Results 2,101-2,120 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Order of Business. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I left a great legacy.

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for raising these matters. As they noted, SRAM Corporation announced to its staff that it would cease operations in Carrick-on-Suir with the loss of 53 permanent and temporary jobs. Some 11 permanent staff will be retained in distribution support activities and finance. This is devastating news for the workers in question and their families and our thoughts are with them....

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: The present IDA Ireland strategy for south Tipperary is to concentrate future economic development in Clonmel by developing the town as a first-class location for overseas investment. This strategy has been agreed with the South Tipperary County Development Board. At a meeting of Carrick-on-Suir Town Council last year the agency's plans for south Tipperary and Waterford city were outlined to...

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I want to stress however, that Carrick-on-Suir is not being neglected. I met a delegation from the town council last year and then met with FÁS. The town council specifically brought the FÁS service to my attention and asked us to expand and improve it. Following a meeting with the council the agency agreed to increase its level of engagement with the long-term unemployed in the town. This...

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: The company will seek to recruit approximately 200 staff per year, both graduates and non-graduates, for the next five years. The development of community based enterprise centres is a crucial part of the drive to create new regional enterprise. Enterprise Ireland provided support of €54,852 in 1998 for the setting up of the enterprise centre in Carrick-on-Suir. This centre has been sold to...

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: Would the Deputy please listen? That was a fall from 3,411 in December 2004.

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: The focus of my Department and its agencies is firmly concentrated on managing this transition of our economy through the use of the best possible blend of policies to strengthen both national and firm-level competitiveness. An integral element of the Government's policies is to encourage enterprises to undertake increased levels of investment and research, to use more technology in product...

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: ——that the State development agencies, under the auspices of my Department, will continue to work closely together and with the County Development Board, as well as participating in the special working groups set up in October 2004 by the county manager of Tipperary south to deal with job creation issues in the towns of Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary. The working group is already...

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: ——that the County Development Board and the special working groups on which the State agencies are represented, would be the appropriate fora to fulfil this function. There is no point in setting up a similar forum again with the same people.

Job Creation. (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: We will work to see what we can do for the workers concerned. They are our immediate priority and we will see what we can do.

Written Answers — Stem Cell Research: Stem Cell Research (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: Stem cell research is an area which holds considerable promise in the treatment of various diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury. Research is under way in Ireland on therapies using stem cells derived from adult tissues. As regards ethical issues pertaining to stem cells derived from embryonic sources, the current...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 and 255 together. IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment to Ireland and its regions. The Forfás annual employment survey records jobs gained and lost in companies supported by the industrial development agencies. Data are compiled on an annualised basis but data on a county basis for 2005 in...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (1 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: Particulars of contracts continuing, completed and initiated directly by my Department are set out below: Company — QMP Publicis, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2 — delivered also through Media Vest, Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Brindley Advertising, Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2. Project description — TV, press and radio advertisement to publicise the increase in the National Minimum...

Written Answers — Semi-State Bodies: Semi-State Bodies (2 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I am informed by FÁS that it has no plans to change the status of Obair offices in County Mayo.

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (2 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: In general, an application for the renewal of a work permit is granted provided that the conditions of employment specified in the permit have been adhered to by the employer. I envisage that the new economic migration arrangements, which I announced on 12 October 2005, will be implemented after the legislation has been passed through the Oireachtas.

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (2 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: Since my appointment as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment I have not sought advice from public relations consultancy firms or individuals. I have appointed Ms Caitriona Meehan as a press adviser on a full-time basis at an annual salary equivalent to the third point of the principal officer scale. Ms Meehan has experience with Departments and subsidiary bodies. The Ministers of...

Proposed Legislation. (7 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: The legislative and regulatory regime that applied to the DCC-Fyffes case was Part V of the Companies Act 1990. Part V has been largely repealed with the introduction of a new more robust and more wide-ranging regime which came into effect on 6 July 2005. This new regime consists of the Market Abuse (Directive 2003/6/EC) Regulations 2005 and Part 4 of the Investment Funds, Companies and...

Proposed Legislation. (7 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: Fundamentally, a new regulatory regime is operational to cover all these areas and it will be overseen by a new competent authority, the Financial Regulator. I am aware of the commentary on the DCC-Fyffes case, including that of Ms Justice Laffoy in her judgment, and we are examining the issues raised. I have referred a number of them to the company law review group with a view to...

Proposed Legislation. (7 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: No, I do not agree with the Deputy. I have referred the case to the company law review group to seek advice on specific points raised in the judgment. Over recent years, EU legislation has been adopted in all the areas mentioned, a number of which were originally covered by my Department. One of the features of the radically new and robust legislation is that member states are no longer...

Job Protection. (7 Feb 2006)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 115 together. The labour inspectorate of my Department is responsible for monitoring certain employment conditions for all categories of workers, including immigrant workers. The inspectorate operates without differentiation with regard to worker nationality as statutory employment rights and protections apply to immigrant workers in exactly the same...