Results 2,301-2,320 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (13 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: At present, clients have not yet been identified for the new Advance Technology Building at the Finisklin Industrial Estate in County Sligo. IDA Ireland has assured me, however, that it continues to promote this new facility through its network of overseas offices and in response to specific client queries.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Programme (13 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department has a total of 9 Bills listed in the Government legislation programme for the current Dáil Session and they are as follows: - Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill - Hallmarking (Amendment) Bill - Industrial Development (Amendment) Bill - Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) (Miscellaneous Intellectual Property) Bill - Amendment of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Redeployment (13 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department has decentralised certain functions to a variety of locations as outlined in tabular format below. Functions and locations as stated have not been re-centralised to Dublin. Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and its Offices Location Office Decentralisation Dublin Head Office - Carlow and Dublin Companies Registration Office. Decentralised from Dublin to Carlow...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Data (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I refer further to parliamentary questions 271 to 273 of 8 December which my Department received late afternoon on 6 December. For the sake of clarity, my Department has not declined to provide the information sought by the Deputy. As explained in my response it was not possible to provide the extensive detail being sought by the Deputy in the limited time available for response. It...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 11 to 13, inclusive, together. These five amendments are related and affect sections 1 and 26, as well as the Long Title of the Bill. They all reflect the fact that the Bill will not be enacted on 1 January 2017, as originally intended at the time of its publication.Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are to section 1. Amendment No. 2 deletes subsection 4...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank Senator Mac Lochlainn for his amendment but I do not propose to accept it. Under the KDB process before the Patents Office the place of production is not relevant. The process before the office requires that the controller examines applications against the criteria of novelty, non-obviousness and usefulness. Indeed, under the wider KDB scheme introduced in the Finance Act 2015 what...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: No. This is simply about the content of the certificate which the controller will issue. This scheme is for SMEs, wherever they are located in Ireland. The annual report of the Irish Patents Office will show what happened in the past. I have full confidence in the controller but we will not be saying where it is produced.

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: No. We have to protect the privacy of the company and of the patent. It is something innovative, novel and non-obvious and if somebody can read it in a report somebody else can steal it. It does not make sense and we will not be doing it.

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The process before the Patents Office is just one aspect of the applicant's claim to the Revenue Commissioners for a 6.25% corporate tax rate. Under the KDB, it is the location of the research and development that matters. The research and development leads to the relevant invention and this is the activity that the scheme intends to entice to Ireland. The place of production really is not...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: There are two parts to the process. One is through the Patents Office and the other is through the Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue Commissioners never publish details like this. The controller is capturing the information around research and development.The amendment I am speaking to, in the name of Senator Mac Lochlainn, is about the place of production. I do not know whether the...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It does not-----

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I cannot accept the amendment. Enterprise Ireland was mentioned. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the granting of the certificate. It could, however, keep accounts for its clients who use the knowledge development box, but it is not involved in this legislation.

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The place of production is non-relevant and falls outside the remit of the knowledge development box scheme, as provided for in the Finance Act 2015.

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: What are we speaking to?

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The research and development must happen in Ireland. It must be new, novel and non-obvious. If that is the case, the applicant goes to the controller, gets a certificate and takes it to the Revenue Commissioners who will decide on the basis of that certificate if it is appropriate to grant the 6.25% KDB rate. The innovation must take place in Ireland. An applicant may get a certificate...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It has to be novel, useful and it has to be non-obvious. The KDB is different to a patent so the systems are different. The research and development activity has to take place here. If the research and development activity takes place outside the country, it will not be recognised here for KDB. On the question of whether it is novel or non-obvious, where a company redesigns or adds...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It is a question of whether it is new. If it is half made but the people involved come up with another idea that is innovative, non-obvious and useful and will change the machine or whatever they are developing, they can seek a KDB certificate for it. Is that okay?

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It has nothing to do with production.

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The intention in section 17 is to impose a mandatory requirement on the controller to keep certain records. Records must be kept of all KDB applications, KDB certificates issued, KDB certificates refused and KDB applications under review. The section also requires the controller to respect confidential information filed with KDB applications and he, in this case, must not publicly disclose...

Seanad: Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank the Senators for tabling amendments Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, to section 18, which are being taken together. Section 18 requires the controller to report annually to the Minister on this scheme. Amendment No. 5 in the name of Senator Mac Lochlainn seeks that the report by the controller is to the Dáil instead of to the Minister. Amendment No. 6 in the name of Senators Higgins...