Results 10,001-10,020 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Social Insurance Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I have not had any discussions regarding making mandatory PRSI contributions for the self-employed at the joint employee and employer rate. There is a recent ECJ decision that will have implications for the technical detail of how Ireland categorises owner-directors as self-employed for PRSI purposes.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Illegal Moneylenders (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Moneylending is regulated by the provisions of Part VIII of the Consumer Credit Act 1995, which includes specific prohibitions on engaging in the business of moneylending without holding the required licence granted for that purpose. The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 designated responsibility for the provisions of Part VIII of the 1995 Act, including...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition Authority Staff (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: On foot of a review of resources in the Competition Authority in 2012 I approved an additional ten posts in the Authority for enforcement purposes. To date 8 of these positions have been filled by a combination of redeployment, staff returning from career break and open recruitment and I expect the final 2 posts to be filled in the coming weeks.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Availability (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: My Department has introduced two targeted initiatives to support an additional flow of credit into the economy by filling gaps where specific market failures exist and are not directly involved in the export market - the Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) and the Microenterprise Loan Fund. The CGS has been live since 24 October 2012 and is intended to address market failure affecting...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: In a small open economy such as Ireland, exports sustain and create jobs. Enterprise Ireland's (EI) objective is to grow jobs in Irish companies by increasing their trade in overseas markets, which in turn will support existing jobs and job creation here. EI works in partnership with Irish enterprises, providing a cohesive set of supports to help them win export sales on global markets. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Numbers (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: My Department compiles data on employment in companies supported by the enterprise development agencies: Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Shannon Development and the County and City Enterprise Boards. Table 1 below sets out the overall figures for full-time jobs created and lost in client companies of the agencies in 2011 and 2012. Overall, the agency-supported companies created 16,652 net...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Both I myself, and IDA Ireland, fully recognise the seriousness of the situation as announced in March last, that this company intends to cease operations at its facility in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow, which will result in all 280 positions at that site being lost. Layoffs will start around the end of 2014 and the facility will close in 2015. Some production will transfer to other Merck...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Costs (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The recently published Forfás report "Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2012" indicates that business costs have reduced significantly in recent years with overall price levels in the economy falling back to levels last experienced in 2002. The improvement in business cost competitiveness has been driven by dramatic reductions in property related costs (in terms of purchase and rent...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Emigration Data (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I am aware of the “Time to Go” report which Marian Harkin, MEP, launched on behalf of the National Youth Council earlier this month. This is a very useful piece of independent qualitative research on the phenomenon of emigration in Ireland today. The recommendations in the Report are, however, outside the direct remit of my Department. At a macro level the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The “Succeed in Ireland” initiative is managed by Connect Ireland under a contract with IDA. The initiative provides for the payment of a “finder’s fee” to anybody who acted as an “introducer” to a foreign company which subsequently established an internationally traded service in Ireland. The reward scheme provides that IDA will pay up to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: In the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has set a target of having 100,000 more people at work by 2016. When we launched the first Action Plan in February 2012, I said that the transformation required by our economy would not come through one big bang solution, but through deliberate and determined action across all areas of Government and the private sector. One year into the Action...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Funding (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: LOFAR is a €150m network of radio telescopes that is currently being deployed across northern Europe. The project is predominantly in the field of astrophysics and it will enable scientists to study the early universe, discover new planets and monitor the Sun’s affect on the Earth. LOFAR is expected to give new views of the Universe and inspire young scientists and engineers....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Disability Act Employment Targets (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 sets out the following obligations on Government Departments and public service bodies with regard to the employment of people with disabilities. - Public bodies must, insofar as practicable, take all reasonable measures to promote and support their employment of people with disabilities. - Public bodies shall ensure, unless there are good reasons for not...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136, 137, 142 and 143 together. Following an initiative which I undertook last year, in the context of the Action Plan for Jobs, where I asked Forfás to undertake a detailed strategy for the Manufacturing Strategy in Ireland up to 2020, I was delighted to have had the opportunity last month to launch that finalised strategy, which sets out a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Numbers (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The net number of new jobs created in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and total employment in their client companies for each year since 2009 is set out in Tables 1 to 3 accompanying this reply. 2012 was a particularly good year for job creation in Agency-supported companies, with IDA client companies creating a total of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 141 together. The development of appropriate policy responses to support the retention of existing jobs and creation of new jobs is dependent on robust analysis and consultation with key stakeholders, including business representative bodies. This is undertaken on an on-going basis by Government, the State Agencies and other independent bodies. In...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The importance of investment in science, technology and innovation to Ireland’s on-going and future economic development has been well recognised by the Government. Innovation is an integral part of the Government’s overall economic policy and a key pillar in our 2013 Action Plan for Jobs is ‘using research and innovation to drive job creation’. Supporting...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Numbers (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The type of data outlined in the Deputy's question is not collated by any Government Department or Agency. However, there are a range of measures in place which aim to match available skills with employment opportunities. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN), which reports jointly to me and to the Minister for Education and Skills, publishes an annual Skills Bulletin which...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Ireland is already rated highly internationally as one of the best countries in the world in which to do business, and we have built a strong competitive basis on which to compete on global markets. For example, Ireland has moved up four places to 20th place in the IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook 2012 and is also ranked 15th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 Report. There...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: County and City Enterprise Boards Funding (23 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: An Exchequer allocation is provided each year under the Estimates process for the funding of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and comprises of both a Current and a Capital element. The allocation of funding to individual CEBs is conducted each year by the Central Coordination Unit (CCU) within Enterprise Ireland. The Current funding allocations are made in respect of the estimated...