STEM) among primary school students and teachers. The Awards recognise

the achievements of children and teachers in the application of STEM in their curriculum.

E NT E R P RISE I R E LA ND I NNO V ATI O N I NV E STMENT A ND A C T I VI TY

Enterprise Ireland provides RD&I measures for companies to develop new technologies and

processes that will lead to job creation and increased exports . By the end of 2020 Ireland

had drawn down more than €1bn in funding under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme (2014-

2020). In June eight Irish start-ups and SMEs were awarded €31m in funding under the

Horizon 2020 Accelerator Programme.

Strengthening existing in-company Research, Development and Innovation

capacity In 2020, Enterprise Ireland approved 194 RD&I approvals over €50,000 to client companies.

Enterprise Ireland rolled out a suite of webinars aimed at increasing awareness of RD&I

funding and collaborative measures. In addition, they launched the f irst tranche of Innovation

Roadmaps in line with their Strategy to develop an Innovation Roadmap for each of their

clients that is consistent with their capabilities and ambition.

COVID-19 Products Scheme

The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in an urgent need across the EU and globally for

medical and public health research and development, products and solutions. The COVID-

19 Products Scheme has been developed following the amendment of an EU Temporary

https://www.sfi.ie/events/festivals/


—— 161

State-Aid Framework, to provide grant aid to Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta

clients. IDA Ireland operates a similar scheme for their clients.

This scheme is composed of three measures:

▪ Measure 1: COVID-19 relevant research and development activities by companies

coupled with the creation of useful Intellectual Property.

▪ Measure 2: The construction and upgrade of testing and upscaling inf rastructures that

are utilised to develop COVID-19 relevant products.

▪ Measure 3: Increased production of products needed to respond to the COVID-19

outbreak. These outputs should be achieved as quickly as possible.

Driving increased collaboration between Industry and Academia During 2020, 936 collaborative projects between companies and Irish HEIs were assisted by

Enterprise Ireland. This f igure includes 477 small €5k Innovation Vouchers redeemed, 405

industry funded Technology Gateway Industry projects completed at Institutes of Technology

across Ireland and 54 Innovation Partnerships approved. These projects provide companies

with new commercial opportunities, cost savings or increases in their innovative capability.

Technology Centre Programme During 2020, 1,228 companies engaged with the network of Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland

Technology Centres. While this more than double the number engaged in 2019, this includes

companies newly engaged with the centres through their year-long series of webinars.

Independent economic analysis has found that Enterprise Ireland /IDA Ireland Technology

Centres will achieve between a 6 to 20-fold return on the State’s investment. In addition,

based on an analysis for Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Business Review Data, clients in

Technology Centres, compared to RD&I performing clients that are not in Technology

Centres, have higher Turnover, Export Sales, Domestic Sales, Full time Employees and

RD&I Spend.

To scale up the operations of Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland Technology Centres, in 2020

additional f ive year investments were announced for the Microelectronic Circuits Centre

Ireland (€10m) and the Dairy Processing Technology Centre (€14m).

Technology Gateway Programme The 2018-2022 Technology Gateway Programme funds 15 Gateways operating across the

11 Institutes of Technology. The Gateway network also comprises three Sectoral Clusters of

Gateways namely: IoT Cluster (Internet of Things), EMD Ireland Cluster (Engineering ,

Materials and Design) and Irish Food Tech Cluster.

In 2020, €9m was spent on expanding the Capital Equipment Programme – providing

SMEs/industry with access to critical, leading-edge equipment and inf rastructure through

Technology Centres and Technology Gateways, building on the €6m spent in 2019. Access

to the new equipment will help companies in Ireland to innovate and adapt and remain

competitive on a national and global level.


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High Potential Start-ups 12 new High Potential Start-ups were created f rom research outputs f rom the Higher

Education System in 2020.

KNO W L E DGE T RA NSFER I R E LA ND

Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) helps business to benef it from access to Irish expertise

and technology, by making it simple to connect and engage with this research b ase in

Ireland.

In 2020, KTI began its series of ‘Unlocking Knowledge Transfer’ webinars every month with

the aim of raising knowledge transfer awareness while taking an in-depth look at how it can

benef it enterprise. The webinars covered issues such as: Harnessing the Value of Your IP;

Accessing World Class RD&I through Ireland’s Technology Gateways; and Leveraging

Artif icial Intelligence Expertise. All of KTI’s past webinars are available through their website

www.knowledgetransferireland.com.

COVID-19 Non Exclusive Royalty-Free Licence In 2020 KTI announced the creation of a dedicated COVID-19 Non-Exclusive Royalty-Free

(NERF) Licence. KTI worked with the Technology Transfer Of f ices in the Irish higher

education sector nationwide to produce a simple two page agreement that is aimed at

speeding up the dissemination of critical COVID-19 related intellectual property f rom Irish

universities and institutes of technology to companies.

The NERF Licence is the result of a desire by HEIs nationwide to assist the search for, and

the development of , new technologies to help bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end.

Under normal circumstances, IP is licenced through a process of negotiation b etween both

parties under which royalties and exclusivity of use are clearly detailed and agreed. The

COVID-19 NERF provides cutting edge IP f ree of charge to organisations engaged in critical

research and development activities for the sole purposes of diagnosing, preventing,

containing, treating and/or minimising the impact of the virus.

The COVID-19 NERF Licence will remain in place until such time as the World Health

Organisation declares the current COVID-19 pandemic to have ended.

In response to COVID-19, in 2020 the KTI Impact Awards included an award for the ‘COVID-

19 Response Award’ recognising innovative activities in the Higher Education Institutions

that rose to the various challenges presented by the pandemic and that required the skills of

the Technology Transfer Of f ice to assist delivery.

H E A L T H I NNO VAT IO N H UB I R E LA ND

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) is a joint initiative of this Department and the

Department of Health. The aim of the initiative is to drive collaboration between the health

service and the enterprise sector leading to the development and commercialisation of new

healthcare technologies, products and services.

https://djei.cloud.gov.ie/apps/eDocs/S/ENT058/Files/ENT058-008-2021/Annual%20Report/Annual%20Report%202020/www.knowledgetransferireland.com


—— 163

In February 2020, HIHI’s call for COVID-19 related products generated 197 submissions

over 11 weeks, many of which proved to be valuable solutions which were fed into the HSE

or directly to healthcare facilities and nursing homes.

In July the results of HIHI’s annual national call for innovations addressing any healthcare

need and a focussed call on Supporting the Self -Management of Chronic Disease

(cardiovascular, respiratory and diabetes) were announced. Of the 48 applicants, 23 were

selected to pitch their product and 15 were selected for pilot and validation studies.

E U F R A ME W ORK P R OGRA MME F O R R E SEA RC H & I NNO V A TI ON -

H O R I Z ON 2 0 20

Ireland continued its excellent performance in Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme

for Research and Innovation. Ireland based researchers and innovators have won €1.09bn

in competitive, EU funding f rom the programme up to the end of 2020. Secondary or higher

education accounted for €614.4m of the total. Private for profit companies (excluding

education) won €383.4m with €266.4m of this going to SMEs. Enterprise Ireland leads the

Irish Horizon 2020 support network.

Negotiations on the 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe

regulation and budget concluded in December 2020. The f inal agreed budget for Horizon

Europe is €95.5bn with a €5bn boost from Next Generation EU. The f irst calls for Horizon

Europe are expected to launch in April 2021.

I NT E R NA TI ONA L R E SEA RC H O R GA NI SATI O NS

The Department continued to strengthen Ireland’s participation in international research

collaborations and 2020 saw the f irst Irish student participating in the new Irish Research

Council European Southern Observatory (ESO) Studentship Programme. ESO is the

foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most

productive astronomical observatory.

In 2020, the Irish Centre for High-End Computing launched its Academic Flagship and SME

Accelerator programmes, following its designation as Ireland’s national EuroHPC

Competence Centre.

Quantum Computing is a rapidly-emerging area of technological development that is of

signif icant interest to the Department. The acquisition of a Quantum Learning Platform in

2020, hosted by the Irish Centre for High-End Computing, will facilitate application

development, research and innovation, training and education in the f ield of Quantum

Computing, contributing to Ireland’s smart economy.

Ireland will also participate in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Association, which

was formally established late in 2020. The goal of EOSC is to provide a trusted virtual

environment for researchers to store, manage, analyse and re-use data for research,

innovation and educational purposes. This will help give the EU a global lead in research

data management. It will also facilitate open science and innovation by offering every

European researcher the possibility to access and reuse all publicly funded research data in

Europe across disciplines and borders.


—— 164

US- I R E L A ND R & D P A RT NE RSHI P

The US-Ireland R&D Partnership is a tri-jurisdictional alliance which was of f icially launched

in 2006. Its aim is to promote collaborative innovative research projects which create value

above and beyond individual ef forts. The Partnership steering group met on 10 March 2020

in the US State Department in Washington DC and via video link f rom the InterTradeIreland

of f ices in Newry.

Since the March 2020 annual meeting, seven additional projects have been approved, one

in Nanotechnology, three in Centre to Centre, two in Health and one under the Energy and

sustainability priority area. A total of 65 projects are approved to date, representing

$126m/£89m/€106m. The number of projects funded under each priority area are: 16

Nanotechnology, 14 Health, 11 Energy & Sustainability, nine Sensors, seven Centre to

Centre, f ive Agriculture, and three Telecommunications. The portfolio continues to perform

well with National Institutes of Health applications achieving a success rate of 17.1%,

National Institute of Food and Agriculture applications 18.5% and National Science

Foundation applications showing a particularly healthy success rate of 32.2%.

At the March meeting, it was commented that the US-Ireland R&D partnership model is now

used as a model for collaborations with other countries. The updated terms of reference

were approved by all departments and an amendment to the Memorandum of

Understanding to include the new cybersecurity priority area had been signed by partners in

December 2019. The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland is currently

undertaking a review which will consider, among other matters, how the impact of research

and the wider US-Ireland partnership is best measured. This will be a key consideration for

the partnership – how best to measure both quantitative and qualitative impacts that will add

value to the partnership in terms of promotion and wider public engagement. USDA are

leading a tripartite review of the agriculture pilot which should be completed in 2021.

Work has commenced on a second US-Ireland R&D Partnership video case study. In

relation to the newest priority area, Cybersecurity, the f irst transatlantic collaborative webinar

took place on 2 December 2020. This was the f irst webinar of the series of meetings to

promote the new Cybersecurity theme and to facilitate formation of new collaborations.

E U SP A C E P O L I C Y D EV ELO PME NTS

In December 2020, the European Council and the European Parliament reached agreement

on the regulation establishing the EU space programme for 2021-2027, paving the way for

the €13.2bn space programme to start work in 2021.

European Space Agency (ESA) contracts were secured by 20 companies up to end Q3

2020. Six of these companies were f irst-time ESA contractors demonstrating the progression

of Irish industry in this developing sector. The total value of industry contracts placed by

ESA in Ireland up to end Q3 2020 was €5.15m. A further €1.25m in contracts were secured

by the Irish research community, bringing the total value of ESA contracts placed in Ireland

in 2020 up to Q3 to €6.4m. Additionally, five new start-ups were approved for the Irish ESA

Business Incubation Centres (BICs) in 2020. The ESA BIC works with entrepreneurs to turn

space-connected business ideas into commercial start-ups companies. In 2020, Ireland

invested €19.8m in its membership of ESA.


—— 165

T Y ND A LL NA T IO NAL I NSTI T UT E

Tyndall National Institute (Tyndall) is Ireland’s largest dedicated research centre, specialising

in Information and Communications Technology hardware and systems. Tyndall received a

total of €9m from the Department in 2020.

In January 2020, Tyndall launched their new strategic plan Tyndall 2025 laying out their

ambition to significantly scale the Institute, doubling both the physical space as well as their

research capacity. Tyndall 2025 seeks to ensure that Tyndall will stay at the forefront of new

technologies and build on its successful industry engagement model while enabling it to

respond to evolving ICT-related technology opportunities in a fast changing and competitive

environment. Responsibility for Tyndall moved to the Department of Further and Higher

Education, Research, Innovation and Science along with other academic led research with

ef fect from 1 January 2021.

I NT E L L EC TUA L P R OP ERT Y

The EU Commission launched its Intellectual Property (IP) Action Plan Roadmap in 2020.

This was developed around f ive pillars;

6. Update the IP protection system which includes the evaluation of the industrial

designs legislation and to make IP protection more ef fective in the supplementary

protection certif icate system;

7. Promote strategic use of IP by businesses, and in particular to make the IP system

more ef fective for SMES;

8. Facilitate IP valorisation and licensing;

9. Reduce IP inf ringement through enhancing the ef fectiveness of initiatives to combat

counterfeiting and piracy; and

10. Improve global fair play.

C O P Y R I GHT

Post Enactment Report for the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act, 2019 (No. 19 of 2019) The Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act, 2019 (‘the 2019 Act’) was

signed into law by the President on 26 June 2019. In accordance with Dáil Standing Order

164A (adopted in 2016), twelve months following the enactment of a Bill, the Government or

Minister of State responsible for the implementation of an Act is required to produce a report

on the functioning of the Act and submit the report to the Parliamentary Library of the

Houses of the Oireachtas.

A post-enactment report for the 2019 Act was prepared by the Department and laid in the

Parliamentary Library of the Houses of the Oireachtas on 18 June 2020.

Certification of Copyright Licensing Scheme for the use of copyright protected material by educational establishments In July 2020, the Tánaiste certif ied four new copyright licensing schemes for the Primary,

Post-primary, Higher Education and Further Education sectors that are applicable for the


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academic year 2020/21 onwards. The new schemes, operated by the Irish Copyright

Licensing Agency, allow schools and other educational establishments to make use of

copyright protected works (including print and digital works) for educational purposes.

Amendments to the District Court Rules for Intellectual Property to facilitate access of intellectual property claims to those courts

The 2019 Act contained amendments to the legislation governing the Circuit Court and

District Court that provide for easier and lower-cost access to the courts system for

Intellectual Property inf ringement claims. In 2020, as a direct result of these provisions, the

Courts Service/Department of Justice, with the assistance of this Department, oversaw the

signing into law of the District Court (Intellectual Property) Rules 2020 (S.I. No. 284 of 2020)

which facilitate the expansion of intellectual property infringement claims to that court. This

now reduces the cost of pursuing intellectual property inf ringement claims in instances

where monetary awards sought are within the jurisdiction of the District Court.

Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC The EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was negotiated and agreed under

the Digital Single Market strategy between September 2016 and May 2019. The intention of

the Directive is to craf t a modern copyright legislation to respond to the needs of all

European citizens in an increasingly digitalised society. This Directive allow for wider access

to and use of copyright protected works benef itting the creative sectors, press publishers,

researchers, educators, cultural heritage institutions, and citizens. It provides a f ramework

for the creation of modern European copyright legislation to take account of technological

developments in the digital age while continuing to ensure that creators are remunerated for

their creative ef forts.

Following the publication of the Directive, the Department carried out a series of public

consultations seeking the views of all interested stakeholders on the transposition of the

Directive into Irish law. Work on the transposition continued throughout 2020 with the

Department carrying out a detailed analysis of the large number of submissions received to

the consultation process. The Department intends to transpose the Directive by the deadline

of 7 June 2021.

