Results 10,501-10,520 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Ross asked for forecasts which we do not provide. I indicated in my reply that we investigated the potential of sectors such as manufacturing, where we have identified potential for creating 20,000 jobs, and we are putting polices in place to realise that potential. In the financial sector, we have developed a five year plan to create up to 10,000 jobs in international financial...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Employment Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: We should consider what happened in the past 12 months. Agriculture, forestry and fishing generated 16,000 jobs, industry generated 7,000 jobs, wholesale and retail generated 3,000 jobs, accommodation and food services generated 10,000 jobs and professional, scientific and technical sectors generated 5,000 jobs. Growth in these sectors is adding significant numbers of jobs. The expert...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IDA Site Visits (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The challenge facing IDA Ireland is to continue winning top quality investment for Ireland in a difficult and competitive global environment. It also seeks to secure a required spread of investment across the regions. Investors usually come with quite clearly specified requirements and the IDA offers regional locations that meet those requirements in the choices for scheduled visits. It...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IDA Site Visits (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy speaks for many other Deputies who want to see a broader spread of IDA projects. I am mindful of the need to try to address those as best we can. There is considerable pressure on the IDA to do so. An in-depth analysis of our FDI strategy is being undertaken. One of its dimensions will be a consideration of how to achieve a better regional spread. Often, we compete for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: IDA Site Visits (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The truth is, we need to be able to build on regional strengths, whatever they may be. Some companies will come for deep labour market pools. They identify their needs early. Either Ireland delivers on those needs or we lose the projects. This can result in a narrow choice of regional locations. However, this is not the case with other projects. Clearly, we need to develop a better flow...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Liaising with banks in respect of their lending to small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, has been a continuous process involving myself, colleague Ministers and officials. Most recently I met the CEO of one of the pillar banks in June. The Cabinet committee on mortgage arrears and credit availability meets monthly and reviews access to finance for SMEs, including bank lending to SMEs....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: There is a lot in the Deputy's questions. I thank both Opposition parties for their support for the two initiatives - microfinance and the credit loan guarantee. They are new and have not been tried before. We are determined to improve them, and the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, has outlined the position concerning microfinance. There is also a later question about the credit loan...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: When the Deputy says "bail out developers", the truth is that no developer has received any bailout. As the Deputy knows from newspaper reports, developers are being continuously pursued for assets by State agencies. Of course, we have had to keep the banks open. Bank shareholders have been wiped out, but the banks continue, and we need to rebuild solid lending institutions focused on the...

Other Questions: Seed Capital Scheme (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Last May, I announced a new call for expressions of interest under the €175 million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2013-18, which will see the continuation of the Government’s support for innovative Irish SMEs. The scheme is targeting an additional €525 million in funding from the private sector, which will mean a total fund of €700 million available for...

Other Questions: Seed Capital Scheme (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: These programmes, of their nature, take time to evaluate. An evaluation of the scheme that is coming to an end would not be complete at this stage. However, sample indications from 69 companies suggest a total employment of 691 to date. Typically, these companies are export oriented. Total direct employment in companies in 2009 was 9,733. Generally speaking, these are high growth...

Other Questions: Seed Capital Scheme (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I agree that crowd-funding is an interesting area. I am aware of one such initiative in Ireland and recently met with the sponsors of it. It is beginning to have a track record. What I found interesting was that much of the funding came from the local customer base rather than from remote locations. As such, a community of interest was built around a business so that people were not only...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Terms of Reference of the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare provide for the group to “examine and report on issues involved in providing social insurance cover for self-employed persons in order to establish whether or not such cover is technically feasible and financially sustainable”. The Group did not undertake an analysis of the wider social costs and benefits...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Joint Labour Committees Agreements (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: On the 1st of October last, I published the Report of the Labour Court's Review of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 provides that reviews of each JLC be carried out by the Labour Court, as soon as practicable after the commencement of the Act, and at least once every 5 years thereafter. The review assisted the Labour Court's...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Job Numbers (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: When approving financial assistance for a company, IDA Ireland enters into a legal and binding contract with the company involved. The contract, which is confidential between IDA Ireland and the company, includes conditions and milestones with which the company is required to comply before any financial assistance is paid. All IDA clients enter into formal Grant Agreements in full knowledge...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Growth Initiatives (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the South East Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS), launched on the 16th September, is a helpful contribution to identifying possible interventions to assist the South East region economically. It represents a comprehensive detailed assessment of a wide range of factors that can contribute to the overall...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Guarantee Scheme Operations (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) began operations on 24th October 2012. By its nature the Scheme is demand driven. As at 4th October there were 69 live CGS facilities resulting in €9.7m being sanctioned through the Scheme by the participating lenders resulting in 433 new jobs being created and 139 jobs maintained. There are 3 banks participating: Bank of Ireland, AIB and Ulster Bank....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The focus of our Action Plan for Jobs is to promote job growth in the enterprise sectors. This is the most effective way to deal with the emigration and in particular the emigration of those with high skills. As the Deputy knows, data from the CSO has confirmed that the Enterprise sector has created 39,000 additional jobs in the past twelve months. The break down by nationality estimates that...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Driving export growth is central to our economic recovery and is a key focus of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. Enterprise Agency supported companies account for more than 80% of Ireland's total exports. CSO figures show that our strong export performance is continuing. Total exports in 2012 by companies based in Ireland amounted to €182.155bn - an increase of 5.48% over the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Underemployment Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) provides estimates of the number of people who are working on a part-time basis involuntarily, which is also known as part-time underemployment. Under the Eurostat definition applied in the Quarterly National Household Survey an underemployed part-time worker is a person aged 15-74 working part-time who would like to work additional hours and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Initiatives (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Government’s Jobs Initiative of May 2011 was aimed at restoring confidence in the economy, providing opportunities for re-skilling those who had lost their jobs, and assisting people in getting back to work. Key measures in the Jobs Initiative included halving the rate of Employer’s PRSI on earnings up to €356 per week, a reduction in the lower rate of VAT on...