Results 9,261-9,280 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 individual actions to be delivered in 2012, spanning all Government Departments and 36 State agencies. The 270 actions are further broken down into Quarterly milestones or “measures”. Progress Reports on the delivery of these measures are published at the end of each Quarter. The third Progress Report on the Action Plan for Jobs was...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sick Pay Scheme (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: I have outlined my position on this matter on a number of occasions in previous replies to the House. As I have indicated, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, initiated a consultation process earlier this year on the feasibility and implications of introducing a statutory sick pay scheme. This was very much a first step in considering a range of issues that need to be...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Regional Grant Aid (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Regional Aid Guidelines govern the areas in which Member States may grant Regional Aid, more commonly known as investment aid. Investment aid is intended to promote the economic development of certain disadvantaged areas within the European Union in order to redress regional disparities. Decisions on Regional Aid eligibility are taken by examining, in the first instance, the relative...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 individual actions to be delivered in 2012, spanning all Government Departments and 36 State agencies. The 270 actions are further broken down into Quarterly milestones. Progress Reports on the delivery of these milestones are published at the end of each Quarter. Details of all actions delivered to the end of the third Quarter of the year are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Local Enterprise Offices (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: Following on from the Government Decision to restructure the existing County and City Enterprise Board network and to establish a new network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) within each Local Authority, it is intended that Oireachtas funding will continue to be allocated for local enterprise support under a separate subhead to Enterprise Ireland, who will have responsibility for the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: As part of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has set out a series of ambitions which represent key investment and employment goals: - To become the best small country in which to do business. - To build world-class clusters in key sectors of opportunity. - To build an indigenous engine of growth that drives up the export market share of Irish companies. - To support the creation of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: In drafting the Action Plan for Jobs on behalf of the Government, one of my key priorities was to identify sectors where Ireland has particular strengths that offer potential for job creation. Departments and agencies were tasked with developing actions to realise significant job growth in these target sectors. Details of the actions for delivery are set out in Chapter 7 of the Action Plan...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Availability (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware my Department has recently introduced two targeted schemes to support an additional flow of credit into the economy namely the Microenterprise Loan Fund and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. The Microenterprise Loan Fund will improve access to credit for microenterprises and facilitate the growth and expansion of viable businesses from all industry sectors across...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: In seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland, IDA Ireland’s strategy for the pharmaceutical sector has been to win leading company investment and to diversify the breadth of operations over multiproduct sites including associated services and development of new compounds. This strategy is being successfully implemented with the result that Ireland is now home to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Youth Unemployment (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The rise in youth unemployment as a result of the global economic downturn is a challenge for most EU countries. The EU average was 22.1%, with several countries having a higher youth unemployment rate than Ireland. The latest Quarterly National Household Survey, published by the CSO on 19 September, indicates that 66,500 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years were unemployed in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: A Registered Employment Agreement (REA) is a collective agreement made between a trade union and an employer body (or bodies), which has been approved and registered by the Labour Court under the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 2012. REAs involve the agreement of minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment which, once registered with the Labour Court, are legally binding on those...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is a key priority for the Government and is a central objective of the Programme for Government. My role and that of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies in place to support enterprise growth and innovation so that employment can be created and maintained. This Government inherited a situation where over 300,000 jobs had been lost in the three years...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The European Commission’s Competitiveness Report 2012 was published on 19 October last. The report analyses competitiveness across the European Union as a whole and examines the related challenges and opportunities faced by European enterprises. The focus of the 2012 report is on the potential for Europe to benefit from the globalisation of trade. It points out that many of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 99, 100, 102 and 104 together. Manufacturing has played a strong role in Ireland’s economic development and growth. It is a key driver of innovation and technological advance, is an important source of jobs for people at all skills levels and generates many additional secondary jobs. Manufacturing is a key priority of enterprise policy comprising 64% of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Losses (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on the jobs created and lost in the companies supported by the enterprise development agencies. Details of the number of jobs lost in client companies of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in the 5 year period 2007 to 2011 are set out in the following tabular statement. As figures are compiled on an annualised basis, figures in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Upward Only Rent Reviews (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: As I informed the Deputy in response to a previous question on 2nd October 2012 PQ (Ref. 42061/12), there is no specific data available on the extent to which upward only rent reviews have been a factor causing job losses. While I am aware that upward only rent reviews are putting pressure on some enterprises in the commercial and retail sectors at the present time, there are other factors...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: Companies compete for business in all markets, domestic and overseas, primarily on the basis of their product or service offering. Issues that influence a company’s ability to compete successfully and win business include price, quality, innovative nature of the offering and customer service. Competitiveness in the broad business environment is determined by a variety of factors,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: There are already a number of schemes in place to reduce the cost to employers who take on new employees from the Live Register, including the Employer’s PRSI Exemption Scheme and Revenue’s Job Assist scheme. The Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme exempts employers from liability to pay their share of PRSI for eligible employees for a period of up to 18 months. Revenue...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Aid (27 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: The process of Member States agreeing the 2014-2021 Regional Aid Guidelines is under way and initial multilateral discussions between Member States and the Commission, which has responsibility for the Regional Aid Guidelines, have taken place. The Commission is scheduled to forward proposals to Member States in December 2012, documenting the structure and provisions that will form the basis...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies (27 Nov 2012)

Richard Bruton: Using population breakdown by county and region as a measure of industrial activity is not an appropriate method of presenting spend by the Enterprise Development Agencies. While Enterprise Ireland can break down data on a county basis (see Table 1), the Industrial Development Agency only collect data on a regional basis (see Tables 2 and 3). With regard to Enterprise Ireland the table...