SE C O ND A RY L E GI SLA TI ON I MP L EME NTED I N T H E A R E A O F

I NT E L L EC TUA L P R OP ERT Y

5. S.I. No. 275 of 2020 Copyright and Related Rights (Certif ication of Licensing Scheme for

Primary Schools) (The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Limited) Order 2020. Published

in ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ of 4 August 2020.


Post-Primary Schools) (The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Limited) Order 2020.

Published in ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ of 4 August 2020.


Higher Education Institutions) (The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Limited) Order

2020. Published in ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ of 4 August 2020.


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Further Education Providers) (The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Limited) Order

2020. Published in ‘Iris Oif igiúil’ of 4 August 2020.

The above Orders, certif ied by the Tánaiste pursuant to section 173 of the Copyright and

Related Rights Act 2000, provide for new copyright licensing schemes for the Primary, Post -

primary, Higher Education and Further Education sectors. The new licensing schemes were

required as a result of the provisions contained in section 15 of the Copyright and Other

Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019. The licensing schemes enable educational

establishments to make use of copyright protected works for educational purposes. The

licensing schemes are operated by the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency Limited and are

applicable for the 2020/21 academic year onwards.

ST A ND A RDI SA TI ON

Due to COVID-19 restrictions worldwide Standards meetings migrated to on-line platforms,

which had a positive impact of making meetings accessible to Committee Members who

may not have the time or the resources to attend international meetings.

▪ Artificial Intelligence (AI) – NSAI were appointed to lead a Government of Ireland

Top Team on AI standards. The team was established to realise opportunities

presented by technological changes and the move to a low carbon economy. It forms

part of the overall national AI Strategy which aims to ensure our research centres,

businesses and the public sector exploit AI technologies to secure greater levels of

productivity and wellbeing.

▪ European Standards+Innovation Award - NSAI blockchain committee member

took home the European Standards+Innovation Award at the 2020 CEN and CENELEC

Standards+Innovation Awards, Fiona Delaney, Technical Committee member and

founder of Origin Chain Networks was awarded for her contributions to European and

international blockchain Standards. Ms Delaney submitted a unique agri-food

application of blockchain called Universal Farm Compliance to the ‘Blockchain and

distributed ledger technologies’ Standards Committee. The case will allow blockchain to

be used creatively worldwide and puts Origin chain networks, NSAI and Ireland on the

map for Innovation.

▪ Contributing to Standards – The importance and benef it of participating in

standards development was formally recognised by Engineers Ireland during 2020

through acknowledging Standards Committee Participation for Continuing Professional

Development purposes.


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Goal 4: D E L I VE R P O SI TI VE W O RKPL AC E R E L ATI O NS SUP P O RTS ,

W E L L -F UNC TI O NI NG D I SPUTE R E SOLUTI O N ME C H A NISMS, R O BUST

E NF O R C EME NT O F E MP LOY MENT R I GH TS A ND A SA F E W O RKI NG

E NV I R O NME NT

In addition to workplace supports, including safe and healthy places of work, dispute

resolution and the enforcement of rights, the Department is also responsible for economic

migration policy and for managing the employment permits regime.

In October 2020, following the transfer of functions f rom the Department of Social Protection,

responsibility for employment rights and redundancy and insolvency policy transferred to this

Department along with some other responsibilities. The primary role of these two policy

areas is to ensure that the State's suite of employment rights and redundancy and

insolvency legislation remains f it for purpose and is updated to ref lect both national and

international developments, including at European Union, Court of Justice and International

Labour Organisation level and to advise the Minister and serve the political system on

matters relating to these areas. The work of these units will be ref lected in the Annual

Report 2021.

S TA TUTO RY S IC K P A Y The Tánaiste has committed to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme to bring Ireland in

line with other wealthy OECD countries. Work is well underway in this regard, with a full

public consultation running between November and December 2020, which received 118

submissions f rom a wide range of stakeholders. The Tánaiste intends to bring forward draf t

legislation on the scheme in 2021 with a view to having the scheme up and running by the

end of the year.

RIG H T TO DIS C O N N EC T In the light of an increasing digital working environment and in the context of the commitment

in the Programme of Government, the Tánaiste requested the Workplace Relations

Commission (WRC) to consider the development of a Code of Practice for employers and

employees on the Right to Disconnect. The Tánaiste made this request to the WRC in

accordance with the provisions of section 20 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015. The

purpose of this Code is to provide practical guidance and best practice to employers,

employees and their representatives in relation to the Right to Disconnect. Codes of Practice

are written guidelines, agreed in a consultative process, setting out guidance and best

practice for employers and employees with respect to compliance with employment

legislation. The Code complements and supports employers’ and employees’ rights and

obligations under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, the Safety, Health and

Welfare at Work Act, 2005, the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 and the

Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 – 2014. While failure to follow a Code

prepared under section 20(1)(a) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 is not an of fence, in

itself , section 20(9) provides that in any proceedings before a Court, the Labour Court or the

WRC, a Code of Practice shall be admissible in evidence and any provision of the Code

which appears to the court, body or officer concerned to be relevant to any question arising


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in the proceedings shall be taken into account in determining that question. The Code of

Practice was f inalised in Q1 of 2021.

W O R K SA F E L Y P R O TOC OL ( R E TURN T O W O RK SA F EL Y P R OT OC OL)

As a result of the Public Health restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, a

Government decision to partially reopen the economy f rom 18 May 2020 was accompanied

by the introduction of the Return to Work Safely Protocol. The Protocol set out in a clear and

comprehensive way, the steps and processes that businesses needed to take to mitigate the

spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. It was developed and agreed in consultation with the

members of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, a forum for high-level dialogue between

government, union and employer representatives on labour market issues. Participants in

this process included Ibec, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Chambers Ireland and the

Construction Industry Federation. It is the result of a collaborative ef fort, led by this

Department and involving the Health and Safety Authority, the Department of Health and the

HSE.

The Protocol was revised and relaunched as the Work Safely Protocol in November 2020

still containing information and practical advice on a range of topics such as the

management and control of outbreaks, selection of hand sanitisers, wearing of masks,

ventilation of workplaces and symptoms. The revision brought together knowledge

developed in these areas as the pandemic continued and it was considered important that

the guidance ref lected the most up to date public health advice available.

The Health and Safety Authority has acted as the lead Agency in co-ordinating compliance

with the Work Safely Protocol. It has been assisted in this role by 700 inspectors f rom a

range of other Government Departments and State Bodies (Workplace Relations

Commission; Environmental Health Of f icers; Department of Agriculture, Food and the

Marine; Department of Education; Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and Tulsa).

Over 24,000 COVID-19 inspections on compliance with the Protocol were carried out

between May and the end of December 2020. Returns f rom all inspectorate bodies have

indicated compliance levels of over 90% with the protocol. This has provided an assuranc e

to employers and workers in relation to the ability of businesses to remain open during the

period of the pandemic.

E C O NO MI C MI GR AT I ON

Implementation of the recommendations of the 2018 Review of Economic Migration Policy

continued to ensure that the State’s employment permits system remains suf f iciently flexible

to react to changes in the labour market and be fully supportive of emerging labour needs.

Work continued on developing new consolidated and amended Employment Permit

legislation.

The f irst review of the twice yearly review of the employment permit critical skills and

ineligible occupations lists was f inalised in October 2020, taking account of the current

economic environment and the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. No changes were

made to the Employment Permits Occupations Lists apart f rom two small technical

amendments simplifying the occupation description of nurses and adding the Japan/EU


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‘Vulcanus’ in Europe Programme (Ireland)’ to the list of Exchange Agreements that are

eligible for the Exchange Agreement Employment Permit. The second review commenced in

October 2020.

The Employer Consultative User Forum which is jointly chaired by this Department and the

Department of Justice and Equality met in September.

E MP L O Y MENT P E R MIT S

Over the course of 2020, Trusted Partner applications, which account for 74% of all permit

applications and are regular users of the service, were consistently being processed in 1-2

weeks. Similarly, standard applications, which account for 26% of all applications, were

consistently being processed in a 3-4 week timeframe. Both of these f igures are within the

very ambitious customer service targets.

In 2020 there were a total of 16,290 applications for employment permits, a 13% decrease

f rom 2019. At the same time there was a 12 year high in the amount of permits which were

granted, 16,419, a 1% increase over 2019.

In March 2020, the Department implemented a COVID-19 contingency plan to ensure that

the employment permit regime could continue to operate throughout the crisis. Since 30

March, the employment permit system has been operating fully remotely and online.

Agreement was reached with the Immigration Service Delivery in the Department of Justice

on arrangements to introduce, on a temporary basis, a type of ‘e-employment permit’ and a

similar sof t copy process to transition to permanent residence permission.

Processing of employment permit applications for medical personnel were prioritised and,

f rom mid-March until the end of 2020 some 4,490 employment permits issued to medical

personnel.

The second phase of a Business Process Review which will result in the development of a

new IT processing system which will take advantage of all the new technologies available,

including full digitisation, is ongoing but progress during 2020 has been slow as a result of

the pandemic. Development of the new system is expected to commence during 2021.

In 2020, 50% of all employment permits issued were in respect of Critical Skills Employment Permits, the employment permit designed to target shortages in highly skilled occupations in high demand; and the following sectors received the most employment permits:

• Health & Social Work Activities (31%)

• Information & Communication Activities (28%)

• Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (11%)

SE C T O R AL E MP LOY MENT O R DE RS

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 provides the legal basis for Sectoral

Employment Orders (SEOs). An SEO can set the pay, pension or sick pay scheme for

workers in an economic sector.


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In June 2020, the High Court declared the Electrical Contracting Sector SEO (S.I. 251 of

2019) to be invalid and of having no legal ef fect. Furthermore, the Court ruled that the

provisions for the making of SEOs under Chapter 3 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment)

Act 2015 was unconstitutional as it unlawfully delegation law making powers to bodies

outside the Oireachtas. The decision of the High Court has been appealed to the Supreme

Court and a ruling is expected in 2021. The judge of the High Court placed a Stay on the

declaration of unconstitutionality pending the determination of the Supreme Court appeal.

Two SEOs remain, and minimum rates of renumeration for the Construction sector

increased on 1 October 2020.

J O I NT L A BO UR C O MMI TTE ES A ND E MP L OYME NT R E GUL ATI O N O R DE RS

There are three active Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) in the Contract Cleaning,

Hairdressing and Security sectors.

A JLC is composed of equal numbers of representatives of employers and workers in an

employment sector. The Committee meets under an independent chairman, an Industrial

Relations Off icer of the WRC, appointed by the Minister to discuss and agree proposals for

terms and conditions to apply to specified grades or categories of workers in the sector

concerned.

An Employment Regulation Order (ERO) is an instrument drawn up by a JLC, adopted by

the Labour Court and given statutory ef fect by the Minister for Department of Enterprise

Trade and Employment. The ERO f ixes minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment

for workers in specif ied business sectors: employers in those sectors are then obliged to pay

wage rates and provide conditions of employment not less favourable than those prescribed.

An ERO was drawn up by the JLC and adopted by the Labour Court for the Contract

Cleaning Industry in 2020. This Order, S.I. No. 608 of 2020, was given statutory ef fect by

Minister English on 10 December 2020.

An ERO is in place for the Security Industry since 2017. That ERO is under challenge in the

High Court. The Security Industry JLC met in 2020 regarding the proposal for a new ERO.

The Court will consider this proposal in 2021.

I ND UST R I AL R E L ATI O NS ( A ME NDMENT) B I L L 2 0 19

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019 was signed by President Michael D. Higgins

on 7 July 2019. This Act has amended the Industrial Relations legislation to allow access to

the services of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Labour Court for the

Garda representative associations. The Act came into ef fect on 1 February 2020.

I ND UST R I AL R E L ATI O NS E NV I RONMENT

There were approximately 21,704 days lost to strike action in 2020.


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NE W C O D E O F P R A C TI C E F O R E MP L OY ERS A ND E MP LO YE ES O N T H E

P R E V E NTI ON A ND R ESO LUTI ON O F BUL L YI NG A T W O RK UND ER T HE

SA F E T Y , H E A L TH A ND W E L FA RE A T W O R K A C T 2 0 05

A new Code of Practice, which came into ef fect on 23 December 2020, replaces the

previous Code of the same name issued by the Health and Safety Authority in March 2007

and the ‘Code of Practice Detailing Procedures for Addressing Bullying in the Workplace’

issued by the Labour Relations Commission in 2002, ef fectively combining them into a single

operational Code.

This revised dual Code, which applies to all employments in Ireland irrespective of whether

employees work at a f ixed location, at home or are mobile, provides practical guidance on

the management of workplace bullying complaints and on the prevention of workplace

bullying, in line with the requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

Further information is available on www.hsa.ie.

NO T I F Y I NG A UT H ORI TY R OL E

Product safety has been largely regulated through EU harmonised law which covers about

70% of products on the EU market.

The Department is a Notifying Authority under several EU Directives and has specif ic

responsibility for Directives concerning Machinery; Personal Protective Equipment;

Transportable Pressure Equipment; Pressure Equipment; Lif ts and Safety Components for

Lif ts and, also, Equipment for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX). The

Department is also the Notifying Authority for certain Consumer Products and Weights and

Measures.

During 2020, one application and one withdrawal were processed by the Department for UK

notif ied Bodies establishing in Ireland. This will bring the number of notif ied bodies appointed

by the Department to ten, with three Recognised Third Party Organisations under the

Pressure Equipment Directive. The majority of these companies were former UK Notif ied

Bodies which relocated or established new operations in Ireland due to Brexit. The Notif ied

Body appointments will allow these companies to continue to operate within the EU post-

Brexit.

C O NST R UCT I ON SE C TO R

During 2020, the Department and the Health and Safety Authority continued to co-operate

closely with SOLAS and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research,

Innovation and Science on ensuring the viability and relevance of safety training schemes for

the construction sector, with a focus on modernising the delivery of training supports to the

construction sector by SOLAS. The SafePass and Construction Safety Certif ication Scheme,

co-ordinated by SOLAS, have proven over many years to have improved awareness,

competence and safety in the construction sector.

Minister Breen introduced an amending S.I. to the Construction Regulations, to extend the

period of validity of all existing SOLAS Safe Pass cards issued from 1 March 2016 beyond

their prescribed expiry date of 29 February 2020 until such a time as the COVID-19

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emergency has lif ted and Safe Pass training is available f rom SOLAS again. This derogation

remains in place. It is estimated that over 30,000 SafePass card holders benef itted f rom the

introduction of the derogation up to the end of December 2020.

W O R KP L AC E F A T A LI TI ES

There were 53 workplace fatalities reported to the Health and Safety Authority in 2020 last

year compared to 47 in 2019. With 20 of these fatalities in the agriculture sector, farms

remain the place of work with the highest rate of accidents and fatalities. Construction

fatalities increased f rom 12 in 2019 to 14 in 2020, with 58% of all fatal injuries taking place in

the f irst six months. Falls f rom heights was the leading cause of construction worker d eaths

in 2020. Many of the fatalities involved small companies and self -employed tradespeople. A

downward trend between 2015 (56 fatalities) and 2020 (53 fatalities) still exists. However, a

continuous focus is needed by employers and employees to ensure that this downward trend

continues.

