Results 2,201-2,220 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Copyright Legislation Review (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In my most recent answer to Parliamentary Question No. 294 to the Deputy on 20 October, I advised on progress in relation to the proposed Bill on copyright for which Government approved the Heads of Bill in July 2016. The main purpose of the proposed Bill is to respond to certain of the recommendations contained in a Report undertaken by the Copyright Review Committee entitled...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Data (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 748 to 751, inclusive, together. Opportunities for staff to apply for secondments are offered in line with the business needs of the Department and the wider Civil Service, and also serve to provide a range of broader developmental interests for the staff concerned. Appeals against secondments have not been an issue for my Department. No secondments to the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Bodies Data (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: There are currently two vacancies on State Boards that come within my Department's remit, both of which are on the Board of IAASA. In this regard, there is one position for a Chairperson, for which a shortlist was recently submitted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to me. The selected candidate is now to meet with the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Funding (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 753 to 755, inclusive, together. My Department is focused on ensuring that the effects of economic recovery are felt throughout all regions of the country. While employment has increased in all our regions, it has not been as fast in some. The Government’s ultimate target is to achieve sustainable full employment, and to assist in achieving this...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Funding (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 756 to 758, inclusive, together. My Department is focused on ensuring that the effects of economic recovery are felt throughout all regions of the country. While employment has increased in all our regions, it has not been as fast in some. The Government’s ultimate target is to achieve sustainable full employment, and to assist in achieving this...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Reports (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: With regard to the Deputy’s question, in the time available, it has not been possible for my officials to compile all of the information requested. I will ensure that the requested information is supplied as soon as it is collated.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Non-Disclosure Agreements (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department and the agencies under its remit have not entered into any non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement with any organisation due to court action or a threatened court action.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Advisers Appointments (29 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The appointment of Special Advisers to my Department is governed by “Instructions” issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and requires the approval of Government. Within those guidelines, I currently have one Special Adviser reporting directly to me and the Guidelines allow for two. In addition, my colleague, Minister of State John Halligan,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Health and Safety Regulations (30 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on General Product Safety, transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 199 of 2004, places the onus on all economic operators – manufacturers, distributors, importers – to ensure that only safe products are placed on the market. If economic operators become aware that products on the market present...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Second Stage (30 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I am pleased to present the Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016 to this House for its consideration. The main purpose of this Bill is to establish a certification scheme to allow small and medium-sized companies to avail of the knowledge development box. This Bill, when implemented, will allow companies with intellectual property assets that are non-obvious,...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Second Stage (30 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank all the Senators who spoke about the Bill for their very useful contributions and I have taken note of their questions. I remind Senators that the knowledge development box supports and encourages investment in research and development in Ireland. This is particularly important for SMEs and businesses dealing with them. The knowledge development box will support our smaller...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Second Stage (30 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked about the relevance of the Patents Office. The Patents Office has traditionally used the UK office for patent expertise for a long time. It is an issue of scale. The UK office has a huge number of patent examiners. The Irish office has four. It is a much more efficient use of resources, and under the Bill, the office will be able to refuse patent...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Short, medium and long term responses are needed for Irish business as a result of significant currency fluctuations since the Brexit vote, mostly - though not all - involving sterling losing value against the euro. These responses include market diversification, cost reduction, value-addition, innovation and price repositioning. My Department and Agencies are putting in place measures to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Doing Business looks at domestic, primarily small and medium size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Using quantitative indicators on a range of business regulations that can be compared across 190 economies and over time, Doing Business goes beyond identifying that a problem exists and points to specific regulations or regulatory procedures...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The ESRI paper referred to by the Deputy examines only one possible scenario arising from the UK decision to leave the EU. The final arrangements between the UK and EU may not reflect this scenario. The Deputy will be aware that the precise implications of the UK referendum result will depend on the position of the UK and the results of the negotiations ahead, involving the UK and our EU...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: No legal fees have been incurred by my Department in respect of tribunals of inquiry for the years 2006 to 2016.

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 32 - Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Supplementary) (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank the Chairman. I appreciate this opportunity to meet members and I will make opening comments on the Supplementary Estimate being sought by my Department. The committee will recall that in my presentation on 22 September I mentioned the possibility of additional capital moneys being provided to my Department in 2016. Arising from the discussions with my colleague, the Minister for...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 32 - Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Supplementary) (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I will address Deputy Collins's other question. The Deputy asked whether Enterprise Ireland and the IDA would be disadvantaged by these savings and, especially in light of Brexit, they will not be disadvantaged. The committee needs to appreciate the multi-annual nature of the enterprise and innovation grants provided through the Department. Typically the grants of the enterprise agencies...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 32 - Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Supplementary) (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank Deputy Neville. Limerick has had a huge number of jobs announced. I am delighted that unemployment is going down and that 2 million people are back at work. We cannot be complacent. The Deputy's question is a valid one. There is an Asia strategy being devised with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and we are also feeding into that strategy. The IDA is diversifying away...

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 32 - Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Supplementary) (1 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I will answer the question about INTERREG and the figure of €2.77 million first. It was not possible to spend any of this allocation in 2016 due to certain circumstances. The circumstances related to the finalisation of the new programme. This was delayed due to procedural and technical issues between the EU managing authority and various stakeholders. This delayed finalisation of...