Results 10,601-10,620 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Foreign Direct Investment. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I am glad the Deputy appreciates there is FDI investment in his constituency. He will, therefore, be acutely aware of the implications this decision has for his constituency, not to mention Ireland. On the occasion of the Taoiseach's visit to the US, he mentioned this issue to President Obama. I met Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Geithner and we had a 35-minute discussion on a number of...

Foreign Direct Investment. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I discussed the tax haven issue with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner. Two taxation Bills have been introduced in the US Senate - one contains a list of 34 countries in which Ireland is not included and the other is based on a report prepared for the US Congress and released in December by the US Government Accountability Office, GAO. The GAO's determination is based on figures from the...

Grocery Industry. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The relationships between suppliers and retailers and the contractual agreements entered into by them, as with any other parties entering contracts, is essentially a matter for the contracting parties themselves. Retailers, including the retailer referred to in the Deputy's question, have for some time maintained that the costs of sourcing goods in Ireland is significantly greater than the...

Grocery Industry. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: We have had a great deal of discussion in the House over the past year on the prices consumers have to pay. We continued through the National Consumer Agency, NCA, to conduct comparative analysis, North and South. My view and that of many other Deputies, including Deputy Penrose, was that hedging could not be accepted as a method by which people had shown prices, and that we needed good...

Grocery Industry. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The issue of shelf space is one for individual companies but I appreciate the Deputy's concern. His committee could have a role in the context of both reports that will now be made available - the first on the cost of doing business and the second by the Competition Authority. I would welcome further investigative work by the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which would be...

Consumer Protection. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The relationships between businesses and the contracts entered into by them are essentially matters for agreement between the parties themselves and I have no direct function in the negotiation of such contracts. It is the case, however, that there are specific provisions in competition law which extend to business relationships, including relationships between suppliers and retailers....

Consumer Protection. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Yes.

Consumer Protection. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The reduction of costs, including the cost of doing business, is paramount. Competitiveness continues to be the mantra within my Department.

Consumer Protection. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Work is ongoing on reducing energy and labour costs, as well as reducing the administrative burdens in doing business. We have seen some reductions but we will continue to strive for further reductions in the cost of doing business. I listened to the quip and I cannot resist the temptation to remind Deputy Varadkar that all but five local authorities have Fine Gael-Labour majorities, so it...

Consumer Protection. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I wish to advise the Deputy that the preliminary work has been done and I will continue to bring that matter to a finality. However, I believe in the role of the Oireachtas and, as I have indicated, I take the view that the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment has a valuable role in pursuing these issues further. The outcomes of those deliberations will enhance the discussions that...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: A properly functioning banking sector is an essential element for the maintenance and development of enterprises, especially SMEs. Government focus has been on creating a fit for purpose banking system as is evidenced by the bank guarantee scheme, the recapitalisation scheme, the nationalisation of Anglo Irish and the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency. Substantial...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I am aware that there are concerns and that is why a considerable period of time ago we set up a round table forum. Today, I will announce the establishment of a clearing group that will include the Minister for Finance and I. It will be chaired by my Department and the Department of Finance and will include the Irish Banking Federation, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, National Irish...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Under the temporary framework that was signed off by the European Union, all of those mechanisms are available to Irish industry. For example, loan guarantees are also available in this State-----

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Yes, they are and they have worked, contrary to Deputy Clune's opinion. These mechanisms are available and part of the recapitalisation programme is to ensure that more capital is made available to these companies. I also want to advise the House that the method by which grant aid is provided by Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Shannon Development is a tripartite...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The issue of competitiveness is key to my response to business needs, especially for the SME sector. Ireland has consistently been an economy in which it is easy to do business, and it has seen the growth of a large number of successful new enterprises, many of them SMEs. Ireland is a leader in having the lowest cost for setting up a business and is lightly regulated, which in itself lowers...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: With regard to JLCs and employment regulation orders, EROs, I noted the discussion that took place in the House on the Employment Law Compliance Bill. There was a variety of views and perspectives and I look forward to bringing that legislation to a conclusion. How we will manage that I do not know, but with such a variety of views it will be difficult to anticipate how the final...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: There is an issue with the JLCs in the catering, hotel and tourism sectors. When Deputy Billy Kelleher was in the Department he finalised the amalgamation of two of the JLCs and was dealing with the issue of Sunday working hours. The new Minister of State, Deputy Dara Calleary, is pursuing the issue and will bring it to finality. I will introduce new legislation very soon dealing with the...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I have met the local authority managers and discussed this matter with them. I indicated that businesses are of the view that they must reduce their costs. As a former local authority member as well, I appreciate that financing local government is difficult but rates are a huge issue for businesses and their sustainability. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,...

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The overall issue of tax policy, particularly for financing local authorities, will have to be dealt with once and for all so a final determination can be made. Work to examine how that can be done is ongoing by the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I met with the city managers and I will meet them again shortly. I appreciate their...

Employment Action Plan. (19 May 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I have full confidence that the Government and my Department will continue to do everything in their power to meet and respond effectively to the challenge of rising unemployment. As a result of the global economic crisis, rising unemployment is a problem that is affecting all economies but it is a priority issue for both myself and my Department. As such I have already taken considerable...