Results 13,461-13,480 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Other Questions: Scientific Research (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: What we are doing is impactful and it is proving its impact. It is a competitive call----

Other Questions: Scientific Research (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: We are not putting all our eggs in one basket; €150 million is going into this out of the approximately €725 million that is spent on research. The HEA funds much more than we do and its funds provide the blue-sky freedom to individual researchers to study their own things and do whatever collaborations they wish - indeed those people can collaborate with our centres and data....

Other Questions: Economic Competitiveness (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Government has undertaken significant structural reforms to improve competitiveness. We have reformed wage setting mechanisms, improved access to finance for business and reduced the administrative burdens on business. Our cost base has improved making Irish firms more competitive internationally and Ireland a more attractive location for overseas firms. Improved competitiveness has...

Other Questions: Economic Competitiveness (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: Absolutely all of these factors are crucial. As the Deputy knows, the Government has a construction strategy to address the area of property. After the crash, there have been a number of difficulties in funding new developments. On broadband provision, a call will be issued later in the year to provide for the areas of the country that cannot be reached by commercial operators. The...

Other Questions: Economic Competitiveness (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy knows, IDA Ireland has just produced its strategy for the next five years. It is based on consultation in all of our markets. I participated in some of the meetings. The biggest issue is talent and it is in that respect that every country will stand or fall. There is a worldwide war for talent. Ireland is one of the top countries in terms of the availability of skills....

Other Questions: Economic Competitiveness (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: That is the biggest clarion call. As we develop the ETBs, apprenticeship model and interaction between colleges and enterprise, these will be really important areas of work.

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 came into effect on 31 October 2014, which was the implementation day for the new Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Since its establishment, the commission has been working to develop its first strategy statement for 2015-18, a copy of which I will lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with the Act when it is...

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: I will have to get the staff breakdowns for the Deputy. I do not have the exact numbers. As the Deputy is aware, we expanded the size of the commission and the former director of the National Consumer Agency is now a commissioner. The organisations merged with their existing complements and I would not have expected a huge shift in that since. We are already seeing that having the two...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: Employment has increased nationally by almost 90,000 since the start of the Action Plan process in 2012. All regions have experienced job growth but some regions less than others. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting jobs growth in the region. The Government recently announced details of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative which will seek to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Losses (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: A series of actions are being implemented by local and national bodies to source an alternative employer and find alternative employment for those impacted by the MBNA redundancies, which unfortunately took effect on November 28th last. An inter-agency group, led by Enterprise Ireland, has been formed and its membership includes representatives of all the relevant State players. This...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to help enterprises to create employment in all regions of the country. While employment has increased nationally by over 89,000 since the start of the Action Plan process in 2012, not all regions are yet fully experiencing the benefits of economic recovery. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting jobs growth in the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: As part of our engagement and consultation on matters relating to EU-US trade negotiations my Department has met with stakeholders and in particular representative organisations and sectors of enterprise on questions arising in the negotiations. I am not aware of any total opposition to the negotiations arising in these consultations. Indeed business sectors have been broadly supportive of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Establishment (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The establishment of a Low Pay Commission is one of the key commitments in the Statement of Government Priorities agreed in July last. The General Scheme of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill was approved by Government in January. The General Scheme, together with a Regulatory Impact Assessment, has been published on my Department's website and forwarded to the Joint...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Government's National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship in Ireland was launched in October 2014 and sets out the Government's strategic objectives as a facilitator within the Irish entrepreneurship ecosystem, covering the six key elements that impact on entrepreneurs and startups, and signposts the direction that policy will take in the coming years. This Policy Statement represents...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: Ireland was one of 14 EU member states that co-signed a letter addressed to the EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecelia Malmström, concerning the public consultation on investment protection in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that the EU Commission had undertaken earlier in 2014. In the letter, it was pointed out that the consultation was an important step, that the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Government's Action Plan for Jobs, which is co-ordinated and developed by my Department since 2012, has set out a comprehensive set of measures to support entrepreneurship, SMEs and the self-employed. The themes in this year's Action Plan for Jobs build on the reforms of previous years in the areas of competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship. The objectives and actions set out...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a Free Trade Agreement being negotiated between the European Union and its Member States and the US. It will be an Agreement within the meaning of Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution. Ratification by Ireland will therefore be subject to prior approval of Dáil Éireann. The question of a referendum does not arise.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: Since the formal negotiations between the European Union and the United States on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began in July 2013, eight negotiating rounds have taken place. The 9thround is scheduled to take place in Washington from 20th-24thApril 2015. Reports of previous Rounds, together with background documents, are available on the European Commission's TTIP...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The European Union's initial proposal for legal text on Regulatory Cooperation in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was tabled for discussion with the United States in the negotiating round of 2-6 February 2015. The text, which was made public by the Commission on 10 February 2015, can be found at the following link: The draft contains proposed text establishing a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (26 Mar 2015)

Richard Bruton: The EU's mandate to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) states that services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority as defined by Article I.3 of GATS shall be excluded from these negotiations. Both the EU and the US have repeatedly confirmed that no commitments will be taken on public services. This means that TTIP will have no implications for...