Results 13,801-13,820 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Immediately after the announcement by the company concerned, I established an inter-agency group to coordinate the response to the proposed job losses. The group, chaired by Enterprise Ireland, will seek to secure alternative employment for the area affected and ensure that departing workers have access to supports they need from State agencies for retraining, access to social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Measures (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Yesterday I launched for public consultation my Department’s Scheme of a proposed Consumer Rights Bill. Among other provisions, the Scheme provides that contracts for the supply of a gift card or voucher must not include a term that makes the card or voucher subject to an expiry date. While this and other provisions of the Scheme are only proposals at this stage, I am conscious of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Biotechnology Industry (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: The indigenous Life sciences sector now has revenues in excess of €1bn, exports of €780m and employs over 6,000 people. Over the last six years, employment has grown by 42% with exports growing by 63% - an impressive performance given the economic climate over the period. The indigenous biotech sub-sector itself employs approximately 100 people with exports of €5m. While...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Construction Contracts (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Government is committed to the earliest possible implementation of the Construction Contracts Act, 2013 and, as a consequence, approved the delegation of responsibility for its implementation to my colleague Mr. Gerald Nash T.D., the Minister of State for Business and Employment. Minister Nash announced on the 12th May 2015 that he intends to appoint Dr. Nael G. Bunni as the Chairperson...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 354 and 356 together. I am informed by IDA Ireland that since 2011 there have been 28 IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors to County Sligo. Details of the number of these visits are set out in the attached tabular statement. As Enterprise Ireland’s core focus is supporting the internationalisation of indigenous companies the Agency...

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

Richard Bruton: Any job losses are very regrettable and our Development Agencies ensure that in such cases replacement projects are pursued vigorously. Despite some specific company losses in the Sligo area in the recent past, the overall unemployment trend in the region has improved significantly over the last few years. The unemployment rate for the Border Region peaked at 17.7% by Q3 2012, although...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Construction Sector Strategy (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Securing employment opportunities for those with appropriate skills is a key priority of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, including for those interested in career in the construction sector. In May 2014 the Government published ‘Construction 2020 – a Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector’ to help deliver a competitive, innovative, dynamic, safe and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Microfinance Ireland (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: As of 15 May 2015 Microfinance Ireland (MFI) has approved 565 applications to the value of €8.6m supporting 1,246 jobs. All the figures that the Deputy has requested are available in the quarterly and yearly progress reports which are published on my Department’s website www.enterprise.gov.ie. The progress report detailing the analysis and performance up to the quarterly period...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 359 and 360 together. The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to help enterprises to create employment in all regions of the country. While over 100,000 extra jobs have been created 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...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by IDA Ireland that information in relation to site sponsored visits by potential investors is provided on a county by county basis only and during 2012, 2013 and 2014 there were a total of 581 such visits to Dublin, city and county. For reasons of commercial sensitivity and client confidentiality IDA Ireland does not release details of individual locations visited or comment...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Recruitment (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Recruitment to my Department is undertaken principally by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) through competitions advertised publicly. In accordance with the moratorium on public sector recruitment, there were no new civil servants appointed to my Department in 2014. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in my Department at the end of 2014 was 798, which was significantly below...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Redeployment (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Details of the number of staff of my Department on secondment abroad or to another Department as of December 2014 are as set out in tabular format below. These secondments were in line with the business needs of the Department and the wider Civil Service and also serve to provide a range of broader developmental interests for the staff concerned. In relation to the Agencies under the aegis...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Retirements (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: Information relating to retirement of civil servants in all Government Departments, including my own, is being provided by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The numbers of public servants in the Agencies under the aegis of my Department who retired in 2014 are listed in tabular form below. Agency No of Retirements in 2014 Forfas (prior to dissolution) 1 IDA 14 Enterprise...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: I thank the committee. I would like to introduce Mr. Stephen Curran, an official in the Department who deals with this area and with international investment. I welcome the opportunity to speak to the committee. As members may know, I meet twice yearly, in the North-South Ministerial Council, with the Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment, who up to now was Ms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: God protect us from those fellows. I do not agree that there is a policy fault line. Looking at the hard numbers from our perspective, the IDA's performance in the Border region has resulted in an increase in employment of 21% in the past four years. That is a strong performance by any standard. There has been a 9% growth in terms of Enterprise Ireland's performance. More than 600...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: I disagree with the Deputy's suggestion that InterTradeIreland is not a dynamic body.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy stated that we were not in a dynamic space, but I believe we are in a dynamic space. InterTradeIreland exceeded its employment target by 50% in 2014.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: We are trying, through the activity of this body, to have an economic impact. As I stated, it exceeded its employment target by 50% last year and is well past the halfway mark for its three-year target. As such, it is having an impact. The areas of activity to which the Deputy referred could not be more relevant. For example, InterTradeIreland is helping small companies to start their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: First, I cannot remember in recent years Meath beating its target by 50% in any given year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: All-Island Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is turning a blind eye to what is happening. There is genuine good performance and people are making solid impacts. I do not have access to the collaboration of local enterprise bodies but the existing INTERREG bid had joint applications and that is the sort of process we encourage. In our latest regional call I will encourage collaboration because anything that can tap into a...