Results 1,741-1,760 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: We are very cognisant of the issues for people in this country. With regard to Brexit, I am happy that my Department's co-ordination group is strong. I wrote to every Deputy in early July pointing out what we have done and are continuing to do as a result of the British referendum result. In regard to the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association, ISME, I have met with ISME, the...

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I am committed to increasing sustainable employment and supporting businesses across all sectors of the economy and in every town and village in the country. A key priority of this Government is to improve the living and working environment of local communities and to increase their potential to support increased economic activity into the...

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I hear what Deputy Boyd Barrett is saying about the progressive rates system, which was reiterated by Deputy Niall Collins. I am glad there are so many Limerick Deputies in the Chamber today. Given the proliferation of large multinational retail chains, we are working on a town centre revival framework, including an action plan for the town centre revival. The action plan for towns is...

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I know the Deputy is aware that the Commissioner of Valuation carried out a review of valuations in our county just recently. The Deputy mentioned Dún Laoghaire. The council has a shop front improvement scheme whereby it pays 50% of the shop front refurbishments costs up to €3,000. In our county, the vacant commercial premises incentive scheme involves the council refunding...

Other Questions: Corporation Tax (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Last April, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive to introduce public country-by-country reporting of corporation tax by large multinational enterprises. Since then, my Department has been considering the detail of the proposal and consulting with stakeholders. The Department also ran an open consultation in the course of last May. The task of assessing the proposal is...

Other Questions: Corporation Tax (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I reject tax avoidance. We cannot do it on our own. If we were to publish the figures the Deputy is referring to, it would allow some companies to gain a possible commercial advantage over others because matters would be deemed to be commercially sensitive. Other jurisdictions might not share the information with us if they knew we were going to publish the reports. It would not help the...

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Development (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I would like to thank the Deputies for raising this Topical Issue. I also thank Deputies Fergus O'Dowd and Peter Fitzpatrick, who have raised it with me also. As they will know from my statement in the Dáil yesterday in response to Deputies Martin and Adams, I have been in touch with the CEO of IDA Ireland to discuss the concerns of both the employees and other stakeholders in the...

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Development (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I absolutely will do that. I have spoken with the CEO of IDA Ireland which is working with eBay to find a suitable premises. My concern is that eBay stays in Ireland so I have asked IDA Ireland to work with the company to facilitate it. The IDA has organised five site visits by foreign companies to County Louth in 2016 and it will continue to do that.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The number of site visits to a particular county is better viewed against the background of the wider progress IDA Ireland is making in generating new jobs across the country. This can be seen in the Agency’s record 2015 results, in which a total of 18,983 jobs were created with employment in IDA Ireland client companies rising to over 187,000. The Agency has also made regional...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Regional Action Plans for Jobs initiative is a concrete example of the targeted approach being undertaken to boost employment in the regions.The core objective of the North East/North West Plan is to have a further 28,000 at work in the region by 2020. We are aiming to ensure the unemployment rate is within the 1% of the State average. Key sectors targeted as part of the Plan include...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I want to emphasise that IDA Ireland is doing its utmost to secure new investments for not just these three counties but across Ireland as a whole. Regional development is a cornerstone of the Agency’s five-year strategy, as is evident from the ambitious target set to increase investment by 30%-40% in each region outside Dublin. National statistics in connection with job creation and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Export Controls (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: All export licence applications are considered by my Department having regard to EU sanctions. There are currently no sanctions in place in relation to Saudi Arabia. The European Parliament resolution cited by the Deputy called for “an initiative aimed at imposing an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia”. No arms embargo has been announced or introduced. If an EU embargo...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The 14th round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations between the EU the US took place from 11–15July, 2016 in Brussels. During this round, negotiators discussed all three pillars of the proposed agreement namely market access for EU and US companies, regulatory cooperation and trade rules. Both sides have now arrived at proposals covering 97% of tariff lines,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The proposed EU-US free trade agreement is one of a number of new style trade agreements the EU is negotiating that not only covers tariffs, services and investment but also includes regulatory coherence and cooperation. An agreement would be the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment deal, and a successful conclusion is expected to benefit Ireland more than any other EU...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Levels (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The unemployment rate for the Border region, which encompasses the North West, has fallen from a peak of 15.6% in Q1 2013 to 8.6% in early 2016 – marginally above the State average of 8.4%. Whilst numbers are decreasing we still have a body of work to do for regional and rural Ireland. The North East/ North West Action Plan for Jobs aims to deliver 28,000 extra jobs to Sligo,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: There are 16 IDA Ireland client companies currently in Westmeath, employing approximately 2,300 people. In 2015, 212 new foreign direct investment (FDI) jobs were created in the county. IDA Ireland actively engages with its existing client base in Westmeath which has, as the above statistics reflect, performed consistently in recent years. A good example of positive investment into the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government's key instruments to support job creation. Since the launch of the first Plan in 2012, 155,000 more people are in employment in all manufacturing and services sectors. The Programme for a Partnership Government sets our ambition to help create 200,000 additional jobs by 2020. 135,000 of these jobs are to be outside Dublin. We also want to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: On 5 July 2016, the Commission published its proposals for signature, conclusion and provisional application of CETA, which are available on the EU Commission’s website (www.trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1524). Given the position taken by Ireland and other Member States, I note that the Commission has now decided to submit CETA to the Council for decision as a mixed...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Export Controls (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I can confirm that my Department did not issue any licences for the export of military list items to Israel in 2015. All export licence applications are considered having regard to EU sanctions. There are currently no sanctions in place in relation to Israel. Should an application for a licence for the export of military list items to Israel be received, it would be considered against the EU...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (20 Jul 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: On 14 July 2016, the EU Commission published its textual proposal on provisions for the climate change aspects of the TTIP trade and sustainable development chapter. The proposal is available on the EU Commissions website (www.trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2016/july/tradoc_154800. pdf). Encouraging green innovation & trade in green technologies are two key areas of the chapter....