Results 441-460 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney
- Semi-State Bodies. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: In case there is any misunderstanding, what the board fully supports is both the transfer of the town to Clare County Council and the transfer of the staff working in Shannon Development on an agency basis to Enterprise Ireland. I will send the Deputy a letter to that effect. The board does not support the asset issue in relation to the zone. As I said earlier, the Department of Transport is...
- Semi-State Bodies. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: In the early 1990s when the Culliton proposals were being implemented the foreign direct investment, FDI, role was taken from Shannon Development, for the very good reason that it was very hard to explain to companies in north America that one agency in Ireland called Shannon Development was knocking on their door and another agency called IDA Ireland was also knocking on the door from a...
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: My Department, through Forfás, recently commissioned an independent review of the role of the city and county enterprise boards, CEBs. This review was conducted by Fitzpatricks Associates. It involved consultations with all relevant interested parties and represents an in-depth, objective study of the work of the boards. Notwithstanding the success of the county enterprise boards in...
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: I cannot anticipate how the 2004 Estimates process for 2005 will pan out. There will be a great deal of competition for the resources in health and education, and several other areas, including this one.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: I will be arguing for all the appropriate priorities.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: One of the interesting conclusions in the report is that the boards need to be more focused on supporting enterprise that does not displace other enterprise. It cites several examples of where it was simply dead weight, the activity would have happened anyway or it affected someone else nearby. It said that the retail sector should not be supported.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: It says hairdressers and gardeners should not be supported, or accountants and solicitors who, believe it or not, were supported in some places. Professional services such as gardeners were supported.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: If I had answered this question six months ago in advance of the report which I read only last week, I would have been very favourably disposed to seeing the responsibility go to the local authorities. When the local development committees were being established I expressed the view that they be amalgamated with the county enterprise boards. This report strongly suggests that the...
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: It may be a good idea for me to submit this report to the appropriate Oireachtas committee.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: I would be interested in hearing the Deputies' views before I bring proposals to Cabinet.
- County Enterprise Boards. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: It would be useful given that the boards have existed for ten or 12 years. It is estimated they have supported 16,000 projects and 30,000 jobs and received grant aid of â¬179 million, which is very good value for money if that is the case. They need, however, to be more focused. I am aware of examples where a nursing home was supported because it was on one side of the road in County X, but...
- Research Funding. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: At European Union level it is clear that industry in most member states, including Ireland, needs to improve its levels of research in order to compete more effectively on global markets with the US and Japan. A major part of the focus of Irish research, technology and innovation is centred on developing the capacity of the higher education system. This development encompasses all aspects of...
- Research Funding. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: The first factor is that 40% of the research of pharmaceutical companies in Europe is now done in America. The figure was 26% approximately six or seven years ago so it is going in the wrong direction. During our Presidency of the EU we have succeeded in obtaining some agreement from member states in respect of the funding of basic research. Heretofore, such research was not funded on the...
- Research Funding. (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: Deputy Howlin is correct to state that the link between industrial development and prosperity in education is enormous. It will be even greater in the future. One cannot have too much education. I believe it was the former president of Harvard University who once said: "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." There are a number of serious issues about the funding of higher...
- Written Answers — National Irish Bank Investigations: National Irish Bank Investigations (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: The investigations into the affairs of the National Irish Bank Limited and National Irish Bank Financial Services Limited are being conducted by inspectors appointed by the High Court, on application by me, under section 8 of the Companies Act 1990. I understand from press reports that the final report is expected to be presented to the High Court on or before 31 July. Its publication is a...
- Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: Not all projects agreed between IDA Ireland and its clients are announced. There is usually a time lag between the announcement of new jobs and their creation. In 2003 as many as 32 greenfield and expansion job creation projects were announced. IDA Ireland approved 64 new investment and 39 research and development projects of which 33 were greenfield projects. The announced projects may...
- Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: The number of redundancies notified to my Department in the years specified were 13,316 in 2000, 19,977 in 2001, 25,358 in 2002, 27,702 in 2003 and 11,001 to the end of May 2004. The corresponding figure to the end of May 2003 was 10,145. It is an 8% increase in the number of redundancies notified to my Department so far this year. The quarterly national household survey, prepared by the...
- Written Answers — Research and Development: Research and Development (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: Ireland's sustained economic growth and prosperity depends on establishing a culture of scientific and technological innovation, a high level of research and development and a globally competitive knowledge based economy. Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 as much as â¬2.48 billion was allocated to research, technological development and innovation activities across all...
- Written Answers — Corporate Investigations: Corporate Investigations (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: Following the commencement of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001, it is now the statutory responsibility of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to pursue the possible breaches of the Companies Acts identified in the report. The Act requires him to perform his functions with respect to the Companies Acts on an independent basis. He does not report to me on an individual case or issue that...
- Written Answers — Motor Insurance: Motor Insurance (17 Jun 2004)
Mary Harney: During 2001 the system was analysed by the special working group on personal injury compensation. In December 1996 the then Minister for Commerce, Science and Technology established the group following the Government's consideration of a Deloitte & Touche report on an economic evaluation of insurance costs here. The group's remit included the investigation and examination of issues...