Results 19,981-20,000 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Is the Senator speaking about the number of jobs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Is that from 2012 to now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: If the Senator could give me a moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This is about the number of people.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: With regard to the number of people employed in Enterprise Ireland now, it is around 570 people. I do not have the figure for 2012 to hand but I am happy to get that for the Senator and I will write to him with it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I think it is better if I get the actual figure for the Senator and correspond with him on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am told, however, that the figure was more in 2012. There was some downsizing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: With regard to many of our agencies we do have to look at where we have come from economically. Of course it is very regrettable that there was downsizing due to the economic crisis we faced, but once we had the ability to invest we have been building up again. It is a priority, as the Senator saw in the budget last year, and it will be a priority again, to continue to build the staff of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: They will be sent on to the Senator.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I take the Deputy's point. It is interesting to note that Enterprise Ireland has supported the highest level of jobs ever. It has added more than 10,000 jobs per annum since 2012. As Senator Gavan pointed out, that was done with reduced staff resources. It has become more expert. I was on a trade mission last week with Enterprise Ireland representatives and I saw it reaching out to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The average cost per Enterprise Ireland job sustained over the seven years from 2010 to 2016 was €7,350, which is a significant drop from the average of €13,717 during the period from 2008 to 2014. That points to efficiencies being made and a better value return being obtained at a cheaper cost, which is very positive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: That is great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will take up Senator Reilly's point. Attracting industry also entails issues of lifestyle, the facilities that are available in an area, atmosphere and diversity. Having met companies, all of these factors are considered together before a company makes a decision. I will put some job numbers on the record that the Chairman will appreciate. Last year, 4,429 new jobs were delivered by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government has shown its commitment to increasing resources. The Senator must remember that, at the time, it was a merger of three agencies. Obviously, we will always listen to Enterprise Ireland. In terms of the global footprint and putting more people on the ground, both in Ireland and globally, there is a high-level plan to achieve that. The Senator's comments must be taken in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes. I will give the Deputy the detail on that. There are five officials in the Department's Brexit unit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, they are. Five members of staff are working in the Department's dedicated Brexit unit, which is one of the responses in place to deal with Brexit. As Tánaiste, I chair the co-ordination group that meets the agencies as part of the planning of the Brexit response. I have already chaired one of those meetings. An internal cross-divisional group of senior officials, chaired by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: We expect to spend the full current and capital allocation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Obviously the regulatory offices and agencies play a key role in ensuring that markets, including the labour market, work efficiently through smart regulation, which encourages innovation, competition and high standards of compliance and protection of consumers but without unnecessary regulatory cost. I will outline briefly some of the key activities of a number of the agencies under the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy is right that there were some issues, particularly in terms of recruiting specialist posts. That has been in the public arena. I understand people have been recruited to some of those specialist posts and there is no issue in terms of sanction for them or in moving forward in respect of recruitment, either between ODCE and my Department or between ourselves and DPER. The five...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Mid-year Review of the 2017 Estimates for Public Services: Vote 32 (3 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Not that I am aware of. I do not believe there are.