Results 4,761-4,780 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (7 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department has been making good progress in the relocation of the required 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. The following business units/Offices of my Department are earmarked for decentralisation: Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) Work Permits Redundancy Payments Section...

Written Answers — Skill Shortages: Skill Shortages (7 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: In an increasingly knowledge-based and global environment, the skills required by a modern economy are progressively becoming more sophisticated. Ensuring that the skills supply and demand are matched requires an ongoing commitment to monitoring current and future skills needs and addressing any gaps through investments in upskilling. To that end the Government has made provision to ensure...

Written Answers — Foreign Direct Investment: Foreign Direct Investment (7 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions. The level of FDI in Ireland, relative to the size of the economy, is one of the highest in the world. Today, in Ireland, there are over 1,000 IDA supported companies employing in excess of 136,000 people. These include many of the leading companies in...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department does not collect sector specific information in relation to the electrical contracting sector. I therefore have no particular information in relation to electrical firms.

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Standard Based Apprenticeship programme provides for seven phases of training, four on-the-job and three off-the-job. Apprentices are assessed on a structured ongoing basis throughout their apprenticeship. Modular assessments are carried out during the off-the-job training phases. These assessments incorporate course work, standardised practical assessments and theoretical assessments....

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Donegal is a target location for the IDA with the County now competing for a different type of business to labour intensive manufacturing, which IDA so successfully won over the past four decades. The overseas investor is now seeking locations for more advanced manufacturing or office based solutions, to a great extent depending on high skill and high value work. This has required a...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department does not employ any agency workers. However the following agencies, which fall under the auspices of my Department employ some agency workers. Out of a total of 4382 employees, 54.5 employees are agency workers. Agency No. of Employees No. of Agency Workers Enterprise Ireland 831.5 23 Industrial Development Authority 273 5 FAS 2,265.5 7 Health and Safety Authority 186 2...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department's records indicate that, to date, four laptops and three blackberry devices were stolen or lost over the last seven years. I understand that none of these held personal information about members of the public. Of the four laptops reported stolen one was subsequently recovered. While none of the Blackberry devices have been recovered, my Department invoked the facility to...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The loss or otherwise of equipment belonging to the Agencies is a day-to-day operational matter for the agencies concerned and not one for which I have a function. The various agency liaison units across my Department have confirmed that they have no records of an agency reporting the loss or theft from them of any disks, laptops or memory storage devices containing personal information...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. The programme helps unemployed people to progress to the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Civil Service Disciplinary Code, which was revised in July 2006 in accordance with the Civil Service Regulation Act 2005, provides for a number of disciplinary actions including dismissal. The provisions of the code apply to all officers other than officers serving in a probationary capacity after entry to the Civil Service. To date no member of staff who has completed their...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (12 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Due to the fact that my Department changed its financial management system within the last five years, the information requested by the Deputy is readily available only from the beginning of 2004. The table below sets out the amount paid to staff of my Department and its Offices in respect of travel, subsistence and related payments for each of the years 2004 to 2007 inclusive. The figures...

Special Educational Needs: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I thought I was entitled to at least five minutes. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this motion and the proposed amendment. We have come a long way in terms of how we teach and provide education for children with autism and special needs.

Special Educational Needs: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: In 1997, when I was appointed Minister for Education and Science, though it is hard to believe, there was no official recognition by the State of autism as a specific condition that demanded a specific education response. It is incredible but true that before this the special education review did not recognise autism. There was no pupil-teacher ratio for children with autism in mainstream...

Special Educational Needs: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: We have learned a lot over the past ten years; our teacher training colleges now have modules on autism and teachers now have access to autism-specific training. The logistical issues relating to training teachers to properly understand autism are significant but proper integration with the wide range of supports that exists can help in a multidisciplinary approach to a child's development...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Secretary General of my Department has held meetings with his counterparts in the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, the OPW and the County Manager to identify the needs of Departments and State bodies insofar as the ISPAT site is concerned. Considerable progress has been made in addressing a range of development issues associated with the former ISPAT site at...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department is required to relocate a minimum of 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme and this is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009. In order to accommodate staff who wished to move earlier than the projected building completion date of late 2009, officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: FÁS International Consulting Limited (FICL) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of FÁS in 1988 in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Services Act. Its purpose was to promote and carry out training and consultancy work in human resource development and related areas for the overseas market. The Articles of Association were registered on 22 September 1988. No equity was...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) was established in 1985 to accredit calibration and testing laboratories. INAB was subsequently established as a Committee of Forfás under Section 10 of the Industrial Development act, 1993 as amended by Section 46 of the Industrial Development (Enterprise Ireland) Act. 1998. The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) is the sole national...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (13 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Nítrigin Éireann Teoranta (NET) was established in 1961 to manufacture nitrogenous fertiliser. Since 1987 on the formation of Irish Fertilizer Industries Limited (IFI), a joint venture with ICI, NET acted as a holding company. More recently NET's primary role since the liquidation of IFI in 2002 had been to monitor the progress of that liquidation in the context of NET's claims on the...