Results 13,121-13,140 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Law (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: Audit exemption applies to small companies formed under the Companies Acts. Member States' entitlement to provide for audit exemption for small companies derives from EU legislation prescribing the maximum thresholds capable of being employed by Member States to determine small company size. These thresholds relate to net turnover and balance sheet total and number of employees.Under the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Community Enterprise Centres (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I understand from Enterprise Ireland that since the launch of the first Community Enterprise Centre scheme in 1989, Enterprise Ireland has approved €64 million for the development of Community Enterprise Centres in towns and villages across the country. There are currently 117 such centres across the country. The last scheme rolled out was in 2012 and 2013 when Enterprise Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Portfolio (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: IDA Ireland owns a total of 70.45 hectares of land in County Louth which have the potential for use for inward investment purposes. The locations of these sites are set out in the tabular statement. The site in Mullagharlin has advanced planning for a bio pharma campus. The availability of an adequate supply of marketable, serviced land and office and industrial / technology buildings in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Public Procurement Contracts Social Clauses (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: Policy responsibility for public procurement is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, T.D. The Office of Government Procurement falls under Minister Howlin’s remit. Last year, Minister Howlin announced the establishment of a Project Group to identify suitable policy priorities to be addressed through the insertion of social clauses in public...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: Three years ago the Government set a target of having an extra 100,000 people back at work by 2016. That target will now be delivered upon during 2015, over 12 months early. The live register has fallen for 38 months in a row since the crisis peak of 15.1% three years ago to 10.5% today. The latest Quarterly National Household Survey figures show that, for the year to end Q3 2014, the numbers...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Initiatives (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: ‘The Startup Gathering’ is a new initiative which will be led by the not-for-profit organisation Startup Ireland as a key building block towards making Ireland a global startup hub by 2020.It builds on the success of initiatives such as ‘The Gathering’ and ‘The Wild Atlantic Way’ in a sustainable, regionally balanced way. To help make Ireland the best...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs, which was published on 29th January, includes a commitment to develop and publish a suite of Regional Enterprise Strategies to support enterprise growth and job creation in every region of the country. These Strategies will contain a series of specific actions to be delivered by a range of public bodies and local stakeholders, including Enterprise Ireland, IDA...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Retention (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I understand from a public statement issued by the company concerned, on Thursday 5 February 2015, that they have recently been awarded a major new contract with one of the world’s largest Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). This business has been secured after a 9 month engagement, despite strong competition from a highly competitive international market. The recently secured...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Local Enterprise Offices (10 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are the first-stop-shop front line service assisting in delivering business growth and jobs for the micro-enterprise sector. They pull together all the players – other Government Departments and Agencies – to support everyone with a good business idea and strengthen the enterprise sector in the local area. The LEOs are the first port of call...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Supports (11 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by IDA Ireland that it is actively seeking an investment for the new building in Athlone and is confident of a positive outcome. As property is one of the key considerations for clients when choosing a location, the availability of suitable premises in Athlone will provide an additional positive element in the Midlands. IDA Ireland promotes Westmeath as part of its Midlands...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Community Enterprise Centres (11 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I understand from Enterprise Ireland that since the launch of the first Community Enterprise Centre scheme in 1989, Enterprise Ireland has approved €64 million for the development of Community Enterprise Centres in towns and villages across the country. There are currently 117 such centres across the country. The last scheme rolled out was in 2012 and 2013 when Enterprise Ireland...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Credit Availability (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: Finance for growth of business is of enormous importance, and a chapter has been devoted to it in Action Plan for Jobs 2015. Irish small and medium enterprises, SMEs, traditionally have had a very high reliance on banks and bank debt. This has been a particular problem in the face of the radical restructuring in our banks and the constraints that has put on lending. Government strategy has...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Credit Availability (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: It is precisely as the Deputy outlines. The idea is that the terms of the credit guarantee scheme, which provides a guarantee of up to 75% on the tranche of the loan covered by the guarantee, will change to 80% in the new revision. This will allow the guarantee to be used as an instrument to support businesses in cases in which their bank is exiting. It is to deal with this sort of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Credit Availability (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: There is no question of the Government sleepwalking. Every year we introduce a new initiative. This year the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland will provide new access to €800 million of credit for SMEs. We have extended the mandate of the Credit Review Office every year, so it now deals with loans of up to €3 million. Reviewing a guarantee is complex legislation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I assure the Deputy that every county, including Tipperary, is included in our regional strategy. No one is excluded. The annual employment survey shows that 68 jobs were created and 77 were lost among IDA client companies in Tipperary in 2012. In 2013, 202 jobs were created while 521 were lost, and in 2014, 64 jobs were created while 62 were lost. In the same three-year period, there...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I point out to the Deputy that the IDA employment is about 5% of total employment in Tipperary. A total of 95% of enterprise and employment is outside that sector. The Deputy's sole focus on foreign investment undersells the huge amount of enterprise in Tipperary and the south east. Employment levels in the south east have grown by 18,000 in the past two and a half years. There is a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Creation (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: I think the Deputy is talking nonsense. One fifth of the money we presented yesterday is going to a number of advance facilities in the six regions outside the Dublin area. In each region, 80% of the revenue will be available for other solutions in which every county and region can participate. However, the Deputy insists on taking a very narrow view of where employment growth will come...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: The purpose of the negotiations on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP, is to reduce barriers to trade and investment in order to generate jobs and growth. Based on European Commission estimates, an ambitious TTIP could generate 400,000 jobs. The gains for Ireland could be double this in proportionate terms, approximately 8,000 additional jobs, because of the significant...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: The idea of low-grade or genetically modified beef coming into Europe has been explicitly excluded in the mandate. That is not an eventuality that the EU would countenance. In respect of wages and employment conditions, the Department has commissioned some research into this which indicates there would be benefits through improvements in wages, employment, exports and growth. The balance...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (12 Feb 2015)

Richard Bruton: As Deputy Mick Wallace has a later question on this very topic, I do not want to encroach on it now. Suffice to say, these have been very open negotiations. There are briefings after every session and the information is available on the public record to Members of the European Parliament. I have engaged in several consultations with the relevant committees. I am happy to appear before any...