Results 20,401-20,420 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Arms Trade (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 30 together. The 2016 Annual Report under the Control of Exports Act,2008, was submitted to Government this week and will be laid before both houses of the Oireachtas and published as soon as it is translated into Irish.  I expect to publish the Report before the end of the year. The objective of publishing these reports is to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: CETA will not undermine the regulatory standards in Ireland or the EU that benefit our citizens.  It will not affect the right of governments to regulate in the public interest. The Agreement includes provisions to ensure governments’ “right to regulate”. CETA will not affect EU rules on food safety or the environment. The Agreement explicitly excludes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: According to CSO, the number of people in unemployment in October 2017 was 131,300, a decrease of 26,800 from the same month in 2016, a decrease of 17%. Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in Q1 2012 the number of people in employment has increased by almost 225,000, while the unemployment rate has dropped from 15.2% to 6.0% in October this year. Between June 2015...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Earlier this month I published a paper, entitled Building Stronger Business, which sets out all the wide ranging work both underway and planned by my Department, to deal with the enterprise issues of Brexit, including various pieces of wider research on Brexit issues currently being undertaken. The approach  is to minimise risks and maximise opportunities by ensuring the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Development (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government and my Department value an evidence based approach as part of our efforts to ensure that work pays.  In that context I note the findings of the South East Economic Monitor as referenced in the Deputy's question in relation to examining income tax returns as a proxy for job quality and employment levels. A closer examination of the research and analysis behind the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research Funding (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) has been an important funding programme in developing research capacity within the higher education system in Ireland. There have been five cycles of the PRTLI to date and approximately €1.2bn of public and private funding has been invested since the commencement of the programme in 1998. PRTLI has complemented other...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Supporting job creation via the Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government's key instruments to reduce regional disparities in terms of income level and deprivation. This Government’s goal is to have an additional 200,000 people at work by 2020, including 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin. Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in early 2012: - There are over 225,000...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Site Visits (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government is strongly committed to regional development and my Department and its agencies are working towards ambitious targets to ensure that employment and investment are evenly distributed across the country. The employment situation in the South East has been steadily improving in recent years. I am pleased that there has been a substantial increase in job creation in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Development (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I note the Deputy's reference to the 2016 Pobal HP Deprivation Index, which considers affluence and disadvantage across the combined dimensions of demographics, social class composition and labour market situation at a detailed level of spatial analysis throughout Ireland. The outcome of the index for North Meath and for many other areas serves to underline the importance of maintaining a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government is intensifying efforts to address the challenges facing Irish companies as a result of Brexit. Those efforts are focused on minimising risks and maximising opportunities by ensuring the growth and resilience of Irish enterprise across the following four pillars: - Helping firms to compete:The Government is taking a cross-Departmental approach to create the conditions...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government is aware that adequate supply of quality, affordable housing to buy and rent in the right locations, is important for Ireland’s overall competitiveness in attracting foreign direct investment. This is not least because the link between the cost of housing and wage expectations means that developments in the residential property sector impact on our international...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Policy (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As a small open economy, responding to external factors of change is not new to us - and Ireland's economic growth since the Action Plan for Jobs was first introduced has been impressive. The unemployment rate is now 6 percent, and well over 2 million people working every day.  There have been significant global developments over recent years that present considerable challenge....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Companies (Statutory Audits) Bill 2017, published on 6 November 2017, aims to enhance the oversight of statutory audits. The Bill strengthens the statutory powers of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA).  This will include enhanced investigation powers and oversight powers such as the power to impose a greater pecuniary sanction on statutory audit...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Aid (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The EU Regional Aid Guidelines (RAGS) allow each Member State to provide enhanced rates of State Aid in the least economically developed areas of each country. The 2014-2020 Regional Aid Guidelines entered into force on 01 July 2014.  Under the terms of the 2014 -2020 RAGS, regions covering 51.28% of Ireland’s population are designated as ‘assisted areas’. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Jobs Data (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department and IDA Ireland are committed to supporting foreign direct investment (FDI) in every region and county in Ireland, including Wexford. CSO figures show that the unemployment rate in Wexford has decreased from 16,170 in 2011 to 11,478 in 2016, a reduction of almost 5,000 people. This overall positive employment trend is reflected by the levels...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement Reports (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Section 955(1)(a) Report from the Director of Corporate Enforcement has been the subject of detailed consultation with the Office of the Attorney General.  On the advice received recently from the Attorney General, I do not have a legal power to publish statutory reports prepared pursuant to section 955 of the Companies Act, 2014.  I am conscious, however, that the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yearly job creation by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices is captured by the Annual Employment Survey (AES) conducted by my Department and published in January each year.  The 2016 survey remains the most up to date and accurate source of information on Enterprise Agency job creation until the 2017 figures are published early next year.     ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: In late 2015, the European Commission proposed a new approach to investment protection based on an international Investment Court System (ICS), to replace the historic Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. The ISDS system has been the cause of controversy in our recent Trade negotiations. I believe that the Commission has rightly addressed the concerns...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Travel (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: From 13 to 15 November 2017, I led a Trade Mission to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, in which over 30 Enterprise Ireland client companies participated.  These companies represented sectors including aviation, technology and financial services and participated in 11 business events and over 200 meetings with potential clients. My visit aimed to strengthen our ties with the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The UK decision to exit the EU will have direct and profound impact on many key policy and operational areas across DBEI and its Agencies. In advance of the Referendum my Department conducted a contingency risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across policy areas of my Department. Given that the EU’s initial negotiating position is now clear, all of Government is...