F A R M SA F E T Y

A Protocol between this Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the

Marine in relation to Farm Safety has been put in place to assist all Parties to work together

to reduce the rate of fatal and serious incidents and improve health and wellbeing in the

agriculture sector while maintaining their respective legislative responsibilities. The Protocol

will assist in ensuring that a collaborative approach is taken by all parties to achieve this goal

and seeks to optimise the use of the resources available to both Departments. The Protocol

will also help to ensure joined-up messaging relating to health, safety and welfare matters

targeting the agriculture sector. The overall objective of this Protocol is to ensure that

working together, both Departments and the Health and Safety Authority can drive real

improvements in farm health, safety and welfare on the ground through a cross -Government

approach and sharing of information.

I R I SH NA T I O NA L A C C RE DI TA T I ON BO A RD/A C CR EDI TA TI ON

A review of the structure and operation of Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB), a

committee of the Health and Safety Authority, was completed in 2020. INAB has an

expanding mandate via a number of EU Directives which require accreditation of bodies

within a regulatory f ramework, examples of upcoming areas of activity would be in the area

of cyber security and data protection.

C H E MI C A L S P O LI C Y

At the beginning of 2020, the Health and Safety Authority published the Chemical Agents

Code of Practice, which, in conjunction with S.I. No. 592 of 2019 transposed three EU

Directives relating to exposure to carcinogens in the workplace, keeping Ireland fully in line

with EU standards in this area.

In June 2020, the EU published Directive (EU) 2020/739, adding the agent responsible for

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, to the Biological Agents Directive, which had recently been

updated by Directive (EU) 2019/1833. Given the urgency of the pandemic, Member States

were given just f ive months to transpose Directive 2020/739 into national law (in addition the


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transposition date for Directive 2019/1833 was moved f rom November 2021 to November

2020 to be in line with Directive 2020/739). Both Directives were fully transposed on time via

S.I. No. 539/2020 and the 2020 Biological Agents Code of Practice, published by the Health

and Safety Authority. The Code of Practice sets out the risk levels of certain biological

agents and the precautions required for each risk level in dif ferent workplaces.

In 2020, the Department continued to liaise with the Attorney General’s Of f ice to progress

the settlement of a revision to the Detergents Regulations under the Chemicals Acts 2008 &

2010.

Following on f rom collaboration with the Health and Safety Authority and the Irish National

Accreditation Board (INAB) in 2019, the Department transposed two Codified EU Directives

(2004/9/EC and 2004/10/EC) on Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), which require that any

test facilities carrying out tests on chemical products shall comply with the OECD Principles

of Good Laboratory Practice. The new regulations were transposed on 23 January 2020 via

S.I. No 18 of 2020.

D A NGE R OUS SUBST A NC E S L E GI SLA TI VE R E GIME

In 2020, the Department continued its programme of work on the modernisation of the

regulations for petroleum storage and the retail sector. This included developing proposals to

put in place a new regulatory regime to assist the sector in maintaining the highest health,

safety and environmental standards.

In 2019 two new sets of regulations replacing 1979 petroleum storage and retail regulations

were also f inalised and published:

• the Dangerous Substances (Flammable Liquids and Fuels Retail Stores) Regulat ions,

2019 (S.I. No. 630 of 2019); and

• the Dangerous Substances (Flammable Liquids and Fuels Distribution and Commercial

Supply Stores) Regulations, 2019 (S.I. No. 631 of 2019).

Both sets of new regulations came into force on 1 April 2020. Following their publication, the

Department received advice f rom stakeholders and reviewed the 2019 Regulations for

clarity. Revised Regulations will be published in 2021.

In April 2020, S.I. 147/2020 was published, which declared f lammable liquids as dangerous

substances under the Dangerous Substances Act. This S.I. allows for diesel only stations to

be licensed under the Dangerous Substances Act, as that was not required previously. The

Department is also pursuing an amendment to the Dangerous Substances Act to further

emphasise this change, through the Industrial Development (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill.

A draf t S.I. updating the 1979 Licensing Fees Regulations has been prepared and sent to

the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for review before being sent for signature.

The Department is currently awaiting feedback.

The Department is also continuing to liaise with the Local Government Management

Association and other stakeholders on developing a new organisational and operational

f ramework to oversee the implementation of the new Regulations by the Local Authority

sector. To date the Business Case for this new licensing regime has passed the Public


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Sector Reform Oversight Group and a peer review group. Lead Local Authorities have been

selected through competition for each region, and the Department will be working with the

Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to bring a Memo to Government.

W O R KP L AC E R E L AT IO NS C O MMI SSI ON

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body which was

established on 1 October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (No. 16 of 2015).

The Adjudication service received some 18,969 specif ic complaints in 2020: pay,

redundancy, unfair dismissal and hours of work accounting for three quarters of cases

received. While the number of complaints and specific complaints received showed a

decline f rom 2019, it represented the highest total received in any other year since

establishment.

The Adjudication Service held a mix of 2,000 virtual and in-person hearings in 2020 and

issued some 1,629 decisions.

Similarly, conciliation and mediation were provided, primarily remotely over a variety of

platforms but also in-person as circumstances allowed. In this regard, the Conciliation

service chaired some 735 conciliation conferences and 242 facilitations in relation to

collective disputes during 2020.

The Inspection service undertook a total of 7,687 workplace inspections resulting in €1.7m in

unpaid wages recovered during 2020. As part of the National Return to Work Safely

Protocol, WRC Inspectors carried out 5,202 inspections involving checks for compliance with

the Protocol and employment law, with 87% of the employers inspected found to be in

compliance.

In 2020, WRC dealt with 52,726 calls and 6,895 emails seeking information on employment

rights, equality, industrial relations and employment permits to both employees and

employers. In addition, the WRC website (www.workplacerelations.ie) had over 2.6m web

views.

L A BO UR C O URT

During 2020, the Labour Court received 940 appeals and referrals, representing a 20%

decrease on the number of referrals (1,182) received in 2019. The Labour Court issued 337

recommendations/determinations/decisions, in addition, it investigated 61 cases that were

settled prior to or at a hearing. The number of cases withdrawn by the parties prior to

hearing was 396.

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Goal 5: E NSUR E T H A T O UR BUSI NE SS R E GULA TI ON F A C I LI TA TE S

BUSI NE SS I NV E ST ME NT A ND D E V ELO PME NT , C O MP ETI TI O N I N T H E

MA R KE T P L A C E, H I GH ST A NDA RDS O F C O NSUMER P R O TEC TI ON A ND

C O R P O RA TE GO V E RNA NCE A ND P R OVI DE S I R EL AND W I T H A

C O MP E T I TI VE A D VA NT AGE I N T H E GL O BAL MA RKE T

C O MP A NY L A W , C O MP E TI TI ON A ND C O NSUME R P R OTE CT I ON

During 2020, the Department built on work previously done on the successful development

of a stable, transparent and modernised company law f ramework in Ireland and continued to

develop and shape responses to new and emerging challenges in company law, competition

and consumer policy at EU and at national level in particular on Brexit and COVID-19. This

work was done in collaboration with stakeholders, the Department’s Offices and Agencies

and other Government Departments to achieve the best outcomes in line with our high-level

goal.

C O V I D -19 R E SP ONSE

During 2020 the Department responded to the unprecedent challenge of the COVID -19

pandemic with the aim of mitigating the short and medium term impacts on companies.

This included rapid agreement by Member States on the amendment to the Regulation on

European Companies (EC 2157/2001) extending the time for holding general meetings due

to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

C O MP A NI E S ( MI SC E LLA NEOUS P R O VI SI O NS) ( C O VI D-19) A C T 2 0 20

The Act, which was enacted on 1 August 2020, makes temporary amendments to the

Companies Act 2014 and the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 to address issues

arising as a result of COVID-19.

It ensures that 240,000 companies and 950 industrial and provident societies in Ireland can

hold their Annual General Meetings and general meetings by electronic means. It also

makes provision in respect of business solvency by increasing the period of examinership to

150 days and increasing the threshold at which a company is deemed unable to pay its

debts to €50,000.

The amendments applied for an interim period, initially up to 31 December 2020. The interim

period was extended to 9 June 2021 following Government approval o n 15 December and

was provided for by two Government Orders:

• S.I. No. 672 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Section 12A (1)) (COVID-19) Order 2020

• S.I. No. 671 of 2020 Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 (Section 14A (1)) (COVID-19) Order 2020

P R O P O SED L E GI SLA TI ON O N T H E R E SAL E O F T I C KE TS

The General Scheme of the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and

Sporting Events) Bill 2020 was referred on 5 February 2020 to the European Commission


—— 177

and other Member States in accordance with the requirements of Directive (EU) 2015/1535

on the procedure for the provision of information in the f ield of technical regulations and of

rules on information society services. No issue of compatibility with EU law or the Internal

Market was raised by the European Commission or Member States in the course of the

scrutiny of the Scheme.

The General Scheme of the Bill was approved by the Government for draf ting on 29

September 2020. The Bill’s main provision is a prohibition on the sale or advertising for sale

of tickets or ticket packages above their original sale price for events in designated venues

with a capacity of 1,000 or more. It includes also a ban on the unauthorised resale of tickets

for matches and events taking place during the EURO 2020 football championship which is

now to be held in 2021.

Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill by the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and

Employment took place on 9 December 2020 and publication of the Bill and its passage

through the Houses of the Oireachtas is a priority in 2021.

GE NE R A L SC H EME O F T H E C O MP A NI E S ( C O RPO RATE E NF ORC EME NT

A UT H O R IT Y) B I L L

The General Scheme of the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill establishes

the Off ice of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) as an agency, in the form of a

Commission, to be called the Corporate Enforcement Authority. Changing the structure of

the ODCE from an of fice in the Department to a statutory agency will provide it with greater

autonomy and f lexibility to adapt to the challenges it faces in its investigation and

prosecution of increasingly complex breaches of company law.

Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill did not conclude before the dissolution of the 32nd Dáil, it

began again under the new Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment in

December 2020. Finalising and publication of the Bill awaits the conclusion of pre-legislative

scrutiny which is anticipated in early 2021.

R E V I E W O F T H E I ND USTRI A L A ND P R OVI DE NT SO C I ETI E S A C T S

Following a root and branch review of the existing, largely Victorian era legislative

f ramework, the Department continued work on a General Scheme of a Co -operative

Societies Bill. This is a very comprehensive and lengthy piece of legislation and is intended

to consolidate existing provisions and provide a modernised and ef fective legislative

f ramework suitable for the diverse range of organisations using the co -operative model in

Ireland.

C O MP A NY L A W R E VI EW GR OUP

The Company Law Review Group (CLRG) is an expert advisory group charged with advising

the Minister on company law matters. It operates f rom a two year work programme,

determined by the Minister and the secretariat is provided by the Department.

The CLRG was heavily engaged in the Department’s response to the impact of COVID -19

on business f rom a company law perspective and submitted two reports in this regard during


—— 178

2020. Its June 2020 report on ‘Measures to address company law issues arising by reason

of the COVID-19 pandemic’ dealt with emergency legislative amendments required to

ensure the normal operation of the Companies Act 2014 during the pandemic. The

recommendations contained in the report informed the Companies (Miscellaneous

Provisions) (COVID-19) Act 2020 as set out above. The CLRG also considered in an

accelerated timeframe, medium-term stabilisation measures to mitigate the economic impact

of COVID-19. In its October 2020 report, it made recommendations for a rescue process

suitable for small companies. Following receipt of the report, the Department considered the

recommendations and began the necessary work to develop the proposal with a view to

draf ting a General Scheme in early 2021.

There is a strong focus on insolvency in the CLRG Work Programme 2020-2022. The

Corporate Insolvency Committee of the Group commenced its consideration of the issue of

creditors rights under the Companies Act 2014, in the context of liquidations as well as

issues in relation to transactional avoidance.

The CLRG is also mandated, as part of its work programme, to examine and make

recommendations on whether it is necessary or desirable to amend company law in light of

Brexit. In this regard, the Group’s June 2020 ‘Report on certain company law issues arising

under the EU Central Securities Depositories Regulation 909/2014 (CSDR)’ informed Part 4

of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential

Provisions) Act 2020 (further information below).

In December 2020, the CLRG presented its ‘Report on potential impact of artificial

intelligence on company law in the context of corporate governance’.

MI GR A T I O N O F SE C UR I TI ES

Settlement of securities trades - whereby securities are transferred by the seller to the buyer

and funds are transferred f rom the buyer to the seller - are typically made in a securities

settlement system operated by a Central Securities Depository (CSD).

Part 4 of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential

Provisions) Act 2020 which was enacted on 10 December 2020 provides miscellaneous

amendments to the Companies Act 2014 to facilitate the operation of a substitute securities

settlement system, compatible with the law of the European Union, af ter the transition

period. Part 4 commenced on 15 March 2021, the date identif ied by the Irish Stock

Exchange as the migration date.

To ensure that there would be no disruption in CSD services for EU operators using a UK

securities settlement system, the European Commission granted equivalence to UK CSDs

until the end of June 2021. The Companies Act 1990 (Uncertif icated Securities)

(Amendment) Regulations 2020 were thus amended to provide continued recognition for UK

CSDs approved by a competent authority in the UK for the equivalence period concerned.

EU DI R ECT I VES/ R EG U LA TI ON S

➢ 2 0 1 7


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DI R ECT I VE A S R EG A R DS T H E EN COU R A G EMEN T OF L ON G -

T ER M SH A R EH OL DER EN G A G EMEN T The European Union (Shareholders’ Rights) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 81 of 2020) came into

operation on 30 March 2020 giving ef fect to the provisions of Directive EU 2017/828 as

regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement. The Regulations inserted

several Chapters into Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014 dealing with the subject matter of

the Directive. Certain provisions related to transparency requirements for institutional

investors, asset managers, and proxy advisors.

➢ 2 0 1 9

Directive to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to

be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the

internal market Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018

to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more ef fective enforcers

and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market was published on 14 January

2019. The Directive must be transposed into Irish law by 4 February 2021 and it is intended

to transpose the ECN+ Directive by primary legislation.

The Bill will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to enable the

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and ComReg to make greater use of

administrative penalties to sanction rogue operators and is an action in the Action Plan for

Insurance Reform. In addition, the Bill will further strengthen the powers of the State in

tackling white collar crime, economic crime and corruption.

The central aim of the ECN+ Directive is to ensure that National Competition Authorities

(NCAs) have guarantees of independence, suf ficient resources and appropriate powers of

enforcement, including the ability to issue f ines, for breaches of Articles 101 and 102 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Alongside the application of Articles 101

and 102, the Directive also covers the parallel application of national competition law to the

same case and the application of national competition law on a stand -alone basis. The

Directive sets rules on mutual assistance to ensure close cooperation within the European

Competition Network (ECN).

The Directive has the following specific objectives:

5. ensuring NCAs have ef fective investigation and decision-making tools;

6. ensuring that NCAs are able to impose ef fective deterrent f ines;

7. ensuring that NCAs have a well-designed leniency programme in place which facilitates;

applying for leniency in multiple jurisdictions; and

8. ensuring that NCAs have suf f icient resources and can enforce EU competition rules

independently.

In March 2020, the Department convened a Project Group comprising of the NCAs16 and

other relevant parties17 to draf t a General Scheme for the Heads of a Bill to transpose the

16 The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and ComReg, the Courts Service and the Director of Public

Prosecutions 17 Department of Justice and Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment





—— 180

ECN+ Directive. The Heads of Bill also included additional powers for the NCAs, addressing

a number of competition issues such as Bid Rigging and Gun Jumping. The draf t General

Scheme also benef ited f rom extensive legal advice f rom the Attorney General’s Of f ice on

those elements that would have possible constitutional implications. The General Scheme

will become the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2021.

