Results 48,561-48,580 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Job Creation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: With respect, Deputy Pat Breen mentioned other places in County Clare.

Job Creation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: Towns will always have ongoing issues. We must include——

Job Creation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: I want people to examine matters with a regional focus. If we cannot even consider matters with a county focus, our industrial policy will go nowhere fast strategically. County Clare has strong quality companies such as Roche, Olympus and Essidev which provide high quality jobs and are expanding. Deputy Pat Breen might be interested to know the employment in IDA Ireland companies had strong...

Job Creation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: Stage one involves an investment of €11 million and all the infrastructural work. I would like to see more jobs but, having said that, Shannon Development has always made it clear that it is a long-term, 15-year project. We will give any support we can to Shannon Development to support companies to base themselves at the location in question, be they indigenous or foreign direct investors.

Departmental Offices. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: There are currently ten agencies and 12 offices operating under the aegis of my Department. Their functions and budgetary allocations for 2006 are as outlined in the following tables. Agencies Name of Organisation Functions Budgetary Allocation 2006 € Forfás Forfás is the national policy and advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation....

Departmental Offices. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: In what way?

Departmental Offices. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: It is wrong to use the term "outsourcing" in respect of the establishment of State agencies to carry out specific functions designated thereto by the Executive and Oireachtas. It is improper to use the term in respect of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and FÁS, for example. On the question of there being a lack of political accountability, we must be careful at all times to ensure there is...

Departmental Offices. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: The big push currently is to get stronger synergy among the major agencies — IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and FÁS — in terms of the skills issues as they affect multinational and indigenous companies. The consumer strategy group is gone; it was in operation for a short period. We must distinguish between agencies and groups that are established for a specific research policy purpose....

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: The figure referred to by the Deputy relates to the NCB purchasing managers services index. It indicates impressive growth in the services sector and healthy demand. The May data from this report signalled the sharpest expansion of new business placed at Irish services firms since September 2000. This report provides further evidence that expansion in the services sector continues to be an...

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: It is important to point out, as the Deputy has indicated, that the recent increases in inflation are largely due to external factors, namely, higher oil prices and higher interest rates. If we excluded higher interest rates and oil prices, the CPI would have gone up by approximately 2.25% to 2.5%, but I accept we cannot do that. In terms of our position on inflation, the rationale behind our...

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: We constantly do everything we possibly can not just to monitor but to determine the steps we can take to ease the conditions that give rise to higher prices and higher pressures.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: Of course we monitor them. There is a range of monitors.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: No.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has a habit of interjecting. I was hardly out of the traps and he was in straight away.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: I reject the Deputy's first point which uniquely tried to side-step the issue. The cause of most recent inflation is external. That is not my spin or that of the Government. Those are the facts from the CPI index——

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: ——which indicate oil and interest rates as the causes.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: The future challenges will be in respect of those two areas. Domestically, it is about creating greater competition within the economy.

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: That is very important. The one time I decided to do something about it, the Deputy's party took an ambivalent approach to it——

Price Inflation. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: ——and played both sides of the House on the groceries order. I know he would have had a different view from that of the party's spokesman on enterprise because he always favoured the abolition of the groceries order, yet Fine Gael tried to undermine that for political reasons. Every time we try to move on the domestic economy the vested interests come out of the traps and politicians from...

Economic Competitiveness. (21 Jun 2006)

Micheál Martin: The joint European resources for micro to medium enterprise is a joint initiative by the European Commission, European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund, which is intended to improve the access of SMEs to finance within the framework of the European regions. The initiative, which is known by the acronym, JEREMIE, is voluntary and is designed to enable European member states and...