Results 2,681-2,700 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Report (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Low Pay Commission met on 10 occasions during 2016. As part of its annual deliberations on the appropriate rate for the National Minimum Wage, the Commission advertised in national newspapers and through its website for submissions from interested parties.   Furthermore, as part of their 2016 work programme the Commission was asked to examine the underlying reasons for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Living Wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe, decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living is very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and State-provided supports such as Child...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Measures (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor:  A number of actions were initiated as part of the Government’s response to the insolvency and immediate closure of Clerys. The Duffy-Cahill report provides a comprehensive analysis of the relevant provisions of employment law and company law. It makes a number of proposals for reform of the law, which are primarily concerned with amendments to employment law. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Meetings (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 364 and 365 together. Details of the meetings that I have had with employers organisations and trade unions since my appointment as Minister are set out in the following tables. Trade Union/Employer Organisation Met Date of Meeting Purpose of Meeting Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IMPACT, Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed, SIPTU, UNITE...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Disputes (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As we are all aware the issue relates to Tesco workers on legacy contracts (pre 1996). I understand that over a year ago that there were over 1000 such workers in Tesco on these legacy contracts. I further understand that Tesco offered a redundancy package as part of the process in place to resolve the dispute with workers on these legacy contracts and the number of employees now remaining...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Data (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The latest CSO’s figures show that there were 7,823 on the Live Register in Waterford County and 9,271 people in Waterford City on the Live Register in January 2017. These figures represent decreases of 1,084 and 1,310 respectively over the previous 12 months. The source of data in relation to unemployment rates is the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) undertaken by the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Data (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The most recent Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) undertaken by the CSO shows that the unemployment rate in the South East has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to 9.4% in Q4 2016. This compares to the national average of 6.7%. The South East Action Plan for Jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the South East region, with public and private...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Funding (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Irish Government allocated $915.7m (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)) on research and development (R&D) in 2015, or $197 (PPP) on a per-capita basis in 2015 on R&D, compared with $246 (PPP) per capita on average in EU28 countries and $276 (PPP) per capita on average for all OECD countries.  Ireland's per-capita Government allocations on...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Data (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Public expenditure on research and development (R&D) has been rising steadily since 2014. However, due to the fact that our GDP levels have been rising at a far greater rate (notably to 26% in 2015) the R&D intensity rate has shown an overall decline. While the level of R&D expenditure has been increasing, it has not been increasing in line with the fluctuating GDP levels. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Food Industry Exports (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Irish Food Sector is one of the most important sectors of the Irish Economy and remains Ireland’s biggest exporter. The Food sector is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland and a significant employer across the regions and in County Kildare in particular. Enterprise Ireland (EI) works in tandem with Bord Bia who is charged with the promotion of Irish food at home and abroad....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Given that Brexit is likely to represent a structural shift in the UK trading relations with partners, short, medium and long term responses are needed. These include market diversification, cost reduction, innovation and price repositioning. My Department, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) have measures in place to address these issues for client companies....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Process RIA (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 377 and 378 together. 2011 Bill/Act published where Regulatory Impact Assessment was undertaken Did the RIA include the Specific impacts referenced Patents (Amendment) Bill 2011 Yes Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work ) Bill 2011 Yes Industrial Relations (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2011 No Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011 Yes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: European chemicals legislation has undergone much change in recent years with the introduction of key EU Regulations such as the “REACH” Regulation 1907/2006 (governing the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and the “CLP” Regulation 1272/2008 (Classification, Labelling and Packaging of hazardous chemicals). The aim of REACH is to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Copyright Legislation Review (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In response to Parliamentary Question No. 739 put down by the Deputy on 31 January 2017, I informed the Deputy that Government had approved the General Scheme of a Copyright Bill, the main purpose of which is to respond to certain of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Copyright Review Committee entitled “Modernising Copyright”, which was published in October...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Personal Injury Claims (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) is an independent statutory agency charged with assessing claims for compensation arising from personal injuries sustained as a result of a motor, workplace or public liability accident and where both parties, claimant and respondent, consent to an assessment.  It is a matter for the parties concerned whether or not they wish to accept the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Construction Industry (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Apart from significant losses to the Exchequer that can arise from cases of so-called bogus self-employment, the practice has serious implications from an employment rights perspective.  In this respect, it is important that individuals are correctly designated regarding their employment status so that those who ought to be designated as employees are not deprived of their...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The European Space Agency is an international organisation with 22 Member States from both within and outside the European Union.  The Agency operates independently of the European Union and the United Kingdom’s membership of ESA is not dependent on its EU membership. The UK Government’s White Paper on Brexit notes that the United Kingdom was a founding member of ESA and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Jobs Data (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 802 and 803 together. The contract underpinning the Succeed-in-Ireland initiative, which has been operated by Connect Ireland since March 2012, is set to conclude on 26 March 2017. This had been due to expire in March 2016 but was extended for a further 12 months last year. The purpose of that extension, which was jointly agreed by Connect Ireland and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Details of expenditure by my Department on public relations in 2016 are set out as follows:- PR Company Purpose of Contract Amount Spent in 2016 Fuzion Communications Provision of communications services to the Workplace Relations Commission. €643.64 Keatings and Associates Provision of communications services to the Workplace Relations Commission. €3321.00

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Community Enterprise Centres (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In 2015, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, began a new approach to supporting job creation initiatives through competitive funding schemes. These schemes support of the Regional Acton Plans for Jobs at local and regional level. Enterprise Ireland launched the Community Enterprise Initiatives Fund, the first of these competitive...