Results 14,701-14,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Statements (21 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: There are some restricted documents. The EU is sharing all its proposals openly. The US will not release all of its negotiating position because there are some details on the quotas that might be exchanged that will be an issue for the very end. There is horse-trading at the end of any deal and people will not show their bottom lines at the start. Some things will not be revealed. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Exports Data (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: In the period 2011-2015, Free Trade Agreements were concluded by the EU covering a wide range of goods and services, including those with Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Ukraine.As regards agriculture specifically, the following table shows the markets that have been opened up to Irish agricultural exports in the period 2011-2015. Year Country Product 2011 Turkey...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement will be the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment deal, and a successful pact is expected to benefit Ireland more than any other EU Member State. It is very important to Ireland as it will build on our already rewarding economic relationship with the US and create new opportunities to stimulate growth, create...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Investigations (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: In 1999, my Department was advised by ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises of Ireland Association, that irregularities in the use of funds allocated from the European Social Fund (ESF) had been notified to the Garda Fraud Squad. A file was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who decided that there were no grounds for action. In accordance with rules relating to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: Health and safety is crucial in the workplace, and there is a range of legislation underpinning the requirements to keep people safe. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the national statutory body with responsibility for ensuring that approximately 1.8 million workers (employed and self-employed) and those affected by work activity are protected from work related injury and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Third Level Expenditure (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) was launched in 1998, with five cycles of expenditure to date. The PRTLI supports the provision of top-class research infrastructure (buildings, laboratories and cutting edge equipment) as well as human capital development, through Structured PhD/Emergent Technology programmes across Ireland’s Higher Education Institutes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Community Enterprise Centres (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by Enterprise Ireland that submissions made under the competitive Community Enterprise Initiative Scheme are currently subject to assessment as to eligibility, identification of eligible expenditure in line with aid and scheme guidelines and a competitive evaluation process.I am also informed that it is targeted that details of successful applications will be announced in the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are now the ‘first-stop-shop’ State support service for micro and small businesses in each local area. The LEOs provide advice and direction, covering all government supports and requirements, to anyone who wishes to start or expand a business. They can also provide funding for projects that meet certain criteria, generally with regard to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Consumer Protection (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The circumstances in which the consumer returned the goods to the retailer in this case are not clear from the details supplied by the Deputy. If the consumer had the right to reject the goods and repudiate the contract under the provisions of sections 12 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 on the quality and other conditions with which goods must comply, he or she is entitled to a refund of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Public Service Reform Plan Measures (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: In my Department, there have been no instances of where proposals to alter the roll-out of public services were delayed, postponed or abandoned as a result of non-cooperation by trade union representatives.The agencies of my Department are operationally independent and I have asked them to respond to directly to the deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the committee for facilitating us in taking this issue. This was essentially an inadvertent omission from the Companies Act, which, as the committee knows, is quite a tome. Basically, section 1120, which is being amended here, provided for the application of provisions that were set out in Part 1 of the Bill - sections 310 to 313 - that applied to private limited companies. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: This statement will contain the full particulars of all transactions with connected persons. There is a provision that the statutory auditors of the company have a duty to examine the statement and to make a report to the members on that statement. A final safeguard in section 313 is that these are the provisions in respect of company law but, of course, most of the oversight of credit...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: It was a genuine oversight. I do not know at what point this issue was raised specifically. This was an inadvertent oversight in an Act that runs to 2,500 sections. On the issue of tactical insolvencies, the Companies Act 2014 sets out, in section 599, additional protections for workers and creditors in situations of the type we have described. We have yet to see the impact of those....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Retirements (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: As a Government Department, the scope for retention beyond normal retiring age for staff of my Department is regulated by Department of Finance Circular 13/1975 which permits retention on certain limited grounds. These typically relate to grounds of hardship or public interest. In my Department, there have been no instances in recent years of cases being referred to third parties regarding...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The liquidation of OCS Operations Limited is currently in the hands of liquidators under the supervision of the High Court. The liquidators of OCS Operations Limited have confirmed that they have submitted a report to the ODCE in accordance with their statutory duties. The Director of Corporate Enforcement is independent in the exercise of his statutory functions. On 14 January 2016,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-hour Contracts (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Statement of Government Priorities, July 2014 committed to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero hour contracts among Irish employers and their impact on employees and make policy recommendations to Government on foot of this. The University of Limerick was appointed in February 2015, following a competitive tendering process, to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together. While there are no formal protocols in place with the agencies, my office is informed on a regular basis of pending job announcements related to agency client companies. All press releases that contain Ministerial quotes require clearance from my office.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the OECD has acknowledged, job creation “can be stimulated through a stable macro-economic framework” and also “structural policies which encourage innovation, skills and business development” (OECD, 2014). While this Government has always acknowledged that it is businesses, not Government, that create jobs, we understand that every Government Department has a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The issue of a company’s domicile for tax reasons does not come within the remit of my Department. It would therefore not be possible for me to make any specific arrangements with Microsoft and I obviously have not done so. The IDA’s engagement with this company does not include a condition that they utilise a specific packaging supplier based in Ireland. Moreover, it would...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: IDA Ireland maintains statistics of site visits by potential investors on a county-by-county basis only. From 2011 to 2015 there were a total of 94 visits – as set out in the attached table – by potential investors to Counties Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan. As Enterprise Ireland’s core focus is supporting the internationalisation of indigenous companies, it does not...