Results 1,341-1,360 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Departmental Bodies. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy must not read the newspapers. We launched the one step up initiative last week and I allocated the additional funds in last year's Estimates for this year to implement the enterprise strategy group's recommendations immediately. The one step up initiative aims to upskill the workforce. I am totally committed to this plan and have already taken action on it. The changes in...

Departmental Bodies. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Enterprise Ireland's response to this report has been very agile. It was ready and had the blueprint, a strategic vision for the future, and was in a position to launch it, which I did several months ago.

Departmental Bodies. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Yes it will.

Departmental Bodies. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: That will not cause any difficulties in terms of the broad agenda.

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The determination of any payments due to creditors of Irish Fertiliser Industries is a matter solely for the liquidator. The position of unsecured creditors can be determined only by the liquidator when all the assets of the company have been realised and all liabilities established. The liquidator has made considerable progress in realising the assets of the company and establishing the full...

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: About what?

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy's remarks are unacceptable and untenable.

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: No. The Government has not treated workers in an outrageous manner. Through statutory redundancy entitlements and payments from the fund quite substantial sums have been made available by the two shareholders. Employees will have received an average payment of up to €50,000. Whether one agrees with the rate or not, one cannot describe it as outrageous. Equally, one must accept the reality...

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I would love such complex processes involving liquidators to be expedited, but there are key legal issues to be determined. The Government is not the liquidator in this case. For whatever political agenda, people may try to ignore the liquidator, remove him from the process and replace him with the "Government", which they would like to blame for everything. That too is neither tenable nor...

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: We were asked to bring the Deputy up to date regarding the situation of unsecured creditors. I have done that in——

Company Closures. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: ——the reply. We are not the liquidator and do not get involved in the process, to which a range of legal issues relates. The Deputy knows that as well as I do.

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The main purpose of the community employment programme is to provide work experience and training for the long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged groups to enable participants to advance successfully to employment in the open labour market. FÁS also endeavours to ensure that local communities are supported in the delivery of services, particularly in the health, child care and drugs...

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I am somewhat surprised by the question, since the CE scheme is primarily a labour market intervention.

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Yes, and it still should be. I do not agree with the Deputy that we should detract from it.

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: In 2002, the progression to employment for CE participants was 41%, and in 2003 it was 46%. That means almost half of those on CE schemes progressed to full employment, the original and continuing motivation behind the CE programme itself. On the jobs initiative, there has been a progression of approximately 40%. My preference is to transfer the social economy scheme to the Department of...

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I am equally intrigued by the Deputy's proposition. We must be careful that we do not fall between two stools. The community employment programme does valuable——

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: Clearly, community employment helps communities, but its primary purpose is to help the individual through providing a bridge from unemployment to full-time work. That should remain the primary focus. Regarding Deputy Hayes's question on the over-50s and over-55s, we must be careful that we allow enough capacity within the overall programme to absorb new entrants from the unemployment...

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I am loath to intervene in respect of my colleague's formulae and solutions for addressing the needs of rural Ireland as he has ascertained them.

Community Employment Schemes. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has the capacity to generate schemes that meet the needs of rural and remote communities. In creating that Department and appointing Deputy Ó Cuív as Minister, the Taoiseach clearly demonstrated the Government's commitment to rural Ireland. The Minister has been responsible for devising schemes that are tailor-made for rural...

Research Funding. (28 Sep 2005)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 148, 153 and 198 together. The Government is fully conscious of the importance of research and development capacity to our international economic competitiveness and the ongoing well-being of the economy. To this end, significant investment of €2.5 billion has already been committed by this Administration in the context of the current national development...