A Memo for Government seeking approval for the priority draf ting of the Competition

(Amendment) Bill 2021 was subsequently approved on 22 December. The Bill has been

included as a priority for both Publication and Enactment in the f irst half of 2021.

Regulation laying down rules and procedures for the market surveillance

and compliance of products Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019

on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and

Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 205/2011 was published on 25 June 2019.

The Regulation aims to strengthen enforcement powers of market surveillance authorities,

particularly on products sold online and to strengthen controls at external borders. The

Regulation also aims to cover new supply chains and address online sales as well as

improving compliance with EU law. Some of the provisions in the Regulation will apply f rom

1 January 2021, while the rest will apply f rom 16 July 2021.

Directive on the use of digital tools and processes in Company Law Directive (EU) 2019/1151 amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 on digital tools was published

in the Off icial Journal on 11 July 2019 and entered into force on 31 July 2019, with a

transposition date of 1 August 2021. The Directive is part of the EU Company Law Package:

making the best of digital solutions and providing efficient rules for cross-border operations.

The objective of the Directive is to apply digital solutions to allow online access to business

registers, for companies registering and providing information, as well as access to such

information for third parties. EU Company Law Expert Group meetings on transposition and

an Implementing Act continued throughout 2020. The Directive must be transposed by 1

August 2021.

Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks, insolvency and discharge

of debt The Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and Council, which was adopted

in June 2019, seeks to harmonise aspects of national insolvency laws both for companies

and for individuals. It is focused on specific areas of insolvency law ‘early res tructuring’

opportunities (for businesses in f inancial difficulties which may not, or not yet, be insolvent)

and ensuring a ‘second chance’ for ‘honest entrepreneurs’ who become insolvent without

any f raud or malpractice.

The Department of Justice, which has responsibility for transposing elements of the Directive

which relate to personal insolvency, and this Department continued during 2020 to engage in

preparing for the transposition of the Directive. However, towards the end of 2020 it became

the shared view of both Departments that the 17 July 2021 deadline could not be achieved

given the disruption and additional legislative requirements arising as a result of COVID -19.

The Commission was notif ied on 23 December 2020 of the State’s intention to avai l of the

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32019R1020


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one-year extension as provided for under Article 34 paragraph 2. The Directive must now be

transposed by 17 July 2022.

DI R ECT I VE ON CR OSS-B OR DER CON VER SI ON S, MER G ER S A N D

DI V I SI ON S A Directive (2121/2019) amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 on cross-border conversions,

mergers and divisions was published in November 2019 and aims to simplify cross border

rules and enhance the EU Single Market while providing for appropriate safeguards that

discourage abuses and protect the legitimate interests of workers and other, minority

shareholders and creditors. Transposition is due within a three-year timeframe by November

2022.

EN A B L I N G T H E EN F OR CEMEN T OF ECODESI G N R EG U L A T I ON S The EU Ecodesign Directive is designed to improve the energy ef f iciency of energy-related

products on the market by setting higher energy ef f iciency standards. The aim is to

encourage consumers to be more responsible about their energy use. In turn, less energy

ef f icient products are forced off the market. More product groups are being added under the

Directive.

The enforcement of (European) Ecodesign Regulations was enabled in S.I. No 625 of 2020.

The S.I. replaces the Schedule contained in S.I. 454/2013 with an updated list of products

and the associated (European) Regulations These include the following:

▪ Servers and Data Storage Products Regulation (EU) No 2019/424;

▪ Electric Motors Regulation (EU) No 2019/1781;

▪ External Power Supplies Regulation (EU) No 2019/1782;

▪ Small, Medium and Large Power Transformers Regulation (EU) No 2019/1783;

▪ Welding Equipment Regulation (EU) No 2019/1784;

▪ Light Sources Regulation (EU) No 2019/2020;

▪ Electronic Displays Regulation (EU) No 2019/2021;

▪ Household Dishwashers Regulation (EU) No 2019/2022;

▪ Household Washing Machines Regulation (EU) No 2019/2023;

▪ Refrigerators with Direct Sale Function Regulation (EU) No 2019/2024.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L2121

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:285:0010:0035:en:PDF


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➢ 2 0 2 0

Directive to Empower Qualified Entities to take Representative Actions on

Behalf of a Group of Consumers to Provide for Redress in Cases of Mass

Harm Directive 2020/1828 was published in the Off icial Journal on 4 December 2020 and

proposes a modernised system of representative actions, building on the existing Injunctions

Directive (Directive 2009/22/EC).

The agreed Directive proposes a modernised system of representative actions by:

• expanding the scope of the old Directive to cover other horizontal and sector-specif ic EU instruments relevant for the protection of collective interests of consumers in different

economic sectors such as f inancial services, energy, telecommunications, health and the

environment;

• allows non-prof it making qualif ied entities such as consumer organisations or

independent public bodies, which have been designated in advance by Member States,

to take either domestic or cross border representative actions to defend the collective

interests of consumer in cases of mass harm;

• requires Member States to ensure 'due expediency' of procedures and to avoid

procedural costs becoming a f inancial obstacle to bringing representative actions;

• requires that Member States shall lay down the penalties applicable to non-compliance

with decisions issued within the representative action, that they shall take all necessary

measures to ensure that they are implemented and shall ensure that penalties may take

the form of fines; and

• enables qualif ied entities to bring representative actions seeking different types of

measures as appropriate, depending on the circumstances of the case i.e. interim or

def initive measures to stop and prohibit a trader’s practice or to eliminate the continuing

ef fects of the inf ringement. The latter could include redress orders establishing the

trader's liability towards the consumers harmed by the inf ringement.

The Department is considering these issues and working to ensure this Directive is

transposed into Irish law by December 2022, as required.

C O NST R UCT I ON C O NTRA CT S A C T , 2 013 – R E GULA TI ON O F P A Y ME NT S

UND E R C O NST RUC TI O N C O NT RAC TS A ND ST A TUTO RY E NT I TLE MENT

T O A D J UD I C ATI O N

During 2020 there were 54 applications made to the Chairperson of the Construction

Contracts Adjudication Panel, for the appointment of an Adjudicator under section 6(4) of the

Construction Contracts Act, 2013.

The Chair of the Construction Contracts Adjudication Panel, Dr. Nael Bunni, submitted the

fourth Annual Report on the implementation of the Construction Contracts Act, 2013 to

Minister English in August 2020 and this report is available on the Department’s website.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32009L0022


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I NSUR A NC E

➢ ACTION PLAN FOR INSURANCE REFORM

The Programme for Government sets out a range of commitments to reform the insurance

sector. As the issue of insurance concerns a number of Departments a Sub-group of the

Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment chaired by the Tánaiste was

established by Government in September 2020. The Sub-group is meeting on a regular

basis to oversee and implement reform and consider the progress that each Minister is

making in implementing the specif ic actions for which they have responsibility.

Arising f rom the work of the Sub-group, on 8 December 2020, Government published the

f irst Action Plan for Insurance Reform to make Ireland’s insurance sector more competitive

and consumer-f riendly, assisting enterprise and job creation. The Plan sets out 66 actions

across Government to bring down the costs for consumers and business; introduce more

competition into the market; prevent f raud and reduce the burden on business, community

and voluntary organisations.

Actions will be undertaken and delivered by Ministers in this Department and the

Departments of Finance and Justice over the next 18 months. The Sub -Group will meet

regularly, engage with stakeholders and publish progress o f the actions every six months.

➢ OFFICE TO PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE INSURANCE MARKET

Following work undertaken by the Department in collaboration with the Department of

Finance, ‘The Off ice to Promote Competition in the Insurance Market’ was established in

December 2020 under the responsibility of the Minister of State for Financial Services, Credit

Unions and Insurance, Seán Fleming T.D.

This new Off ice comprises officials f rom the Department of Finance assisted by officials from

this Department, with regular input to be provided from other relevant Departments,

Agencies and stakeholders. The Off ice has been established to advance Government's work

on insurance reform so as to encourage greater competition in the Irish insurance market

and follows a commitment contained in the Programme for Government. The new Off ice will

provide a coordinated Government policy approach to promote competition in the insurance

sector.

➢ PERSONAL INJURIES ASSESSMENT BOARD

Since its establishment in 2004 the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) has

delivered major benef its by providing a low-cost, quick and fair option in injury

compensation. The Central Bank’s National Claims Information Database 2nd Motor Report

(November 2020) shows that the legal costs involved in going to litigation on claims for up to

€100,000 are more than 15 times greater than through settling claims through PIAB. The

report also shows signif icant differences in the time taken to resolve claims where they

cannot be agreed directly between claimants and respondents. For claims settled through

PIAB, the average time f rom date of accident to award was 2.9 years, whereas if settled via

ligation it was 4.7 years.

The Programme for Government commits to enhancing and reforming the role of PIAB, with

the overarching aim to have more cases resolved through the PIAB system. During 2020,



—— 184

work has progressed between the Department and PIAB to examine options to enhance and

reform the agency. A public consultation on the enhancement of PIAB took place in March

2021 with the enhanced role, including legislative proposals, to be put in place by June

2021.

➢ COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSION STUDY ON THE PUBLIC

LIABILITY INSURANCE MARKET

On 23 December 2020 the Competition and Consumer Pro tection Commission (CCPC)

published its market study on the public liability insurance market. The study found that the

functioning of the public liability insurance market is a signif icant concern. It found that the

incidence of high premiums is spread across all sectors, while availability issues seem to be

primarily impacting certain segments of the market (community and sports organisations in

particular).

The CCPC study recommends the adoption of a strategic approach to the reform of the

insurance market, improved data availability, measures to enhance competition, supports for

business and consumers and reform of the PIAB. This study will be an important input to the

work of the Cabinet Sub-group on Insurance Reform as it works to implement measures

across Government to reform the insurance sector. The majority of the recommendations in

the CCPC study are ref lected in the Action Plan for Insurance Reform.

T R A D E L I C ENSI NG A ND C O NTRO L

The Department administers EU and national Export Controls to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to assist regional stability and to protect human rights. This regime is a key component of the business regulation f ramework for companies trading internationally f rom Ireland. Despite difficulties posed by the global pandemic, activity in this area continued to be strong during 2020 with achievements including:

▪ 873 export licences for controlled goods were issued, with a value of almost €3.8bn;

▪ 17 licenses were issued between March and May 2020 related to the implementation of

EU Export Controls for Personal Protection Equipment, which was introduced to ensure

adequacy of supply of such products in the EU during the initial stages of the COVID -19

pandemic;

▪ 300 licences for imports of certain steel and aluminium products f rom third countries

were issued up to May 2020, when EU surveillance requirements in this area were

discontinued;

▪ Outreach and compliance visits to exporters were conducted when restrictions allowed.

These were complemented with desk-based audits and virtual meetings; and

▪ 25 Statutory Instruments were enacted to give full legal ef fect to EU sanctions.


—— 185

ME D I C A L D E VI C ES C E R TI FI CA TI O N

In early 2020, the Medical Devices Division at NSAI were approved for designation to the

new EU Medical Device Directive. Af ter two and a half years working towards this

designation, NSAI became the 11th notif ied body in the world to be designated to the new

regulation. The achievement represents a signif icant endorsement and global recognition for

the organisation as the only Irish notif ied body in the medical technology space.

N A TIO N A L METRO LO G Y Early 2020 saw the National Metrology Laboratory (NML) being awarded the Calibration/

Testing Laboratory of the Year Award at the Irish Laboratory Awards, recognising the

importance of NML to the sector.

During 2020, NML remained operational and providing critical and essential measurement

services to Irish industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Demand for NML’s

calibration services remained strong during the year with the laboratory issuing over 4,600

calibration certif icates for the year.

While the ability to provide training courses in-house was greatly curtailed, NML did deliver

12 courses to 21 companies, with six delivered on-line through recreating a virtual laboratory

environment. NML also produced three on-line presentations relating to metrology issues

important to industry.

L E GA L ME T RO LOGY

COVID-19 restrictions had a signif icant impact on the on-site inspection activities carried out

by NSAI legal metrology inspectors, particularly during periods of Level 5 restrictions.

However, inspectors visited 2,504 traders (59% of 2019) and inspected 13,599 (92% of

2019) instruments during the year. Six inspections campaigns were undertaken in the

business sectors of Fisheries, Licenced Premises, Truck Mounted Oil Meters, Weighbridge,

Truck Mounted Waste Weighers, Milk Metering Systems.

During the year the Legal Metrology Service secured a guilty verdict against a taxi service

for operating two unverif ied taximeter and removing a security seal. In addition to a penalty

and contribution to NSAI’s legal fees the probation Act was also applied.

Legal Metrology introduced an online Taxi Trader Information for taxi meter installers which

delivers improved records management for installers, notifies the taximeter owner/operator

of their legal obligations regarding taximeter verif ication, while also improving environmental

sustainability. In addition, new security sealing arrangements for taximeters to replace the

old tamper proof sticker with a wire and plastic locking mechanism.


—— 186

Goal 6: W O R KI NG A MBI T I OUSL Y A C R OSS GO VE RNMENT W I T H

O UR E U A ND I NT E R NA TI ONA L P A R TNERS T O A C H I EV E P R OGRE SS I N E U

A ND I NT E R NA TI ONAL F O RA, A C RO SS A W I D E R A NGE O F I NT ERE STS ,

I NC L UD I NG BR E XI T

E NGA GE ME NT A T E U L E V E L

The varying ef fects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to play a central role for the

majority of 2020. In addition to the ef fective shutting down of large swathes of the EU

economy, the scheduling of the range of physical meetings was signif icantly impacted.

Faced with these continued exceptional circumstances, the af fected EU Presidencies and

the European Commission sought to ensure that as much business continued to take place

in as many fora as possible. Videoconference meetings in respect of Ministerial Council

meetings, as well as the Trade Policy Committee in its various formations , continued to be

the dominant feature. A notable exception was the informal Council meeting of Trade

Ministers on 11 September which took place in Berlin and which the Tánaiste attended.

During 2020, Minister Humphreys, the Tánaiste and Ministers Breen, Troy and English

represented Ireland’s interests at the Trade and Competitiveness (Internal Market and

Industry) and Employment and Social Af fairs (EPSCO) Councils. COVID-19 impacted the

organisation of Council meetings with only one physical meeting of the Competitiveness

Council held under the Croatian Presidency while six other meetings during the Croatian and

German Presidencies were held virtually.

The Competitiveness (Internal Market and Industry) Council considered the European Green

Deal and adopted Council Conclusions on Better Regulation at its only physical meeting.

The focus of other meetings was on the impact of COVID-19 on EU industry and the Single

Market, the Commission’s Recovery Plan and on building a resilient competitive Europe with

an emphasis on deepening the Single Market and on delivering on the green and digital

transition.

In October 2020, the coordination role for EPSCO transferred to the Department. Minister English attended two informal meetings in October and December which focused on the recovery f rom COVID-19 through the employment and social af fairs lens. Issues progressed by the Trade Council during 2020 included EU Trade Policy Review

(which was launched in June 2020) which was discussed in September and again in

November. A signif icant amount of time was also devoted to ensuring a consensus EU

approach regarding the selection of the WTO Director-General post. EU-US trade relations

continued to be a key topic throughout 2020 however, while discussions continued over the

course of the year between the EU and US towards a return to more ‘predictable’ trade

relations as equal partners, there were no signif icant bridging of gaps. The result of the US

Presidential election was a notable development towards the end of the year.

