Results 10,701-10,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The structures are as good as can be designed. FÁS training is being integrated with the VECs and we will have a good capacity to deliver training. The issue is to make sure that delivery is to a standard and meets the needs of employers. The challenge for SOLAS is to build those quality interventions that move people into the areas of opportunity. The Senator is right is pointing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: That will emerge from the EU?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I would say it will be across the areas that they recommended previously. It would include active labour market policy, which is very much the area in which the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, is actively involved, which covers the matters we have been discussing, those of education, training and traineeships. I doubt that wage setting mechanisms will be an issue for us as we have reformed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Progress on EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: In trade negotiations the European Commission represents the member states but it works on a mandate provided by the member states. In June the Council of Ministers gave the Commission a mandate to start the negotiations on an EU-US trade agreement. The US is Europe's biggest trading partner. The EU-US corridor represents two thirds of all global trade. It is a significant area of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Progress on EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: As they say in the jargon, there are offensive and defensive interests. The defensive interest for us would tend to be agriculture, beef in particular, as was the case in the agreement with Canada in terms of lifting barriers or quotas and allowing in an increased quantity of product. It cuts both ways. In the Canadian agreement it was agreed to allow in 50,000 tonnes of beef carcases, 30%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Progress on EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Different approaches are adopted in Europe and the US to intellectual property rights. It would be an issue of contention. The EU itself is looking at its intellectual property rights framework. Many feel it is not sufficiently modernised to allow business exploit opportunities but at the same time I do not think there would be many in Europe which go to the extent of the US system which...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, responsibility for the illness benefit scheme rests with the Minister for Social Protection. The benefit is paid to employees who are unable to work due to illness and who meet certain qualifying conditions. Changes to the illness benefit scheme announced in budget 2014 mean that the number of days that a person must wait before receiving illness benefit from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The reality is that small businesses have been well protected by this Government. We were the first Government to appoint a Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, with specific responsibility for small business. We have taken a very vigorous approach in seeking to increase access to finance and introducing many tax measures that have been specifically targeted at small business, including...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is wrong about this. The increase from three to six days in this measure is an increase that affects the worker who has to wait six days before he or she can assess social protection benefit. The vast majority of small businesses do not have sick pay schemes of the sort that some larger employers provide.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Therefore, they will not be affected at all by this scheme, and that should be pointed out. This is not a measure directed in any way at small businesses. It is unfortunate that we have had to reduce sick cover for workers in the way that it has occurred but, against a background of a very difficult economic situation and a need to balance to balance our public books, this is a measure that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation Funding (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The total value of grants paid by agencies of my Department in the years 2011 to 2013 is €641 million. This comprises €268 million by IDA Ireland, €313 million by Enterprise Ireland, €42 million by the county enterprise boards, and €18 million by InterTradeIreland. The total gross number of jobs created in those years assisted by the IDA and EI comes to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation Funding (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I thank Deputy Ross for acknowledging the progress made on the employment front. It is always difficult to discern cause and effect but there is no doubt that the IDA, for example, is deemed internationally to be one of the most effective agencies at delivering employment opportunities in a very competitive environment for foreign direct investment. Equally, following the collapse the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation Funding (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The size of the boards are set out in statute. One would have to go back to read the wisdom of the Oireachtas originally.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation Funding (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I did not promise to change the statutes and to introduce 12 new Bills to try to change boards without any analysis of the merit of such a case. The Deputy is putting forward the case that we should reduce the size of the boards but he has not offered any coherent argument.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation Funding (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I am willing to listen to argument. Let us take the case of the IDA board. It includes such people as Lionel Alexander of Hewlett-Packard (Manufacturing) Limited, Liam O’Mahony of CRH plc., Paul Duffy of Pfizer and so on. Many of them have waived their fees for participation on the board. They are people of considerable quality in sectors we need to bring to bear in the work of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Development Capital Scheme (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The establishment of the development capital scheme is an innovative initiative under the Action Plan for Jobs and has the objective of increasing the availability of risk capital and closing the ‘equity gap’ experienced by SMEs seeking risk capital in the region of €2 million to €12 million. That has been identified by Enterprise Ireland as an obstacle to Irish...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Development Capital Scheme (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: To reassure the Deputy, the MML fund is fully subscribed. The fund has a total of €125 million. Two managers have been appointed in this country who are now in a position to enter into agreements with companies who have ambitious growth plans. The need for such investment has been identified by Enterprise Ireland. Companies that are not in the gazelle league favoured by venture...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Development Capital Scheme (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Enterprise Ireland has a mandate that is focused on export oriented companies. The skill we bring in for these companies, for example, is in people who have the capacity to enter new markets. The scheme is aimed predominantly at export oriented companies. We have large numbers of companies with great growth capacity and these are well spread throughout the regions, in the areas of food,...

Other Questions: Trade Agreements (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy introduced a new matter that was not in his original question. The mandate given to the European Commission, the negotiator for the EU in the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP, negotiations is a broad-ranging one. It builds on the outcome of the work of the EU-US high level group that recommended that negotiations on a comprehensive trade and investment...

Other Questions: Trade Agreements (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Agreements of this nature have to come back for ratification. The European Commission is mandated to negotiate on behalf of the governments but the deal must be agreed in the end by the governments. We have a common market in the EU so if we are negotiating rules with other markets it is appropriate that the Commission would conduct the negotiation. If legally binding agreements are put in...