Results 7,661-7,680 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Export Trade (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is right in that these are countries in which we are working from a low base. The figures are encouraging, but this is not the final word on our attempt to exploit these markets. They indicate ups and downs, with the figures being good in some years and then there is a reversal. That is a feature of territories in which, it is widely accepted, companies have to invest in the...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Policy responsibility for upward-only rent reviews comes within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter. I do not have specific data on the impact of upward-only rent agreements but the National Competitiveness Council provides some data on rents generally. Rent represents an average of 2% to 7% of total costs for manufacturing businesses, and 5% to 6% of...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not have that information to hand and the question would have to be directed to the Minister of State responsible for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Brian Hayes. He is responsible for public rent. I do not intend to understate the difficulties in the retail sector, and this issue has been raised by that sector. The Government has included the matter in the programme for Government...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Far be it from me to tell the Deputy to whom he should address the questions but the responsibility for public rents falls to the Department of Finance. Deputy Brian Hayes has been given an explicit mandate to seek reductions in costs across a range of procurement issues. Last week the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, published documentation on public service...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is at the top of the Government's agenda. Since we came into office, we have been working hard to create the improved economic conditions which will support the maintenance of existing jobs and the creation of new ones. Our objective is to put the country back on the road to economic recovery and full employment. However, we are also realistic about the scale of the task that...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Murphy asked several questions. Yes, there are targets. The figures I quoted of 22,000 jobs per annum and 110,000 jobs by 2016 are targets set by IDA and Enterprise Ireland and those targets have sectoral elements within them. I can provide those figures to the Deputy. The Deputy is right to say there have been reduced capital allocations. However, the enterprise area has been...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I said plainly in my reply to Deputy Murphy's question that the Government's objective is to put the country back on the road to economic recovery and full employment. I recognise that this ambition will not be realised in the short term, but I agree with the Deputy that we need to set ourselves ambitious targets. We should aim to get back to having 2 million people at work and being in the...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The enterprise development agencies under the remit of my department provide a suite of support measures and interventions that help to support job creation and job retention across the country as a whole, including County Kerry. The overall mix of incentives varies from fiscal policies, such as the 12.5% corporate tax rate that all companies can avail of, to targeted supports or incentives...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I did not say anything about selling any site; IDA Ireland is promoting the Castleisland site. The Deputy asked about the global pharmaceutical centre of excellence and officials from all three enterprise agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development, have been in negotiations since it was first announced. All the agencies have agreed to a collaborative approach, whereby...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: While the Pretty Polly site is very valuable, there are questions about the need to convert the building into units that would make it more usable. That issue may need to be explored locally. I met the sponsors of the LNG project. The key issue in this regard relates to the pricing of gas and whether a fee must be paid in respect of interconnectors. The issue relates to a role that does...

Job Protection (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: My priority is that any decision taken by Bank of America should have minimal impact on employees at the Carrick-on-Shannon operation and ensure that jobs are maintained at the facility. I emphasised this when I met with senior executives from Bank of America at their headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina in September. Since then, IDA Ireland has engaged in actively marketing the...

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Company Law Review Group gave in-depth consideration, over a period of four 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 indicated the...

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Some 2,500 sections of the Bill have been published online, which comprise part 1 of a two-part Bill. It is a major piece of work.

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I understand the second part is being worked on. It is a major endeavour.

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am preparing a jobs strategy for the Government that will set out a series of clear, actionable measures to support the creation and retention of jobs. The strategy will focus on areas such as improving competitiveness and intensifying competition in the sheltered sectors, assisting indigenous business to grow, supporting indigenous start-ups, attracting inward entrepreneurial start-ups,...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not know whether a question was asked. Public procurement is certainly an area where we will look to ascertain what initiatives can be developed to ensure SMEs get a greater share of opportunity from public contracts. I know the Deputy in his question to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Sherlock, referred to the potential impact of €3.1 billion in creating 30,000 jobs. To put...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I cannot comment on a Bord Gáis contract that is not issued under my Department, in which I have had no direct role and about which I do not know the legal status. However, it will be an ambition of Government to seek to create opportunities for small business. The thresholds for contracts are sometimes set just too high for small businesses to have a chance to compete and we will seek to...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will have to submit another question on that because I do not have the details of the individual involved and I am not in a position to comment. As I understand it, the Minister has announced modifications in the retail planning guidelines which are designed to improve competitiveness and to have value available. The truth is that Irish people pay something like 20% more for...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 83 together. The Government published its Infrastructural and Capital Investment 2012-16: Medium Term Exchequer Framework on the 10th of November last. The capital investment programme covers a broad range of critical areas including economic infrastructure, environmental infrastructure and social investment. While acknowledging that over the...

Written Answers — Industrial Disputes: Industrial Disputes (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 81 together. This issue involves a dispute that resulted from a decision by the employer in 2010 to cut pay and working hours of the workers. The issues in dispute were referred to the Labour Relations Commission by the workers. Separate exploratory talks involving the Conciliation Service of the Labour Relations Commission and the employer and...