Considerable work within the EU was also undertaken to further the WTO reform agenda.

The Appellate Body of the WTO ceased to function as of 11 December 2019. In the interim,

the EU with 24 other trading partners agreed to the establishment of the Multi -Party Interim

Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). The MPIA operates under the WTO framework,


—— 187

based on a provision (Article 25) in the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding for dispute

arbitration. It is based on the usual WTO rules applicable to appeals. Ireland also continued

to work with our EU partners to address a number of trade irritants with the United States,

most notably in relation to the imposition of tariffs on certain EU exports to the United States

in response to the WTO f indings in the ‘Airbus’ case, as well as the EU response to the WTO

award in the parallel Boeing case. Furthermore, a second review of the EU’s Steel

Safeguard measures was undertaken whereby the quota levels were liberalised by 3%. The

measures are due to expire in July 2021.

In addition to representing the Department’s and Ireland’s strategic interests at Council, the

Department’s key EU interests were also pursued at the cross -Government level via the

Department of Foreign Af fairs EU Senior Of f icials Group and the Interdepartmental Group on

EU Af fairs and Brexit, as well as, bilaterally through engagements with like-minded Member

States and the European Commission.

The Department continued to engage remotely and via video conferencing facilities at EU

Committee and Working Party level to communicate Ireland’s position on issues of trade to

ensure that the open, f ree and rule based multi-lateral trading system is assisted and upheld.

In that regard, the team in Dublin and Brussels service multiple Committees and Working

Groups, including Geneva insofar as the World Trade Organisation is concerned. We also

take the lead role for Ireland in other international organisations’ fora (UN, WTO) through its

Permanent Representation Mission in Geneva, as well as the Organisation for Economic

Co-operation (OECD).

The Ministers briefed our business stakeholders on International Trade developments

through the Department’s Enterprise Forum during the year.

In keeping with the Department’s EU Oireachtas Scrutiny obligations, the Department

informed the Oireachtas on 38 EU proposals across a range of policy issues, seven early

warning reports and also met its obligation to submit two six -monthly reports on EU

developments.

E U S I NGL E MA R KE T I N SE R V I C ES

Throughout 2020, the Department continued its engagement at EU level, including with the

European Commission and with other Member States, and in representing Ireland at

relevant EU Working Groups and Committees on Single Market issues. It continued to work

with likeminded Member States and the European Commission to identify and remove

barriers to the cross-border provision of services in the EU Single Market, including through

the newly established Single Market Enforcement Taskforce.

On the legislative f ront, the Department coordinated national positions on a proposal for a

Regulation setting up a Single Market Programme within the EU’s Multi-annual Financial

Framework for the period 2021-2027, which was agreed later in the year. This new

programme is an aggregation of six existing EU funding programmes which are currently

assisted by 10 dif ferent EU budget lines, and which, at national level, fall within the policy

remits of a number of Government Departments.


—— 188

The Department also continued to manage the Irish Point of Single Contact website, which is

an information and assistance resource for EU services providers seeking to provide

services in Ireland. It is part of a network of websites across the European Economic Area

which aims to facilitate f ree movement of services within the Single Market. The Department

continued to improve the quality of information available on the Point of Single Contact and

address shortfalls previously identified by the European Commission.

The Department also managed Ireland’s contribution to other EU networks that contribute to

the smooth functioning of the Single Market, including the SOLVIT and Internal Market

Information Systems. In 2020, the Irish SOLVIT Centre again scored well in the European

Commission’s Annual Report on the performance of national centres within the SOLVIT

network.

I NV E ST ME NT SC R EE NI NG

The EU European Union adopted the Regulation for Establishing a Framework for the

Screening of Foreign Direct Investments . The Regulation (EU) (2019/452) came into ef fect

in March 2019 and applies f rom 11 October 2020.

This Regulation establishes a f ramework for Member States to co -ordinate and share

information in relation to the screening of foreign direct investment from 3rd count ries. It

came into force in October 2020. It also allows the Commission to issue non-binding

opinions in cases concerning several Member States, or when an investment could af fect a

project or programme of interest to the whole of the EU.

The Investment Screening Regulation, and subsequent domestic policy developments, is a

response to growing concerns amongst Member States regarding the purchase of , and

investment in, strategic European companies and assets by foreign-owned f irms (and in

certain cases, state-owned f irms) that may undermine a Member State’s security or public

order.

Under the Regulation, Member States are required to establish a National Contact Point

(NCP) where information and enquiries can be exchanged between the Commission and

Member States. The NCP is also responsible for fulfilling the various reporting requirements

set out in the Regulation.

The Department acts as Ireland’s NCP and we are an active participant on the European

Commission’s Expert Group on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment which provides a

valuable forum to share best practices on screening policies and which facilitates an

exchange of views on trends and issues of common concern relating to foreign investment

screening. In 2020, the Department undertook analysis including a series of bilateral

engagements to inform policy development in this space. A public consultation was also

undertaken to inform the Department on policy options in examining our response to the

implementation of the Regulation.

Following the consultation, the issue was considered by Government and a decision was

taken to introduce an investment screening mechanism in Ireland by way of primary

legislation. Government approved the General Scheme of an Investment Screening Bill in

July 2020 and the legislation is currently being draf ted with the Attorney General’s of fice.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/452/oj


—— 189

The Bill when enacted, will empower the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to

respond to threats to Ireland’s security and public order posed by particular types of f oreign

investment and to prevent or mitigate such threats.

B REXIT

READINESS PREPARATIONS In 2020, the extensive coordination work continued across the Department and its Agencies

on the Department’s response to Brexit, including engagement across Government on Brexit

readiness in preparation for all Brexit outcomes, including a no -deal outcome. There was

also active liaison across Government to ensure that our national interests were taken into

account in the context of the EU-UK negotiations on the future trading relationship.

The Department provided inputs to the Government Brexit Readiness Action Plan published

in September 2020 and in the Brexit Omnibus Bill 2020. In December 2020, the Withdrawal

of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (Brexit

Omnibus Act) was signed into law by the President. The Omnibus Act, which was made up

of 19 parts, complemented legal measures at EU level and continued the work of the 2019

Omnibus Bill by focusing on measures to protect our citizens and assisting the economy,

enterprise and jobs particularly in key economic sectors. The Department’s involvement

included Parts 4, 5 & 15 of the Omnibus Act which focused, respectively, on issues related

to Central Securities Depositories; adjustments to Work Permits legislation; as well as to the

Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts. In addition to the Bill, complementary

secondary legislation was also f inalised before the end of the transition period on 31

December 2020.

Intensive engagement with the Department’s stakeholders continued in 2020 with a view to

assisting businesses to get Brexit ready by end 2020. This work involved Ministerial

engagement through key stakeholder groups such as the Enterprise Forum on Brexi t and

Global Challenges and the Retail Forum, as well as with the Department’s enterprise and

regulatory Agencies.

CHEMICAL IMPORTS Throughout 2020 the Department, in conjunction with the Health and Safety Authority,

continued to support the Government’s ‘Getting Ireland Brexit Ready’ initiative to highlight

the potential impacts for Irish industry. In particular, potential impacts arising for industry in

relation to the sourcing of chemicals and the importing of products continued to be

highlighted throughout 2020, as industries might face increased regulatory duties and

obligations.

MITIGATING MEASURES FOR SMES

➢ Brexit Loan Scheme

The Brexit Loan Scheme was launched in March 2018, in partnership with the Department of

Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the European Investment Bank. The Scheme provides

af fordable f inancing to eligible Irish businesses with up to 499 employees that are either

currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future. The Scheme is open both to State

Agency clients and those businesses that do not have any relationship with State Agencies.

The Scheme is delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through


—— 190

commercial lenders to get working capital into Irish businesses and was extended in 2020 to

continue to make lending available to Brexit impacted businesses to the end of 2021.

Together with the SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, €337.5m of lending has been

made available to help the liquidity needs of SMEs, as of the end of 2020, through these two

loan schemes. A further expansion is in progress to bring available lending up to €500m. To

the end of 2020, 282 loans had progressed to sanction at bank level to a total value of

€57.5m.

➢ Future Growth Loan Scheme

As referenced under Goal 1, the €300m Future Growth Loan Scheme, was launched in

March 2019, to provide access to lending to eligible Irish businesses and the primary

agriculture and seafood sectors to assist strategic long-term investment. The scheme was

expanded in July 2020 to bring available lending to €800m. Finance provided under this

scheme is easier to access, more competitively priced, and offered at more favourable terms

than other lending for such businesses. Loan amounts are of fered of between €100,000

(€50,000 for agriculture) to €3m with unsecured loans up to €500,000. Loans are for terms

of between 7 and 10 years – addressing a gap in the market for longer term f inance. The

scheme is jointly funded by this Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and

the Marine and the European Investment Bank.

This scheme has been well received in the market, such that at the end of 2020 there had

been 2,742 loans progressed to sanction at bank level to a total value of €555m, of which

2,023 of these loans to the value of €415.1m were sanc tioned in 2020 alone.

➢ Microfinance Ireland Brexit Business Loan

In November 2020, Microf inance Ireland launched its Brexit Business Loan. It is available to

businesses with turnover of less than €2m and a maximum of 9 employees. Loans can be up

for up to €25,000 and f rom 6 months to 3 years. Reduced interest rates f rom 4.5% and an

ef fective interest f ree period of up to 12 months bring the cost of this loan down further for

Irish businesses. It is expected that these loans will be utilised for importation reasons or

changes to supply chains due to the size of the businesses involved.

➢ Awareness

The Department invested heavily in supporting enterprise and providing strong

communications and awareness raising on Brexit. It gauges Brexit responses across the

SME base by means of its series of Brexit SME surveys, which provide insights into the

extent and type of Brexit responses implemented by businesses. Further monitoring,

collation and dissemination of the levels of engagement with Brexit supports facilitates the

development of insights into the impact of Brexit on business.

In addition to online resources, a number of leaf lets and booklets have been produced to

ensure that businesses are as prepared as possible for the impacts arising as a result of

Brexit. These include the ‘Quick Brexit Guide for Business: Customs, tariffs and duties,

currency, imports, certification, working capital, financing’ and ‘Currency Risk Management


—— 191

for Irish SMEs.’ Given the demand, the ‘Quick Brexit Guide for Business’ has been reprinted

several times. Where appropriate, information has been updated to ref lect the changing

circumstances of the UK’s exit f rom the EU. The Department’s website has also been

updated to include guidance on Getting Your Business Brexit Ready, including information

on appropriate measures for impacted businesses.

The Department also produced a comprehensive guide to the range of different measures

available to businesses seeking f inancing, ‘Access to finance supports for SMEs and

microenterprise’.

ENTERPRISE IRELAND

With the support of the Department, Enterprise Ireland has continued its focus on assisting Irish business prepare for Brexit in 2020. This included: ▪ The launch of the Ready for Customs Grant – a €9,000 contribution towards the costs of

recruiting new employees and sof tware IT systems equipment to increase a company’s

customs capacity. By the end of 2020 €7.6m had been allocated, supporting 1,000 jobs

in the sector.

▪ The launch of the Brexit Readiness Checker – an online tool that provides businesses

with an individual assessment of readiness. More than 660 companies had completed

the Checker by end 2020.

▪ Extensive advertising and direct marketing campaigns to the Enterprise Ireland client

base and the wider business community to raise awareness of the importance of

preparing for Brexit.

▪ A series of five regional webinars in early December 2020, with more than 1400

businesses registering. Post event follow-up included promoting on demand view

options and the circulation of an extensive Brexit Q&A document.

Traf f ic to Enterprise Ireland’s dedicated website Prepare for Brexit increased signif icantly,

with more than 66,500 visits between September – December 2020.

IDA IRELAND In 2020, IDA Ireland continued to work directly with its existing clients to help address the

challenges while also seeking to maximise new Brexit-related opportunities.

The Agency has engaged with its client base, over several years, to help identify and

mitigate Brexit-related risks that could impact on foreign direct investment in Ireland.

In addition, ever since the UK referendum in June 2016, IDA Ireland has sought

opportunities to attract further Brexit-related investment to Ireland, securing 92 Brexit-related

investments with an associated jobs potential of 5,900 in that time. The IDA has taken steps

to diversify its source markets for foreign direct investment. The Agency has restructured its

European operations to treat the UK as a separate market and will also deploy additional

resources in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

IDA Ireland continues to emphasise the core elements of Ireland’s value proposition for

foreign direct investment. Our strengths – including our pro-enterprise policy environment,

https://www.prepareforbrexit.com/


—— 192

highly-educated English-speaking workforce and our membership of the European Union –

remain attractive to international investors.

LOCAL ENTERPRISE OFFICES Brexit measures through the 31 Local Enterprise Of f ices (LEOs) throughout the country are

focused on information and awareness, market diversif ication, increased competitiveness

and promoting innovation. As well as Brexit, related mentoring and training the LEOs have

also delivered specif ic Brexit initiatives for micro -enterprises, including:

• 3,267 participants attended Brexit Information events aimed at core and non-core clients

through the LEOs online training platforms;

• Technical Assistance for Micro Exporters Grants were available to incentivise clients to

explore and develop new market opportunities. 1,072 clients were approved assistance

under this measure in 2020 which is more than double the number approved in 2019.

INTERTRADEIRELAND As the SMEs assisted by InterTrade Ireland (ITI) may be signif icantly impacted by Brexit, the

Department once again provided additional funding to ITI in 2020. This enabled ITI to further

enhance the:

▪ Brexit Advisory Service which provides a range of tailored measures. In total the Brexit

Advisory Service engaged directly with over 3,897 SMEs across the island.

▪ ‘Brexit Start to Plan Vouchers’ valued at €2,250, to enable companies to obtain specialist

advice on issues such as currency planning, tarif fs and customs, regulatory

requirements and taxation issues. In 2020 ITI received 962 applications for ‘Start to

Plan’ Vouchers for SMEs and approved 856.

N A TIO N A L S TA N DA RDS A UTH O RITY O F IRELA N D

The National Standards Authority of Ireland’s (NSAI) focus in terms of Brexit is to examine

the risks and opportunities for businesses in terms of product certification and the application

of EU, ISO, and British standards post-Brexit. During 2020 NSAI’s Brexit Unit engaged

extensively with businesses and trade organisations throughout Ireland, holding a series of

roadshow events and issuing factsheets on specific sectoral areas. NSAI have developed

information measures to help Irish businesses in their preparations to minimise the impact of

Brexit, protect their supply chains and to maintain access to the UK market.

In 2020 the NSAI delivered on several Brexit initiatives including:

• Enhancing on-line access to Brexit materials through a Brexit portal;

• Frequently Asked Questions on Electrical Equipment and Product Certif ication;

• Fact Sheets for key sectors;

• Migrated Brexit Messaging to on-line platforms with;

▪ 11 Brexit webinars including Irish Exporters Association, IBEC, Quantity Surveyors Association and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

▪ Delivered a Brexit Live Autumn Series of webinars, to over 650 attendees,


—— 193

▪ Presenting at the Manufacturing Supply Chain and Electrical Manufacturers and Distribution Association conferences

• NSAI Brexit Unit facilitated the Irish Notif ied Bodies Network meetings with the addition of three new subgroups, Construction, Pressure Vessels and Electrical/Radio.

