Results 11,321-11,340 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Order of Business (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am afraid the Taoiseach was not good enough to leave me at home to see St. Vincent's win the championship this year, so I too will unfortunately be out of the country when that great contest occurs. However, I certainly wish Castlebar Mitchels well.

Order of Business (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I will stick to the blue and whites, however, and will be supporting St. Vincent's who have earned their opportunity.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 33 together. The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) for the Fourth Quarter of 2013 was published by the Central Statistics Office on 27 February. The Survey showed that 61,000 extra jobs had been created in the economy year-on-year compared to Quarter 4 of 2012. This was the fifth Quarter in succession where employment has grown on an annual...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Guarantee Scheme Application Numbers (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: As of 31 December 2013, the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme had seventy-two live facilities resulting in over €9.7m being sanctioned through the Scheme by the participating lenders resulting in 409 new jobs being created and 236 jobs being maintained. Data is collated on a regional basis, and the following are the year-end totals for relevant regions. The South West region (Cork and Kerry)...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 34 together. The Payment of Wages Act 1991 establishes a range of rights for all employees, one of which is protection against unlawful deductions from wages. Subject to certain conditions set out in that Act, an employer may make a deduction from wages in respect of the cost of goods or services which are necessary to the employment, including, for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Both Enterprise Ireland and the County & City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) are actively providing a range of supports to women in business including financial supports, sponsorship of awards, business events, promoting role models and specialised training and networking programmes. 30 female led businesses received Enterprise Ireland’s (EI) Competitive Feasibility funding in 2013....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pension Provisions (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 37 together. Access to the Industrial Relations machinery of the State is governed by the definition of “worker” in Section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, which provides, inter alia, that a “worker” means any person aged 15 years or more who has entered into or works under a contract with an employer. In...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Since TTIP talks started in July 2013, there have been three Rounds of talks, with a further five scheduled during 2014. The fourth Round started this week. Among the topics covered are Trade in Services, Regulatory Coherence, Customs and Trade Facilitation, Intellectual Property Rights, Sustainable Development, Government Procurement, Market Access, Technical Barriers to Trade among other...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am informed the Agency does not collect data on part-time jobs, but groups all “other” jobs (agency, part-time, temporary, short-term contract or employed on contracts of less than nine months) into one category. 2013 was a record year for investment wins and job creation, with over 7,000 net new jobs being created in the Agency’s client companies- of which 2,136 were...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by IDA Ireland that since 2011, there has been a total of 98 IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Limerick. Details of the number of site visits conducted in each of the years 2011 to date in 2014 are set out on the tabular statement. IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors include visits to multiple locations where there are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Jobs Data (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Ireland’s NUTS-II regions are defined as: - Border, Midland and Western NUTS-II Region and - Southern and Eastern NUTS-II Region The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on the number of jobs gained and lost in the enterprise development agencies. The survey is conducted on an annual basis and aggregated at county level. Details of the number of jobs created, lost and net...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Skills Shortages (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The rapidly evolving technology sector represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Ireland, and it is my intention and the intention of my colleagues in Government to harness to the greatest extent possible developments in this sphere to the benefit of the country. Since the Oireachtas Committee Report was issued in October 2012, a study undertaken for the European Commission in April...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The UK Living Wage Foundation describe the Living Wage as an hourly rate, set independently and updated annually that is calculated according to the basic cost of living and paid by employers on a voluntary basis. The UK rate promulgated is £7.65 per hour. Ireland generally operates a voluntarist system of Industrial Relations where terms and conditions are negotiated freely. This has...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The IDA Ireland Strategy for the period 2010 to 2014, “Horizon 2020”, set an ambitious regional economic development target of 50% of investments in regions outside Dublin and Cork and this has proven to be a challenge. There are many complex factors influencing investor location decision-making such as the increasing preference of investors globally for cities of scale with 1...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am aware that, through a process of negotiations in line with Ireland’s voluntary system of industrial relations, Mandate, the trade union representing retail workers in Ireland, have concluded a number of collective agreements with individual employers in the retail sector providing for wage increases for their members. A return to wage bargaining is visible in certain sectors of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Policy responsibility for the PRSI system is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection and any substantive changes to the PRSI system are generally agreed by the Government as a whole in the context of the Budgetary process. As the Deputy will be aware, the PRSI system operates on a tripartite basis, with contributions being made by employers, employees and the State to the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Grocery Industry Competition (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Competition law prohibits retailers from compelling suppliers to make payments for the advertising or display of grocery goods. Anyone who has evidence of traders engaging in such practices should bring this evidence to the attention of the Competition Authority in order that it can be fully investigated. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to regulate for certain practices in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: In consideration of the need to generate a step-change in the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland, I established an Entrepreneurship Forum, chaired by entrepreneur and investor Sean O’Sullivan in May 2013 to draft appropriate policy conclusions and recommendations aimed at supporting business start-ups, sustainable growth and long term job creation. Membership of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Property Portfolio (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The two agencies under the remit of my Department who hold industrial property portfolios are IDA Ireland and Shannon Development. Details of the land holdings of both agencies are set out in the tabular statement. IDA Ireland also provides property solutions to companies who are clients of Enterprise Ireland. Under legislation both agencies are independent in the exercise of their...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Guarantee Scheme Application Numbers (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) was established under the Credit Guarantee Act 2012, to address specific market failures in lending to SMEs and in response to calls from business interests. It is a novel Scheme in an Irish context and it is currently developing a position in the Irish financial arena. My Department, along with the CGS operator, Capita, and the participating lenders...