The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment ( ga, An Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta) is a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment who is assisted by two Ministers of State.

Departmental team

* Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Simon Coveney, TD ** Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Businesses: Damien English, TD ** Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation:

Dara Calleary Dara Calleary (born 10 May 1973) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation since August 2022. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency since the ...

, TD *Secretary General of the Department: Orlaigh Quinn

Overview

The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are at

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...

, Dublin. It is one of the most important economic departments in the Irish Government, responsible for the implementation of policy in five key areas: * Enterprise, Innovation, Growth * Quality Work and Learning * Making Markets and Regulation work better * Quality, Value and Continuous Improvement * the European Union. A large element of the work of the Department arises from Ireland's membership of a number of international organisations, in particular the European Union and the World Trade Organization. The Department plays an active role in the development of EU and WTO policies, particularly to ensure that Ireland's interests are protected. The Department is organised into five divisions. They are: *Innovation and Investment Division *Enterprise and Trade Division *Commerce, Consumer and Competition Division *Employment Rights and Industrial Relations Division *Corporate Services

Bodies and offices associated with the Department

The department oversees a large number of bodies and agencies. In July 2009 the

Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes The Expenditure Review Committee (more commonly known as An Bord Snip) was an advisory committee established by the Irish Government in 1987 to recommend cuts in state spending. Establishment The committee was established by the then Taoiseach, ...

proposed merging the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. However, this process remains at an early stage. Until 2010, the Department was responsible for FÁS, which had its responsibilities divided up between two bodies in 2013. Bodies and agencies associated with the Department include: * Companies Registration Office * Competition and Consumer Protection Commission *Local Enterprise Offices * Director of Corporate Enforcement *Employment Appeals Tribunal * Enterprise Ireland *

Health and Safety Authority The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the national body in Ireland with responsibility for occupational health and safety. Its role is to secure health and safety at work. It is an Irish state-sponsored body, established under the ''Safety, H ...

IDA Ireland Industrial Development Agency (IDA Ireland) ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht Forbartha Tionscail) is the agency responsible for the attraction and retention of inward foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in ...

* InterTradeIreland (under North-South co-operation structures) *Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority *Labour Court *

Workplace Relations Commission The Workplace Relations Commission (also known as its abbreviation, the WRC and sometimes referred to as the Commission) is the independent State agency responsible for industrial relations in Ireland, established under the Workplace Relations Ac ...

* National Standards Authority of Ireland *Office of the Register of Friendly Societies *Patents Office *Personal Injuries Assessment Board

History

In the

Ministry of Dáil Éireann Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

of the Irish Republic (1919–1922) there was a separate

Minister for Industries The Minister for Industries was a position in the Ministry of Dáil Éireann, the government of the Irish Republic, the self-declared state which was established in 1919 by Dáil Éireann, the parliamentary assembly made up of the majority of Ir ...

and a Director of Trade and Commerce. These titled varied over the course of the ministries established during this revolutionary period. In the Irish Free State, there was a Minister for Industry and Commerce as part of the first

Executive Council of the Irish Free State Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

established in 1922. This was given a statutory basis by the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924. This act provided it with: The Schedule assigned it with the duties of the following bodies: *Ministry of Transport (excluding the Roads Department). *The Board of Trade. *Registrar of Companies. *Registrar of Business Names. *Registration of Shipping. *Minister for Labour. *Electricity Commissioners. *Chief and other Inspectors of Factories.

Alteration of name and transfer of functions

References

External links

Department of Enterprise, Trade and EmploymentStructure of the Department

Spending by the Department
{{authority control Enterprise, Trade and Employmen Ireland Ireland Labour in the Republic of Ireland Economy of the Republic of Ireland Ireland, Enterprise, Trade and Employmen 1919 establishments in Ireland Ireland