NSAI assisted the Government Getting Ireland Brexit Ready initiatives through presenting at

the LEO’s Lunch and Learn Series, Monaghan Co. Council’s Construction Brexit Brief ing

and Dundalk Chamber of Commerce/ITI and Dundalk LEO brief ings.

I NT E R NA TI ONA L L A BOUR O R GANI SA TI ON

The Department leads on Ireland’s engagement with the International Labour Organisation

(ILO) 18, a specialist UN agency. Ireland is serving a term as a Titulaire member (with

speaking and voting rights) of the Governing Body (GB). National positions on the GB

agenda are coordinated through an Interdepartmental Group, which brings together

Departments with policy responsibility for items on the GB’s wide-ranging agenda. A key

feature of the work of the Group is the involvement of the Social Partners, to ref lect the fact

that the ILO is a tripartite organisation.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruption to the ILO’s calendar of work. The GB

meeting and International Labour Conference in March and June 2020 respectively were

cancelled. However, the ILO continued to progress its work programme virtually through

online mechanisms and the November GB took place remotely over a two week period. In

July, an ILO Global Summit ‘Building a better future of work’’, which over f ive days was the

largest ever online gathering of workers, employers and governments, discussed how to

address the economic and social impacts of the pandemic. President Michael D. Higgins

addressed the Summit on the Global Leaders Day.

T R A D E A GRE EME NT S A ND T R A DE MI SS I O NS

The Department, on behalf of Ireland, worked closely with the European Union Commission

and Member States to bring several trade agreements to a successful conclusion.

The trade-facilitating package to eliminate or reduce customs duties for a small number of

tarif f lines was agreed between the EU and US in August 2020. This f irst agreement on tarif f

elimination between the EU and US in over twenty years was a notable achievement and

can serve as a means of building much needed positive momentum in the EU-US trade

relations and can serve as a means of building much needed positive momentum in EU-US

trade relations.

On 1 August 2020 the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force,

following its signing the previous year. On 28 April 2020, the EU and Mexico concluded the

last outstanding element covering the reciprocal opening of public procurement markets, in

the negotiation of the new EU-Mexico FTA. The new Agreement will expand the existing

agreement to include regulatory cooperation, additional trade in agriculture and public

18

In June 2017, Ireland was elected as Titulaire member of the ILO Governing Body (GB) for the period 2017-20. Due to

the Covid-19 pandemic the Titulaire period was extended to 2021. This is the first time Ireland has been elected to a

Titulaire seat (one with speaking and voting rights) since we joined the ILO in 1923. Ireland concluded a term as Regional

Coordinator of the ILO Western European Group in November 2020.


—— 194

procurement. The Agreement will provide a platform to increase Irish exports to Mexico,

including for Ireland’s important Agri-food sector especially for dairy, pork and beef products.

Negotiations for separate FTAs with Australia and New Zealand continued in 2020 with the

expectation of reaching an agreement in both negotiations in 2021.

The EU and China signed a bilateral agreement to protect 100 European Geographical

Indications (GIs) in China, including Irish Whiskey and Irish Cream and 100 Chinese GIs in

the European Union against usurpation and imitation. The Agreement will enter into force in

2021. In addition, at the end of 2020, the EU and China concluded negotiations in relation to

a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) that once ratif ied will improve market

access for Irish and European investors to the Chinese market of 1.4bn people across

economic sectors. Once ratif ied, CAI will be the most ambitious investment agreement that

China has ever concluded with a third country. In addition to rules against the forced

transfer of technologies, CAI will also be the f irst agreement to deliver on obligations for the

behaviour of state-owned enterprises and comprehensive transparency rules for subsidies.

The Department also continued to work with the European Commission and Member States

to ensure that Ireland's interests are promoted and safeguarded in other ongoing EU trade

negotiations. Work continued on the evolution of EU trade defence instruments and other

EU trade defence legislation including an amended Enforcement Regulation agreed in

October 2020 and ongoing discussions on progressing the International Procurement

Instrument which is considered to be a key legislative goal for the EU in 2021.

Following conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement negotiations in June 2019,

an Economic and Sustainability Impact Assessment of the EU-Mercosur trade deal was

tendered for by the Department in December 2019 in conjunction with Department of

Agriculture, Food and Marine. The impact assessment is due to be concluded in early 2021.

W O R KI NG C L O SER W I T H O UR A GE NC I ES T O A C H I EV E T R ADE A ND

I NV E ST ME NT GO A LS

Growing protectionism in international trade markets, the weakening of the multilateral

trading architecture, major global trade disputes, the decision by the UK to withdraw f rom the

EU by 31 December 2020 and the challenges posed by COVID-19 continued to require the

development of appropriate inputs f rom the Department throughout 2020. Ef fective

coordination between the Department and its Agencies resulted in the development of

strategic policy responses in the areas of enterprise development, innovation, trade policy

and negotiations, while seeking to sustain existing levels of inward investment and strong

export performance.

Ministerial-led Trade and Investment Missions help the Government's major drive towards

market diversif ication. In recent years these Missions have focused on promoting the

innovative capabilities and competitive offerings of Irish companies to international buyers in

sectors including internationally traded services, f intech, high-tech construction, engineering,

ICT and life sciences. Trade Missions are just one part of a comprehensive programme of

international trade events delivered by the Department’s enterprise Agencies, giving Irish

companies the opportunity to meet with potential buyers and network with key inf luencers in

countries around the world.


—— 195

A programme of promotional events, which had been designed to outline the benef its that such agreements of fer to Irish exporters, had been planned for implementation in 2020.

COVID-19 restrictions on meetings in indoor arenas, however, prevented ef fective delivery

of this objective. As it became evident that the proposed stakeholder gatherings could not

take place due to the health risks posed by COVID-19, the Department utilised the

opportunities provided by web based and other social media platforms to increase

awareness of the material that the Department, its Agencies and the European Commission

had developed to promote the benef its that EU trade agreements of fer to Irish exporters,

including the Department’s report on the role played by it and its Agencies in promoting trade

and investment objectives in 2019. Promotion of our companies abroad continued through

the work of our State Agencies, and, in particular, their of fices located on the ground

internationally.

In the f inal quarter of 2020, the Department engaged with its Agencies with a view to

exploring if a Ministerial-led Trade Mission Programme could be developed for delivery in

2021, having regard to the growing increase in the number of COVID-19 cases detected

around the globe. The 2021 Trade Mission Programme will contain a mix of virtual and in

person trade missions, however its implementation will be contingent on the latest public

health travel advice.

As well as the global ef forts assisted by our Agencies, key to our success in growing expo rts

in recent years has been our commitment to trade liberalisation in order to open new

markets for our indigenous sectors. As noted, the EU has successfully concluded a number

of important trade agreements with trading partners and is in the process of negotiating or

upgrading its agreements with many more.

E U D I GI T A L S I NGL E MA R KET ST R AT EGY

A new EU medium-term digital strategy entitled Shaping Europe’s Digital Future was

launched on 19 February 2020. For the next f ive years, the Commission will focus on three

key objectives to ensure that digital solutions help Europe pursue its own way towards a

digital transformation that works for the benef it of people through resp ecting European

values. These objectives are: Technology that works for the people; A fair and competitive

digital economy; and Open, democratic and sustainable society. In September 2020, the

Commission President proposed a key initiative for 2021 - Communication on Europe’s

Digital Decade: 2030 Digital Targets. This proposes a common plan for digital Europe with

clearly def ined goals towards 2030 with a focus on data, artif icial intelligence, digital

platforms and connectivity.

Following a meeting of the D9+countries in Warsaw in December 2019, the D9+

subsequently prepared a non-paper for the European Commission in May 2020 on the

Digital Services Act Package. The D9+ is a Ministerial level group of like-minded countries,

including Ireland, based on their position on the Digital Economy and Society Index that

meet to discuss Digital Single Market issues. It comprises the nine top -ranked European

countries in the European Commission Annual Digital Economy and Society Index plus a

small number of other countries who share similar ambitions for the Digital Single Market.

The D9+ met virtually in June 2020, where the focus was on the EU Whitepaper on artif icial


—— 196

intelligence. In October 2020 the D9+ provided a non-paper to the European Commission on

innovative and trustworthy Artif icial Intelligence.

N A TIO N A L METRO LO G Y LA B O RATO RY NSAI’s National Metrology Laboratory (NML) is a partner in the European Metrology

Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) which coordinates research projects to

address large scale challenges in health, energy, environment and industry in addition to

building research capacity throughout EU member states. NML participated in three EMPIR

projects in 2020. The joint research project VersICaL, which is being coordinated by NSAI, is

now in its f inal year.

NSAI was also a co-author of presentations at two international conferences and of a paper

published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Transactions on

Instrumentation and Measurement. Arising f rom the project, a digital impedance bridge has

been constructed at NML and is undergoing validation. In future, it should allow NML to

realise a reference scale for electrical impedance without relying on extensive external

calibrations.

During 2020 NML’s Time & Frequency calibration capabilities further enhanced as its

primary cesium f requency standard was of ficially accepted by the International Bureau of

Weights and Measures (BIPM) Time Department as an atomic clock now contributing to the

calculation of International Atomic Time (TAI) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

through Circular T 394.

The NML now maintains an internationally recognised National Timescale (UTC (NSAI))

traceable to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and will investigate disseminating this

timescale to interested Irish entities during 2021. This Primary Standard provides for direct

traceability to the S.I. def inition of the second.


—— 197

Goal 7: I NV E ST I N A ND SUP P O RT O UR ST A FF T O F URTH ER

E NH A NC E I ND I VI DUA L A ND C O L LEC TI VE C A P A CI TY , E NSUR E H I GH

ST A ND A RDS O F C O R PO RAT E GO V ERNA NC E A ND O P T I MISE A L L O UR

R E SO UR CE S T O D E LI VER O UR ST R ATE GY, MI SS I O N A ND GO A LS

The Corporate functions covered under this goal include cross departmental areas of

Governance, Human Resources, IT, Finance, Communications, Facilities Management

(including Health & Safety) and Internal Audit.

IN TERN A L RES P O N S E TO C O VID - 1 9

The Corporate functions played a leading role in supporting the Department and its Of f ices

to continue to function and deliver enhanced services throughout the pandemic. Some

highlights include:

▪ All staf f were equipped to work f rom home within days of Government direction and

ICT systems were enhanced and upgraded, including video conferencing, to ensure

all services continued to be delivered;

▪ Our buildings were made safe in line with public health guidance with signage, PPE

and protocols to ensure social distancing and safety of staff who had to do essential

work onsite;

▪ Systems were put in place to redeploy staff quickly to areas of urgent need to

respond to the needs of enterprise – staf f showed great f lexibility to move into and

create new roles;

▪ Our Department’s Vote doubled during 2020 ref lecting the exponential ramp up in

existing and new schemes to meet the needs of business;

▪ Our internal and external communications approaches moved online with a big

increase in our social media presence and internal communications systems –

innovative ways were found to engage staf f at all levels and ensure high levels of

connectivity;

▪ A new Enterprise Information Centre was established as a dedicated resource for

information on the wide range of assistance available to business initially dealing

with COVID-19 but then expanded to include Brexit information - the Centre

responded to over 11,200 calls and emails in 2020.

▪ Following a survey of staf f an internal COVID-19 Working Group involving 40+ staf f

f rom all grades and areas of the Department was set up to help inform steps that

were taken to support staff working from home and the future blending wo rking being

planned;

▪ Promotion competitions and learning and development for staff moved online – this

involved a redrawing of processes and procedures and new approaches including to

onboard new staf f and support staff mobility;

▪ We launched our f irst Wellbeing Framework on 1 May 2020 which included a series

of new initiatives to support the physical, mental and social wellbeing of all staff.


—— 198

US IN G TEC H N O LO G Y TO S EEK EFFIC IEN C IES A N D IMP RO VE

C US TO MER S ERVIC E The Department’s internal ICT service was signif icantly impacted by COVID -19. In response

to the f irst lockdown, the Department had to shif t at short notice f rom a predominantly office-

based operating model to full remote working for all but a minority of staff who were needed

on site. This involved the successful deployment of over 800 staf f , using a mix of laptops and

desktops, to remote working. In addition, video conferencing services were ramped up

substantially to facilitate ongoing collaboration between staf f, particularly in light of significant

increases in many workloads in response to the crisis.

A number of improvements were made to the Department’s networks during the year to keep

up with increased network traf f ic arising f rom remote working. Because of the shif t to remote

working, and the need to continue service delivery to the Department’s customers using

remote delivery models, process improvements were rapidly rolled out in a number of

business areas. These included employment permits p rocessing and issue, processing of

export licenses, and processes in the Labour Court.

Despite the need to respond rapidly to the crisis, a number of other initiatives were delivered

during the year:

▪ a new ICT strategy was f inalised and agreed for the Department, which sets out our

ambitions for ICT service delivery and change out to 2025;

▪ the Companies Registration Off ice was assisted in the roll out of a very signif icant

renewal of its customer facing and back office systems;

▪ in the Intellectual Property Of f ice of Ireland, a consolidation of its public facing systems

was delivered, which will enhance options for support;

▪ assistance was provided to the Workplace Relations Commission to deliver a new

module to help mediation services;

▪ the Department continued its programme of moving services to the Build to Share

shared services platform, including systems for risk management and internal helpdesk

support;

▪ given the additional risks posed by the move to remote working, a continued focus was

placed on cyber security education and awareness, including the roll out of a phishing

awareness campaign; and f inally

▪ a strong focus continued to be placed on delivering robust, secure and f it for purpose

services, for both internal and external customers.

A DA P TIN G O UR A C C O MO DA TION A RRA N G EMEN TS IN RES P O N S E

TO C O VID- 1 9 In response to COVID-19, the Department and its Of f ices had to quickly implement a

number of accommodation related measures to COVID-19 proof our locations for the health

and safety of our staff and any visitors who were onsite undertaking any essential business.

The Department and its Of f ices are based across 11 different buildings around the country.

Typically, we share locations with other public bodies and/or with private sector companies


—— 199

and so each location required a tailored response to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to each

specif ic building. Measures in response included physical adjustments to office and

communal areas to facilitate social distancing requirements, COVID-19 related signage,

provision of certain PPE and new protocols regarding onsite presence in line with public

health requirements.

FO C US O N S TA FF W ELLB EIN G DURIN G C O VID - 1 9 From the outset the Management Board was very conscious of the need to support the staf f

of the Department to deal with the professional and personal challenges associated with the

pandemic. We did this by allocating functional responsibility for Wellbeing to a Unit in the

Department and we developed and launched our f irst Wellbeing Framework on 1 May 2020

to coincide with National Workplace Wellbeing Day. The Framework spans the four pillars of

Physical Fitness, Mental Fitness, Nutrition and Social Wellbeing and was developed in

consultation with staf f who volunteered to be part of our Wellbeing Work ing Group. Initiatives

delivered include: Wellbeing resources on our Intranet and a monthly Wellbeing Newsletter,

Lunchtime webinars with the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service and experts on

various health topics, a book club, yoga/pilates classes online.

To fully support staff and make sure they had up to date information on all corporate

developments related to COVID-19 we set up a dedicated section on the Department’s

intranet (Bob). In addition, the Secretary General issued an all staf f email every day f rom

mid-March until the end of June. From July, it moved to a weekly update and has continued

since then as it has proven very popular with staf f, connecting them and keeping them up to

date with what the Department is doing to support enterprise through policy and

programmes and what is happening at a corporate level.

