Results 4,501-4,520 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (29 Nov 2007)

Micheál Martin: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that a work permit has now issued in this case.

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (29 Nov 2007)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 89 together. For IDA purposes the mid west region consists of the counties Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary excluding the Shannon Free Zone. Since 2002 there have been 7 new IDA supported projects opened in the Mid West region and 6 new FDI projects opened in the Shannon Free Zone. Details of each of those projects and their location is set out in...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: That is wrong. They have all been implemented.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The future lies in mobile broadband.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "—commends the Government on the successful management of the economy which has placed Ireland in 3rd place globally in terms of job creation for our population size. Ireland is 8th in the world in terms of ease of doing business and is in the top five for the strength of our education and...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: During Deputy Phil Hogan's term as spokesman on enterprise, he specialised in graphic descriptions of how the latest announcement of pressures on a company would quickly be followed by dramatic declines in employment throughout the economy. It is already clear that Deputy Varadkar intends following this lead and is working hard to make Deputy Hogan look restrained and constructive in...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The Government's position is very clear. We believe that the economy continues to show many signs of strength and all figures show that employment levels are high and rising. However, we have to be extremely vigilant about maintaining our competitiveness. The right policy response does not lend itself to a cheap headline but requires action on a broad range of fronts. These include...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The success of the Irish labour market over the past decade has been unparalleled in the recent history of Europe. At the same time unemployment has more than halved to just over 4% and long-term unemployment has fallen to less than 1.5%. Our employment performance has been particularly impressive since 2003, with labour-intensive sectors to the fore of the economic upturn. The last...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: We also predict an increase in employment again next year. This expansion is especially noticeable in high technology sectors, where we are now able to confidently pitch for international investment in advanced research and development. IBM is not the Government. IBM's recent global location trends report, which is not any departmental statistical analysis, ranks us third overall in jobs...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The paucity of the Opposition's argument reached a new level this evening when Deputy Tom Hayes suggested that the Government was responsible for the bad summer in the UK in terms of the downturn in the market.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: With the greatest respect, that is pushing it a bit far.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: We will do everything we can to support indigenous enterprise. These changes make a real impact on the nature of economic activity and employment in the economy. Our approach to investment gives confidence to investors. Between 1999 and 2007, chemical-pharma sites expanded, with a total investment of €1.3 billion on existing sites. During the same period, there were 16 greenfield...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: I certainly will not. I have allowed six speakers to speak without interruption. The motion's statement in respect of exports is another example of not letting the facts get in the way of an attack. CSO data for the first eight months of this year show that merchandise exports rose by 5% compared to the same eight-month period in 2006. This is impressive, considering that significant...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: In a short debate, it is not possible to address all of areas where action is planned or required. I will highlight a few.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: Many of the great advances in our economy and the social progress they have enabled have come from the recognition that the State should play the role of enabler rather than controller. Regulation is an important part of this, where we have to seek a balance between regulation necessary to protect consumers and employees and the light hand required to let those who create employment get on...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The easiest thing is to knock the public service but the more difficult process is to engage with change.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Varadkar has an extraordinarily bleak vision of the public service and is welcome to it. If one compares its work today to that of 20 years ago, one sees vast difference and significant improvements. These continuing efforts have resulted in Ireland being ranked eighth out of 178 countries in terms of ease of doing business and fifth for ease of starting a business. I could not...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The seed capital scheme and the business expansion scheme were radically reformed in last year's budget. The bureaucracy of VAT returns improved dramatically for small business, the management development council was established and €175 million of venture capital has been contributed by the State through Enterprise Ireland, which will leverage €1 billion in private sector venture...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: The motion is correct in pointing to productivity as an important part of competitiveness. Without strong productivity growth, we cannot maintain high standards of living and high incomes. However, Fine Gael has chosen to ignore the fact that our productivity levels have converged with those of the OECD and continue to improve. The important sectors in which our economy is successful show...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Micheál Martin: This is incredibly important because expanding productivity in key higher value added sectors is the core of being competitive. It demonstrates in clear and unambiguous terms that Ireland is both productive and competitive. Key international reports state that we display a strong capacity to work with technology and human resources to expand the productivity frontier and innovate stronger...