David Hegarty

David Hegarty was appointed as Assistant Secretary in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation in December 2017 and heads up the Department’s Enterprise Strategy, Competitiveness and Evaluation Division. He works with other divisions in the Department and with other Government Departments with the aim of ensuring that public policy supports a strong, competitive enterprise sector in Ireland. The Division provides evidence-based support to the work of the Department and works across government to enhance the business environment in areas such as skills, taxation, essential infrastructures, competitiveness and productivity.

With the Department of An Taoiseach, the Division leads on the Government’s Future Jobs Ireland initiative. Future Jobs Ireland is a multi-year framework focused on key economic challenges facing Ireland including increasing SME productivity and raising labour market participation. It is also about positioning Ireland’s economy and society to deal with the challenges of digitalisation and the transition to a low carbon economy.

An economist by profession, David previously worked in the Department of Finance.