Results 7,141-7,160 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — County Enterprise Boards: County Enterprise Boards (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1The Deputy will be aware that the issue of restructuring the CEBs has been in the public domain since the publication of the McCarthy Group Report under the last Administration. I should say that I am of the view that it is timely and appropriate to re-structure, and re-focus, how the State delivers its support to the indigenous micro-enterprise sector as, after all, this Sector will be...

Written Answers — Wage-setting Mechanisms: Wage-setting Mechanisms (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1I have had no meeting with Commissioner Olli Rehn, who is the member of the European Commission with responsibility for economic and monetary affairs, since my appointment as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. I did have an opportunity, along with senior officials of my Department, to meet on 12 April with the combined staff teams from the European Commission, European Central...

Written Answers — Innovation Policy: Innovation Policy (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1The use of innovation has a crucial role to play in supporting economic recovery and in driving sustainable employment in the current environment. A wide range of programmes are being delivered by the Enterprise Agencies - IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, to promote innovation and give Irish enterprise a competitive edge in the global market place. Numerous...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1The Company Law Review Group (CLRG) gave in-depth consideration, over a period of 4 years, to the reform of partnership law, in particular to the possibility of introducing Limited Liability Partnerships for accountants and solicitors. In general, the CLRG did not find any strong tide of opinion running in favour of introducing Limited Liability Partnerships. However, the Group did say that...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 32 together. Job creation is central to our economic recovery and the Programme for Government has job creation at its core. It is only by creating the right environment for businesses to expand that we will see new jobs coming on stream. In this context, the objective of the Jobs Initiative announced on 10 May is to put policies in place to improve...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 2057In March 2010, IDA Ireland published 'Horizon 2020', its strategic blueprint for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Ireland in the coming decade. FDI has been, and will continue to be, a key element in the export led recovery of the economy. 'Horizon 2020' sets out a compelling argument for the need for ongoing 'transformation' in our approach to secure leading FDI here in...

Written Answers — Ministerial Meetings: Ministerial Meetings (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1Since taking office on 9 March last, I have held meetings with sixteen employer and employee representative groups as detailed in the table below. Further meetings with these and other such representative groups will be scheduled as necessary as issues arise. Name of Employer / Employee Representative Group Date of meeting (include dates of planned meetings, if known) Details of meetings...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: 1The various EU State Aid regulations and frameworks set out the types of activities that can be supported by the Member States and stipulate the maximum percentage of eligible costs that can be aided. These ceilings vary according to the type of aid measure involved but typically allow higher rates of aid for small and medium sized enterprises. Most measures are horizontal and do not have...

Written Answers — Credit Guarantee Scheme: Credit Guarantee Scheme (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 43 together. As part of the Jobs Initiative announced in this House on, 10th May, both the Minister for Finance and I confirmed the Government commitment to initiating a tendering process for the development of a temporary partial credit guarantee scheme. The design of the scheme will draw from international experience to support new lending that would...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: The role of Government is not to create jobs directly, but to put in place the environment where businesses can prosper and generate jobs. In this context, the Jobs Initiative which was announced by the Government on 10th May will support the maintenance of existing jobs, as well as facilitating the creation of new ones. The Initiative includes a range of measures which will be taken across...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is central to our economic recovery and the Programme for Government has job creation at its core. The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The Jobs Initiative announced on 10 May focuses our limited resources on measures that offer...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Government believes that our economic recovery will be export led and in this regard is fully committed to developing and expanding engagement with the key high potential markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The agreed Programme for Government commits us to achieve the maximum potential growth in exports, including the long-term development of new and emerging markets. In this...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 102 together. I fully support the core elements of the European Union's new strategy for Jobs and Growth: Europe 2020 and its objectives to stimulate growth based on knowledge and innovation and a more sustainable and greener economy with high employment and social inclusion. These objectives are also broadly consistent with the Government's own...

Written Answers — Jobs Initiative: Jobs Initiative (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is central to our economic recovery and the Programme for Government has job creation at its core. The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The Jobs Initiative announced on 10 May focuses our limited resources on measures that offer the...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: In order for the Irish economy to make the necessary transition from a reliance on domestic demand to sustainable export-led growth in the medium term, a convergence of Irish costs, charges, professional fees, etc towards the levels of Ireland's trading partners is required. Therefore, to improve Ireland's relative cost competitiveness, there is a need to achieve reductions in costs faster...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am advised that the best option for the person concerned is to take the matter up with the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman. That Office provides a free, independent and impartial service investigating complaints and disputes concerning maladministration and financial loss of pension entitlements. The office is located at 36 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2 and can be contacted by e-mail at...

Written Answers — Job Initiative: Job Initiative (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: The live register figures published last week remind us once again of the scale of the challenge facing the economy and the government. The seasonally adjusted live register for May 2011 shows 440,947 persons seeking employment compared with 154,000 in May 2007, an increase of approximately 286,000. These figures underline the extent of the challenge we face in reducing unemployment. On...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: EU Regulation 245/2009 of 18 March 2009 provided, inter alia, for the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs over a period between 1 September 2009 and 1 September 2012. The purpose of the Regulation is to phase out inefficient incandescent light bulbs throughout Europe on a staged basis and replace them with more energy-efficient alternatives such as new improved halogen light bulbs,...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am very concerned about the job losses that have been announced and of the impact that they have had on the workers concerned and their families as well as the communities affected. I understand that Vodafone Ireland, which is not an IDA or EI client, has announced this as a part of a review of its European operations and which will also impact on its operations in other EU Member States....

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (9 Jun 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am very concerned about the job losses that have been announced and of the impact that they have had on the workers concerned and their families as well as the communities affected. I understand that Vodafone Ireland, which is not an IDA or EI client, has announced this as a part of a review of its European operations and which will also impact on its operations in other EU Member States....