H UMA N RES O URC ES A N D RES P O N S E TO C O VID - 1 9 Despite the signif icant increase in the Departments functions, many new schemes and a

doubling of the Budget, the Department achieved all of this with a modest increase in

staf f ing. Numbers serving in the Department were 927 (879.87 FTE) at the end of 2019 and

940 (895.51 FTE) at end 2020. With the change of Government in 2020, the Department

saw changes in its structure and mandate with the transfer of some of its research functions

to the newly established Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation

and Science and the transfer in of employment af fairs related activities from the Department

of Employment Affairs and trade functions from the Department of Foreign Affairs.


—— 200

Human Resources (HR) functions were signif icantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in

2020: the wholesale shif t to remote working and the resource needs that emerged in

response to the crisis became the primary focus for HR across the year and required re-

prioritisation of certain work streams.

The evolution of remote working as the

primary means of working throughout

2020 also created opportunities for the

Department to use technology to further

streamline and 'move online' where

possible.

A staf f survey conducted in June

provided up-to-date data on staff needs

and allowed for responsive actions to be

taken.

Extra ef forts were made by HR to

engage with particular staf f cohorts to

ensure their needs were being met in

light of the challenges of remote working

and the pandemic. This included regular

additional meetings with Unions through the Departmental Council, and one-to-one

engagement with new entrants to the Department.

C O VID- 19 W O RKIN G G RO UP The staf f survey conducted in June led to the development of an action plan and

establishment of a COVID-19 Working Group to oversee progress, led by HR and the

Facilities Management (including Health & Safety) Units, with over 40 colleagues f rom

across the Department participating f rom all Divisions and each of the Offices. 14 high-level

actions were identif ied which were underpinned by close to 50 initiatives/activities. These

span across f ive thematic areas of Equipment & Ergonomics, Managing Staff Remotely,

Health & Wellbeing, Communications for Teams and Remote Working now and in normal

times.

REC RUITMEN T, A S S IG N MEN TS A N D W O RKFO RC E P LA N N IN G In light of COVID-19 restrictions, HR developed new methodologies for continued delivery of

resource pipelines. Internal promotional campaigns and other competitions moved online.

There were 16 internal competitions during 2020, comprising 218 applications; 15 of these

competitions were managed virtually.

HR continued to liaise with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to recruit general grades

f rom open and interdepartmental recruitment campaigns. The PAS also managed a further

10 campaigns on behalf of the Department to recruit for positions in the Workplace Relations

Commission and the Off ice of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, and to acquire

specialist legal skills for the Department.


—— 201

As part of the Department’s succession planning and to provide the ability to recruit specific

skillsets in a timely manner, the Department applied for and secured a recruitment license

f rom the Commission for PAS.

Using workforce planning and engagement with senior management, we ensured that a ‘f it

for purpose’ workforce continued to be built, optimising skillsets and making the best

possible person-to-post matches to deliver on the Department’s goals. An additional 40 staf f

were approved to strengthen policy units across the Department and 10 additional staff were

approved for the Workplace Relations Commission. The additional posts were approved to

deliver new commitments set out in the Programme for Government and to assist the

Department’s response to COVID-19. Posts f illed helped initiatives such as the design,

development and rollout of vital schemes to assist businesses in Ireland impacted by the

health crisis and a new Enterprise Information Centre.

Natural attrition, additional resources and promotional opportunities accounted for a signif icant ‘churn’ of staff during the year:

▪ 95 new entrants;

▪ 92 exits, including 32 retirements;

▪ 78 internal transfers; and

▪ 36 promotions.

In line with Civil Service Renewal, the Department has engaged strongly with the Civil

Service Wide Mobility Schemes for all participating grade levels since its inception.

The Department also continued to ensure adequate support for staffing in its nine Agencies

and the State Boards under its aegis. There were 186 requests processed to deal with the

f illing of vacancies and establishment of new posts for Agencies, the large caseload partly

attributable to the increased need for resources as a result of Brexit.

LEA RN IN G A N D DEVELO P MEN T In line with the strategic reprioritisation arising f rom the pandemic, in mid -March the majority

of staff in the Learning and Development Unit were redeployed to assist in the Department’s

response to COVID-19 and remained engaged in these activities for much of the year.

However, a portfolio of online training opportunities and learning resources was made

available to staf f throughout the Department. In the course of the year, over 300 staf f

attended a range of sessions related to the Department’s remit including competitiveness

policy, national standardisation processes, the new European Commission and the

legislative process.

Through the Advance Payment of Fees Scheme, the Department funded the enrolment of 21

staf f in academic courses in 2020 and maintained its assistance for 28 staf f continuing their

studies for qualif ications from Diploma though to Doctorate level in disciplines aligned to the

Department’s strategic priorities such as Economic Science in Po licy Analysis, Employment

Law and Business Administration.


—— 202

Mentoring and executive coaching offerings were adapted to facilitate online delivery and

continued to act as signif icant tools to help staff growth and development. Some 70 staf f

participated as either mentees or mentors in the mentor programme. Targeted at senior

management, 16 staf f at Assistant Principal and Principal level accessed a course of tailored

one-on-one sessions with professionally certified external executive coaches.

Leadership development was further aided through staf f engagement in the Principal Of f icer

Executive Leadership programme and the Taking the Lead – Women in Leadership

Programme. The Senior Management Forum, delivered in January 2020, provided a

strategic focus on the challenges and opportunities of climate action.

Over the course of the year, OneLearning, the Civil Service Learning and Development

Service, increased its online of fering, providing almost 30 different course types through

virtual classrooms. In 2020, Department staf f completed

almost 350 OneLearning courses, 311 of which were

virtual, in areas including people management,

communication and presentation skills and customer

services. We also designed an action research programme

‘Connected Teams’, anticipating that blended working in

home, hub or workplace is here to stay, the objective of the

initiative is planned to identify and promote best practice

remote and blended working behaviours which will be

rolled out in the f irst of half of 2021.

FIN A N C E

Funding the Department’s BREXIT and COVID-19 Response The Revised Estimates Volume published by the Department of Public Expenditure and

Reform in December 2019 originally provided the Department with a gross allocation of

€970.9m for use in 2020. The actual Estimate approved by the Dáil in June 2020 increased

the Department’s allocation to €1.453bn. This was subsequently increased to €1.907bn in

the Further Revised Estimate approved by the Dáil in November 2020. This almost doubling

of funding of the Department Vote was key to enabling the Department, our Of f ices and

Agencies to roll out essential and timely initiatives to assist businesses and consumers as

they sought to navigate through the very signif icant challenges of COVID-19 and Brexit. This

required detailed analysis and delivery of appropriate schemes to assist business at every

stage of the pandemic

Among the headline schemes launched by the Department in 2020 were the Restart Grant,

the Sustaining Enterprise Fund, the COVID-19 Products Scheme, the Ready for Customs

Scheme, and the Business Continuity Scheme. The increased funding also allowed the

Department to broaden its suite of access to finance measures by extending the facilities

available under the Future Growth Loan Scheme, the Working Capital Scheme, the

Microf inance Ireland Loan Scheme as well as introducing the discrete COVID-19 Credit

Guarantee Scheme.

In addition to the new initiatives rolled out in 2020, the Department was also able to increase

the funding to bodies such as the Local Enterprise Of f ices, Intertrade Ireland as well as


—— 203

increasing the funding for existing Schemes such as the Online Retail Scheme and the

Trading Online Vouchers.

The COVID-19 pandemic also required the Department to adapt its procedures to the

remote working environment to ensure that it continued to successfully meet its obligations

to its suppliers and employees.

C O MMUN IC A TIO N S When COVID-19 restrictions were imposed in early 2020, it was no longer possible to

promote Departmental policies through stakeholder events and press launches. A greater

emphasis was therefore placed on using digital channels to communicate the work of our

Ministers, policy and programme development and implementation.

Among the campaigns run on our digital platforms were those to assist business through the

impacts of COVID-19 and Brexit, including: the COVID-19 Supports for Businesses

campaign; the National Return to Work Safely Protocol; the Credit Guarantee Scheme; the

Online Retail Scheme; Shop Safely campaign; and Brexit supports for Business.

This change in emphasis was met with a corresponding greater engagement on our digital

channels, most notably on LinkedIn, which increased almost fourfold from a base of just

under 10,000 followers, and increasing to almost 50,000 followers by mid 2021. Posts on our

LinkedIn account had over 1.6m impressions during the year.

The Department’s Twitter (@DeptEnterprise) following also grew, albeit more modestly than

our LinkedIn engagement. The number of followers increased by more than a f if th to over

28,000 and our tweets received over 11.9m impressions. Engagement was primarily around

COVID-19 supports for business, followed by Brexit supports, Shop Safely and the

Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

The Department’s website recorded over 2.4m sessions, f rom over 1.3m users in 2020. This

was an increase of 36% and 83%, respectively, on 2019 f igures. The most popular content

being Employment Permits, COVID-19 business initiatives and the Work Safely Protocol.

More traditional press engagement continued meanwhile, through the issuing of press

releases and dealing with journalists’ queries f rom across all media platforms.

Internally, remote working fundamentally changed how staf f within the Department

interacted. The vast majority of staff moved from seeing colleagues and f riends in person, to

video or phone calls. In the absence of that human interaction, the Department’s intranet

(Bob), grew in importance as a trusted source o f corporate and social information. We found

that those traditional occasions where we come together like Christmas, the celebration of

retirements and our annual past members service were replaced with additional articles and

high-quality video content on Bob. It was extremely positive that staff interacted strongly with

these new photographic and video based social occasions, sharing personal stories of

challenges faced and resilience they found when dealing with adversity and making the most

of the year it was.

C H A N G E O F N A ME, TRA N S FER O F FUN C TIO N S A N D DELEG A TIO N S

TO MIN IS TERS O F S TA TE


—— 204

Following the change of Government, the Department’s name was changed and with it were

some changes to functions. Work was undertaken across the Department to ef fect the new

name with changes including to branding, emails address, website domain name, social

media and internal communications. Delegation Orders were arranged to provide for

delegation of business, employment and retail functions to Minister English and trade

promotion, digital and company regulation functions to Minister Troy. Signif icant work was

undertaken to implement decisions around the transfer of functions in and out of the

Department. This work was undertaken in line with procedures set out in the Trans fer of

Functions Guidelines and Best Practise Handbook and included def ining the scope of

responsibilities to transfer, identifying staff and financial resources to transfer and making

arrangements for the ef fective dates and consequent changes to our Vote. There were f ive

separate streams of work involved, four relating to new functions coming into the

Department and one relating to transferring out existing work. Science functions, including

responsibility for Science Foundation Ireland and the Tyndall Institute, were transferred out

to new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with

ef fect from 1 January 2021. Areas of work that transferred into the Department during 2020

included:

• Trade promotion f rom the Department of Foreign Affairs;

• Employment rights, redundancy and insolvency policy f rom the Department of Social

Protection;

• The Low Pay Commission f rom the Department of Social Protection;

• Balance for Better Business Group f rom the Department of Justice;

• Trading Online Vouchers f rom the Department of Communications, Climate Action

and the Environment.

IN TERN A L RES P O N S E TO TH E C L IMA TE A C TIO N C H A LLEN G E

Resource Efficiency Action Plan 2019/20 The Department’s f irst Resource Efficiency Action Plan (REAP) was published in mid-2019

and is available on our website. It sets out numerous actions that we are undertaking

internally across our buildings with a focus on 4 thematic areas of Energy, Waste

Management, Water usage and Ecology/Plant life, with the second action plan due for

publication in early 2021.

The REAP is driven by a very active internal ‘Green Team’ comprising over 40 members

across the Department and its Of f ices who work collaboratively to raise awareness on

‘Green’ issues, implement initiatives and manage improvements in processes and buildings

across the 4 thematic areas.

Since publication of the f irst REAP the Department’s ‘Green Team’ has identif ied 78 specif ic

actions, completing 40 of them, with 23 other actions ongoing and 15 additional actions

planned for commencement in 2021. The major project successfully delivered in 2020 was a

LED Lighting upgrade completed on the Department’s headquarters at 23 Kildare Street,

Dublin, as part of the OPW Optimising Power@Work programme.


—— 205

Energy Performance The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s Annual Report 2020 on Public Sector Energy

Eff iciency performance shows that the Department has delivered 52.9% in energy savings

since the baseline year (2009) well in excess of the initial 33% target set for public bodies

and well positioned to deliver beyond the 2030 target of 50%.

Obligations to Monitor and Report on Green Public Procurement The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 20/2019 requires that starting

with the 2020 Annual Reports each Department must report annually on its green public

procurement (GPP).

Monitoring and evaluation of GPP is under consideration at EU level and most recently

referenced in the EU Green Deal. The template in Appendix 3 includes the eight p riority

sectors listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 Green Procurement Guidance

for the Public Sector and shows the total value of contracts issued by this Department in

2020, valued at over €25,000 by priority sector, which have incorporated GPP.

C IVIL S ERVIC E REN EW A L The Department has strongly supported the actions set out in the Civil Service Renewal Plan

and has played a leading role on several projects, including the assignment of staff to

support this agenda in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. . The third Civil

Service Employee Engagement Survey launched in 2020, representing an opportunity for

staf f to have their say on how their own organisations have responded to the challenging

f indings of previous surveys.

The annual Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards were ‘paused’ in 2020. Instead,

a Virtual Recognition Event was held on 26 November to formally recognise and showcase

the initiatives developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis in a challenging and fast

changing environment; the Department’s considered a number of worthy projects and

selected the project for the Contingency Plan to Ensure the Continuation of Ireland’s

Employment Permit System. The Off ices of the Department submitted the WRC Remote

Working Information and Customer Service lo-call phone service, and the Labour Court

Virtual Courtroom. Other innovative projects included the Enterprise Information Centre and

Remote Video Interviews.

Innovate@ETE At the end of 2020, in line with the change in the Department’s of ficial name, the former

‘dbeinnovation’ steering group was re-branded ‘Innovate@ETE’. In 2020, seven sub -groups

of staff members carried out work programmes under the governance of the Innovate@ETE

steering group. Key achievements in 2020 included:

8. Department’s Decade of Centenaries Committee: “The 23 Kildare Street Talks - The

Countess, Casualties and The Civil Service"

9. Innovation Culture: Webinar on opportunities and barriers to innovation

10. Knowledge Management: Roadmap for action

11. Manager Behaviour: Development of a paper on ‘Coaching’ culture in the Department


—— 206

12. Mobility: Working with COVID-19 group on ‘Principles of Remote Working’ document

13. Wellbeing: Schedule of events and fortnightly newsletter to support staff wellbeing

14. Green Team: Awareness and information campaign; energy, heating and water

upgrades

P UB LIC S EC TO R REFO RM Action 6 of ‘Our Public Service 2020’ aims to ‘Promote a Culture of Innovation in the Public

Service’. The Department has been playing a central role in progressing this Action with

Secretary General, Dr Orlaigh Quinn, and Enterprise Ireland CEO, Julie Sinnamon, acting as

designated leads. Assistant Secretary Pauline Mulligan is the Action’s Sponsor and is

responsible for chairing the Action 6 team, established in May 2018 and comprising sectoral

experts across the Public Service.

