Secretary General of the Department: Declan Hughes
Overview
Department Headquarters, Kildare Street, Dublin
The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department are at Kildare Street, 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 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:
the administration and business generally of public services in connection with trade, commerce, industry, and labour, industrial and commercial organisations and combinations, industrial and commercial statistics, transport, shipping, natural resources, and all powers, duties and functions connected with the same, including the promotion of trade and commerce by means of educational grants, and shall include in particular the business, powers, duties and functions of the branches and officers of the public services specified in the Sixth Part of the Schedule to this Act, and of which Department the head shall be, and shall be styled, an t-Aire Tionnscail agus Tráchtála or (in English) the Minister for Industry and Commerce.
The Schedule assigned it with the duties of the following bodies:[4]
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
^"List of Ministers and Ministers of State", Government of Ireland, retrieved 31 July 2020
^"Ministers". Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
^"Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Section 1: Establishment of the Departments of State". Irish Statute Book. 21 April 1924. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, Schedule". Irish Statute Book. 21 April 1924. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
^"Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 (Commencement) Order 1924". Irish Statute Book. 30 May 1924. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Minister For Supplies (Transfer of Functions) Act 1945, Section 3: Transfer of functions of Minister for Supplies and abolition of office". Irish Statute Book. 11 July 1945. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
^"Transport, Fuel and Power (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1959". Irish Statute Book. 27 July 1959. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^"Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1966". Irish Statute Book. 12 July 1966. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Energy (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1977". Irish Statute Book. 13 September 1977. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry and Commerce (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1977". Irish Statute Book. 23 September 1977. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Energy (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1980". Irish Statute Book. 15 January 1980. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry, Commerce and Energy (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1980". Irish Statute Book. 15 January 1980. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Tourism (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1980". Irish Statute Book. 15 January 1980. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1981". Irish Statute Book. 19 August 1981. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry, Commerce and Tourism (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1981". Irish Statute Book. 19 August 1981. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1983". Irish Statute Book. 15 December 1983. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Trade, Commerce and Tourism (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1983". Irish Statute Book. 15 December 1983. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Tourism (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1986". Irish Statute Book. 18 February 1986. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1986". Irish Statute Book. 18 February 1986. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1993". Irish Statute Book. 20 January 1993. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Foreign Trade (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1993". Irish Statute Book. 20 January 1993. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
^"Industry and Commerce (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1993". Irish Statute Book. 20 January 1993. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Trade (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997". Irish Statute Book. 8 July 1997. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Employment Programmes and Services and Skills Training (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2010". Irish Statute Book. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2010". Irish Statute Book. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2010". Irish Statute Book. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Redundancy and Insolvency Payments (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2010". Irish Statute Book. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
^"Promotion of Foreign Trade (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011". Irish Statute Book. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Enterprise, Trade and Innovation (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011". Irish Statute Book. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Equality Tribunal (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2017". Irish Statute Book. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
^"Labour Affairs and Labour Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2017". Irish Statute Book. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2017". Irish Statute Book. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^"Promotion of Foreign Trade (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
^"Employment Affairs and Employment Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^"Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
^"Research Policy and Programmes (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
^"Science Foundation Ireland (Members of Board) (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020". Irish Statute Book. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
External links
Official website
Structure of the Department Archived 27 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine