Results 7,301-7,320 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (14 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Since taking up office on the 9th March 2011 the following appointments have been made at my Department. Appointments made by Minister Richard Bruton Name Appointed Title Salary Scale Mr. Patrick Cluskey 9th March 2011 Personal Assistant €43,715 - €52,925(Personal Assistant payscale) Ms. Gabrielle Noble 9th March 2011 Personal Secretary €456.50p.w - €880.41p.w(Personal Secretary...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (14 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 146 together. In the time available since this Question was tabled my Department was unable to compile the information requested, which extends back ten years. Once my staff have collated the information I will forward it to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (14 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Answering this question will involve an extensive check of the Department's records over the past 10 years which it is not possible to complete in the time available. I will communicate with the Deputy further when this exercise is complete.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (14 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The information requested is as follows. Year Beneficiary Purpose € 2000-2003* ICTUSIPTU Project Funded through National Framework Committee for Work Life Balance PoliciesProject Funded through National Framework Committee for Work Life Balance Policies 202,15410,300 2001 ICTU Grant towards Education, Training and Advisory Service 1,008,172 2002 ICTU Grant towards Education, Training...

Employment Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Government is acutely aware of the scale of the challenge we face in combating unemployment and emigration, with more than 440,000 people on the live register. This crisis was created by years of bad economic policies and it will take considerable time to correct. The new Government is committed to getting people back to work. As the Deputy will be aware, on 10 May the Government...

Employment Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I regret the 21,000 proposed activation places were not included in the budget and they are entirely new. As the Deputy knows - he was very critical of this - they needed to be funded by way of new sources of revenue. So these were not planned. The programme had an additional 5,000 places under Tús, which the Minister has now put into practice. That would be 5,000 in addition to the...

Employment Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy knows, the Government is developing several initiatives designed to get companies that have not been exporting to access the export market. That the Government has also taken great strides to improve access to credit for small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, is a significant element. The Government is examining the potential for a strategic bank to provide new sources of...

Job Protection (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 23 together. As the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I am keen to ensure that the cost base for business is competitive to enable enterprises to grow and to support job creation. While there has been a welcome improvement in cost competitiveness in the past two years, including in the energy field, any reversal of these trends would be...

Job Protection (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I agree with the Deputy. Cost competitiveness is an issue across the range. For example, the Government is committed to tackling rents, to which end the Department of Justice and Equality proposes legislation to address the issue of upward-only rent reviews. While the cost of professional services has been decreasing, the National Competitiveness Council, NCC, has highlighted the fact that...

Job Protection (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The ECB, under statute from the European Union, decides its interest rates policy with an eye on inflation across the eurozone.

Job Protection (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Politicians may express their views that current interest rate policy is inappropriate for Irish circumstances - there is no doubt that rising interest rates do not suit us - but, on the other hand, the ECB is clearly established under legislation. We can look at the issue the Deputy raised of the difficulty for Irish SMEs in getting loans. That is why the Government restructured the banks...

State Agencies (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: As part of the Forfás annual employment survey, the overall cost per job is calculated each year by reference to the cost of jobs created during and sustained to the end of a seven-year period. The accepted accounting measure for the cost per job is cost per job sustained. This is calculated by taking into account all direct agency expenditure on all Enterprise Ireland client companies in...

State Agencies (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not think it is a fair judgment that these were bad choices. Internationally, the recession we have experienced has been unprecedented. Anyone who has part of his or her business in the Irish market has suffered a 20% drop, while world markets have dropped by about 10%. This has been an exceptional maelstrom for Irish business. While I was not party to the decision to provide...

State Agencies (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: This was not the subject of the question.

State Agencies (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: My understanding is that the vast majority of Enterprise Ireland's staff are customer-facing. In other words, they are dealing daily with businesses, either on their research or marketing needs. This is not a huge, top-heavy administrative operation. Obviously, every section of this Department will have to be under scrutiny. We are under an obligation to reduce the numbers employed in...

Job Creation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Digital gaming is one of a number of key sectors which I see as offering strong potential for growth and increased employment in Ireland. The global video games market was valued at $55.5 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow to $82.5 billion by 2015, making it the fastest growing segment of the wider entertainment and media sector. It is eclipsing music and box office figures at this...

Job Creation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not really accept what the Deputy is saying. Like any business, it depends on a number of elements of government to make it right. In my discussions with representatives of the sector, it was made clear that they want to see the skills flow. The interpretation of research and development tax credits is obviously important for them as well, which is also a revenue function. Support...

Job Creation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I had a joint meeting with the Minister for Education and Skills only recently to discuss specifically education and training skills gaps. He is bringing forward proposals to increase the graduate intake into areas with skills gaps, while under the Springboard initiative he wants to switch people with different skills into these areas. We are very conscious of the opportunity for networking...

Job Creation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 239 together.

Job Creation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Question No. 239, another question tabled by Deputy Durkan.