By end 2020 the group and its associated Project Management Of fice (PMO) in the

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have delivered the following initiatives:

▪ Study on the maturity of our innovation system giving us a baseline for benchmarking

progress;

▪ Draf ting and adoption of the Public Service Declaration;

▪ Secondment of sectoral experts to the PMO;

▪ Establishment of the Public Service Innovation Fund;

▪ Establishment of the Public Service Innovation Network;

• Widening of Civil Service Excellence & Innovation Awards to the broader Public Service

for certain categories; and

• Development and roll out of a range of innovation L&D offerings to build capacity and

capability of staff to embed innovation in their day-to-day work.

The group aims to continue to support the ongoing Public Service reform agenda in 2021.

C O RP O RA TE G O VERN A NC E The Department places great emphasis on strong and ef fective corporate governance. The Management Board is supported by the team in Governance, Information and Management Support Unit in ensuring best practice and adherence to all our obligations.

Governance Framework The Department's Governance Framework sets out what we mean by governance, why it is

important, how the Department does its work and how it operates to deliver on its mandate

and functions. It ensures that the way the Department takes decisions and implements

policies is more transparent to the public and, of equal importance, to the staf f within the

Department.


—— 207

Compliance Framework A Compliance Framework is in place and provides an overview of all compliance assurance

activity in the Department and identif ies where responsibility for each compliance obligation

lies.

Risk Management A series of risk awareness training sessions were provided during 2019 and 2020 for staff at

Principal and Assistant Principal grades with two thirds of staff in those grades attending the

sessions which were developed and delivered internally.

In March 2020, the f inal report of the Audit of Risk Management in the Department was

received and the Audit Committee noted that the report provided assurance that good risk

management practices were being adhered to and that the risk management structures in

place in the Department were robust. The report found that there was a positive culture

regarding risk management at senior management level in the Department.

In November 2020, the Management Board agreed a revised Risk Management Policy for

the Department which included recommendations f rom the internal audit of risk, suggestions

made by staf f at the awareness and training sessions and a new risk scoring system to align

with the eRisk application that is being developed by the OGCIO and is being introduced

across the Department in early 2021.

IN TERN A L A UDIT The Internal Audit function provided assurance to the Secretary General and advice

regarding the Department’s f inancial and other internal processes and procedures during

2020, based on internationally accepted standards adopted for the Civil Service by the

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Internal Audit’s role is to review the

ef fectiveness of the internal controls in place across the Department and to evaluate how

well risks are being managed by assessing the quality of risk management proces ses, systems of internal control and corporate governance processes, across the organisation.

Internal Audit Unit reviewed its annual work plan in 2020, in the context of the impact of

COVID-19 on the Department’s business operations and priorities and adopted a balanced approach towards progressing audit activity. Areas reviewed in 2020 included a review of the

risk management f ramework, a review of compliance with GDPR and data protection

requirements and oversight of a sample of agencies under the aegis of the Department. The

table below includes a listing of audit reports completed during the year.

Audit Reports presented to the Audit Committee in 2020

Risk Management

GDPR Compliance

IDA Ireland – Liaison & Governance

Science & Technology Development Programme – Liaison & Governance

Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority – Liaison and Governance


—— 208

G EN ERA L DA TA P RO TEC TIO N REG ULA TIO N Throughout 2020, the Department’s full time Data Protection Officer (DPO) continued to

work with Business Units across the Department and its Of f ices in reviewing their personal

data practices and assisting in the formulation of new policies and protocols. Work was also

undertaken with a number of Business Units involved in delivering assistance to business in

the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the standard training and information

sessions delivered by our DPO for staff, a number of tailored training sessions were also

designed and delivered to assist staff in dealing with additional data protection compliance

requirements posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A dedicated data protection mailbox was

also administered by the DPO to deal with data protection queries f rom members of the

public.

In 2020, the Department and its Of f ices received 40 Subject Access Requests and these

were processed in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation

and Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.

REG ULA TIO N O F LO B B Y IN G A C T, 2015 The Lobbying Act is designed to provide information to the public about who is lobbying

whom about what. A list of our Designated Public Officials under this Act was updated in

2020 and is published on our website.

P RO TEC TED DIS C LO S URES A C T, 2014

The Department published its Annual Report on Protected Disclosures for 2019 on the

Department’s website in June 2020.

P RO MP T P A Y MEN T O F A C C O UN TS A C T, 1997 During 2020 the Department published on its website quarterly payment performance

reports for both the Department and for the bodies under its aegis.

G EN DER B A LA N C E O N S TA TE B O A RDS The Department continues to commit to encouraging gender balance on all State Board

appointments. Senior Management of the Department always reference gender balance in

board member selection. The current gender composition of a board is always considered by

Ministers on appointments/re-appointments.

IR IS H LA N G UA G E S C H EME 2019 - 2 0 2 2 The Department’s Third Irish Language Scheme, which was approved by the Department of

Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, came into ef fect in 2019 and sets out the extent to

which services are currently available through Irish and identif ies areas for future

development. Throughout 2020, the Department ensured that commitments made in relation

to the provision of services in the Irish language were implemented.

Review of Systems of Internal Control 2019

Subscriptions to International Organisations

Fixed Assets Management


—— 209

C US TO MER C H A RTER A N D C US TO MER S ERVIC E A C TIO N P LA N

2 0 1 9 - 2 0 2 1 The Department’s Customer Charter 2019-2021 is a public statement which sets out the

standards and level of service customers can expect when dealing with our Department. The

Customer Service Action Plan 2019-2021 details the ways in which the Department

implements the key actions outlined in the Charter.

Throughout 2020, the Department ensured that the commitments made in relation to the

provision of customer services under the Department’s Customer Charter 2019-2021 and

Customer Action Plan 2019-2021, were implemented.

The Department’s internal Cross Divisional Monitoring Committee, which monitors the

implementation of the commitments made in the Department’s Customer Action Plan and

Irish Language Scheme met regularly throughout 2020. This forum served to ensure that

any challenges arising regarding meeting commitments that were due for delivery in 2020

were addressed.

FREEDO M O F IN FO RMA TIO N

The Department’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Publication Scheme was f irst published in

2016 and updated in 2018 in accordance with Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act

2014. The Scheme sets out information, under 6 headings, to assist members of the public

in their understanding of the Department and its functions. In 2020 the Department received

218 Freedom of Information requests and these were processed in accordance with the

provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

P ERIO DIC C RIT IC A L REVIEW S The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016 includes a requirement that

Periodic Critical Reviews (PCRs) of Government Agencies should be carried out every f ive

years. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published the Guide to Periodic

Critical Review of Non-Commercial State Bodies in September 2020. Due to the exceptional

nature of 2020 and the Department’s leading role in the whole-of -Government response to

the COVID-19 crisis and in Brexit preparations, such PCRs for Agencies of this Department

have been deferred to take place in 2022.

IR IS H H UMA N RIG H TS & EQ UA LITY C O MMIS S IO N A C T, 2014 In line with our obligations under this Act, the Department is committed to proofing its wider

policies, procedures and services across its business areas to ensure the Department

complies with its requirements in the area of human rights and equality.

In 2020, a team with representatives f rom each Division was formed to progress the

implementation of the Public Services Human Rights and Equality Duty.

Examples of the Department’s work in the area of Human Rights and Equality include:

Workplace Relations Commission The WRC is the independent body set up by law to investigate or mediate complaints of

discrimination. The WRC is covered by the European Convention on Human Rights.


—— 210

Discrimination happens when a person is treated less favourably than another person is, has

been or would be treated. Victimisation is also covered by the legislation.

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is when businesses and other organisations integrate

their social and environmental responsibilities into their mainstream business operations and

business decisions are made with reference to wider sustainability issues. The Department

provides the secretariat for the enterprise led CSR Stakeholder Forum which oversees the

implementation of the actions in the National Corporate Social Responsibility Plan.

National Women and Girls Strategy The Department is represented on the Strategic Committee of the National Women and Girls

Strategy 2017-2020. We contribute to the common actions such as the development o f in-

house expertise in gender mainstreaming activities and considering gender impact in the

development of new strategies.

National Disability Inclusion Strategy The National Disability Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 takes a whole of Government approach

to improving the lives of people with disabilities both in a practical sense and also in creating

the best possible opportunities for people with disabilities to fulfil their potential. The

Department is represented on and is progressing actions under both the National Disability

Inclusion Strategy 2017-2021 and Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with

Disabilities 2015-2024.

In 2020, the Department’s Disability Consultative Committee (DCC) met once virtually and

members were circulated with 18 emails throughout the year to provide updates on COVID-

19. Members were also circulated with information on relevant workshops and seminars

held during 2020. Membership of the DCC is comprised of representatives f rom the

Disability Stakeholder Group, the National Disability Authority and staff f rom across the

Department and its Of f ices and Agencies.

Other Relevant Legislation In addition to the above, the Department operates within employment law and other relevant

legislation that seek to ensure, amongst other things, human rights and equality, such as:

Civil Service Regulation Act, Public Service Management Act, Paternity Leave and Benef it

Act, Equality Act, Industrial Relations Act, Workplace Relations Act, Data Protection Act,

Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act, Safety, Health and Welfare at

Work Act, Maternity Protection Act, Carer's Leave Act, Organisation of Working Time Act,

Unfair Dismissals Act.

C H ILDREN FIRS T A C T, 2015

The Department has a Child Safeguarding Statement in place which has been developed in

line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, the Children’s First National

Guidance and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A guide for policy, procedure and practice. The

Department is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and

the procedures that assist our intention to keep children safe f rom harm while working with

staf f of the Department.


—— 211

___________________________________

Appendix 1 BI L L S E NA C T E D I N 2 0 20

▪ Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Act 2020 was enacted 10 July 2020

▪ Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Act 2020 was enacted 24 July 2020

▪ Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (COVID-19) Act 2020 was enacted on 1 August 2020


—— 212

_____________________________________

Appendix 2

ST A T UT ORY I NST RUMENTS MA D E I N 2 0 2 0

▪ S.I. No. 2 of 2020 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application)

(Amendment) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 14 of 2020 European Union (Cooperation Between National Authorities Responsible for the Enforcement of Consumer Protection

Laws) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 18 of 2020 European Communities (Good Laboratory Practice)

Regulations, 2020

▪ S.I. No. 24 of 2020 Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019(Commencement)

Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 42 of 2020 English Language Schools Joint Labour Committee

Establishment Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 64 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning

Venezuela) Regulations 2020


Zimbabwe) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 66 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning the

Democratic Republic of the Congo) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 67 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Central

African Republic) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 68 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Burundi)

Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 69 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Syria)

Regulations 2020


Nicaragua) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 71 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Tunisia)

Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 72 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning the Republic of Guinea) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 78 of 2020 Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme (Amendment)

Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 84 of 2020 European Union (Control of Exports of Personal Protective Equipment) Regulations 2020




—— 213

▪ S.I. No. 102 of 2020 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction)


▪ S.I. No. 147 of 2020 Dangerous Substances Act 1972 (Part IV Declaration) Order

2020

▪ S.I. No. 156 of 2020 Employment Permits (Amendment) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 159 of 2020 European Union (Control of Exports of Personal Protective

▪ S.I. No. 256 of 2020 European Union (Promoting Fairness and Transparency for

Business Users of Online Intermediation Services)

Regulations 2020 Equipment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 275 of 2020 Copyright and Related Rights (Certif ication of Licensing Scheme for Primary Schools) (The Irish Copyright Licensing

Agency Limited) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 276 of 2020 Copyright and Related Rights (Certif ication of Licensing Scheme for Post-Primary Schools) (The Irish Copyright

Licensing Agency Limited) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 277 of 2020 Copyright and Related Rights (Certif ication of Licensing Scheme for Higher Education Institutions) (The Irish

Copyright Licensing Agency Limited) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 278 of 2020 Copyright and Related Rights (Certif ication of Licensing Scheme for Further Education Providers) (The Irish Copyright

Licensing Agency Limited) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 325 of 2020 COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme 2020

▪ S.I. No. 359 of 2020 Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act

2020 (Section 31) (Workplace Relations Commission)

(Designation) Order 2020


Venezuela) (No.2) Regulations 2020


Nicaragua) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 388 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Iran)

Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 389 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Iran) (No.

2) Regulations 2020


African Republic) (No. 2) Regulations 2020


Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Regulations 2020


—— 214


Democratic Republic of the Congo) (No. 2) Regulations 2020


(No.2) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 510 of 2020 Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020


2020 (Section 29) (Labour Court) (Designation) Order 2020


2020 (Section 31) (Labour Court) (Designation) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 519 of 2020 Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Alteration of Name of

Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 539 of 2020 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents)


▪ S.I. No. 579 of 2020 Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial

Functions) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 580 of 2020 Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial

Functions) (No.2) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 586 of 2020 Research Policy and Programmes (Transfer of Departmental

Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 608 of 2020 Employment Regulation (Amendment) Order (Contract

Cleaning Joint Labour Committee) 2020

▪ S.I. No. 609 of 2020 Companies Act 1990 (Uncertif icated Securities)


▪ S.I. No. 615 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Burundi)

(No.2) Regulations 2020


African Republic) (No.3) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 617 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures Against the

Proliferation and Use of Chemical Weapons) Regulations

2020


Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) (No. 2) Regulations

2020


Democratic Republic of the Congo) (No. 3) Regulations 2020


(No. 3) Regulations 2020


—— 215


Venezuela) (No. 3) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 622 of 2020 European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Iran) (No.

3) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 623 of 2020 European Union (National General Export Authorisation)

Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 624 of 2020 European Union (UN Firearms Protocol) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 625 of 2020 European Union (Ecodesign requirements for certain energy

related products) (amendment) Regulation 2020

▪ S.I. No. 626 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Fees) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 627 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Forms) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 628 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Form and Content of Documents

Delivered to Registrar) Regulations 2020

▪ S.I. No. 629 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Section 897) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 630 of 2020 Companies (Statutory Audits) Act 2018 (Commencement)

Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 631 of 2020 Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 (Commencement) Order

2020

▪ S.I. No. 633 of 2020 Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Act 2020 (Extension of

Guarantee Date) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 671 of 2020 Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 (Section 14A (1))

(COVID-19) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 672 of 2020 Companies Act 2014 (Section 12A (1)) (COVID-19) Order

2020

▪ S.I. No. 674 of 2020 Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice for Employers

and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying

at Work) Order 2020

▪ S.I. No. 680 of 2020 Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

(Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (Part 5)

(Commencement) Order 2020






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Appendix 3 G REEN P U B L I C P RO C U REMENT

Reference year

2020

A. Total number of contracts issued over €25,000 by priority sector

B. Total value of contracts issued over €25,000 by priority sector

C. Total no. of contracts issued over €25,000 by priority sector which have incorporated GPP

D. Total value of contracts issued over €25,000 by priority sector which have incorporated

GPP

Priority Sector

Transport Nil Nil Nil Nil

Construction Nil Nil Nil Nil

Energy Nil Nil Nil Nil

Food & Catering Services

1 €88,000 1 €88,000

Cleaning Products &

Services 1 €35,261 1 €35,261

Textiles Nil Nil Nil Nil

IT Equipment 3 €164,130.50 Nil Nil

Paper Nil Nil Nil Nil

Other

Furniture Removal 1 €65,000 1 €65,000

Consultancy 4 €353,350 Nil Nil

Research Study 1 €107,561 1 €107,561 Impact Assessment Study

1 €199,500 Nil Nil

Legal Services 1 €132,612 Nil Nil

Totals 13 €1,145,414.50 4 €295,822