Results 19,601-19,620 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Enterprise Support Schemes (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I recognise the points Deputy Smith is making. I can see from my conversations with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in particular that what the Deputy says is absolutely accurate in terms of the challenges facing companies that are dependent on the British market. The UK is a strategically important market for Irish-owned companies. Some sectors such as food, timber, construction and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Enterprise Support Schemes (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I certainly will be doing that. Part of my remit is to make sure there is job growth in the regions. There are particular issues in the areas the Deputy mentioned. I will make a number of points. Clearly, we want to continue to export to the UK but there will have to be some developments and we will have to reposition our offer to some degree. The UK market, however, will remain key....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Enterprise Support Schemes (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy makes the point very well regarding the importance of North-South trade and the great developments we have seen in this area, which have been facilitated by the political changes of recent years. I hope these issues can be resolved in the near future because trade between North and South is significant. As the Deputy noted, changes on one side of the Border impact on the other...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Final decisions have not yet been made on the specific functions of the Department that may transfer. It is important to have close co-operation with the Department of Social Protection because we want people to move seamlessly into employment when opportunities arise. We do not want there to be barriers preventing people from taking up jobs that become available. The Deputy asked about...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The focus must be on addressing the issues of most concern to business in the run-up to Brexit. This includes meeting the challenges presented by our reliance on the United Kingdom in the context of Brexit. It is difficult at this stage because we do not know what will be the final shape of Brexit. However, Brexit has significant implications for trade generally but specifically for firms...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: We can see what is happening with the unemployment rate. Its decrease is positive and is spread across the country. I recognise that there are particular challenges in some areas but, as the recovery continues, we want the decrease to reach further and deeper in every region. The Department of Social Protection's focus on activation plays an important role, as does access to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Departmental Budgets (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Employment is increasing across the country and will impact on all areas. There is also the important work being done under the regional action plans for jobs. The topics raised by the Deputies are for those regional plans and initiatives. Skills assessments and apprenticeship opportunities are being developed across the country. The intergenerational issues that Deputy Niall Collins...

Protection of Employees (Collective Redundancies) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Bill provides a welcome opportunity to discuss the protection of employees in cases where collective redundancies occur due to a company being insolvent. As the Deputy has outlined, the Bill is well-intentioned and is about protecting workers. It is a response to the Duffy-Cahill report on the examination and review of laws on the protection of employee interests when assets are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Given the extent of North-South trade, I am very conscious of the particular challenges faced by companies operating in close proximity to the border, many of which trade freely on both sides of the border. Current trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland is extensive and far-reaching. South to North trade in goods was valued at €1.65 billion in 2016 and North to South trade was...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Military Exports (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I publish an annual report under the Control of Exports Act 2008 which includes information on military exports. The objective of publishing such a report is to provide the public with a continuing enhanced level of transparency about exports of controlled goods and services.  Export controls are of particular importance to my Department in ensuring compliance with the highest...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Reviews (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As was announced previously, my Department will soon be commissioning an independent review of the Succeed-in-Ireland programme. That review, which will be carried out after details of the initiative’s full and final costs are available, will equip us with a thorough understanding of the programme’s results and its contribution to employment generation in the State. This is in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Skills Shortages (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Department of Education and Skills is responsible for education and training provision. This includes ETBs and several Institutes of Technology that are running courses supplying chefs. Failte Ireland has a primary function “To support the training and education and development of persons for the purposes of employment within the Tourism Industry”. Failte Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: International Bodies Membership (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Innovation 2020, the national strategy for research and innovation, recognised that for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, it must be a member of leading International Research Organisations (IROs).  Ireland has long-standing membership of the European Space Agency, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the European Molecular Biology Conference, EUREKA, COST and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Jobs Data (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government’s key instruments to support job creation. Since the first Plan was launched in early 2012, over 225,000 more people are at work. My Department does not gather data but uses the official data published by the CSO. I assume the Deputy is referring to the CSO's Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), the official source of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 2015 provides for a new statutory framework – Sectoral Employment Orders - for establishing minimum rates of remuneration and other terms and conditions of employment for a specified class, type or group of workers.  This is in effect a framework to replace the former sectoral Registered Employment Agreement (REA) system which was...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Initiatives (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Government policy to reduce unemployment is two-fold.  First, through policies set out in the national Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs and second, through Pathways to work to ensure that as many of the new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register. The South East...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Initiatives (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Since the UK referendum, the State agencies under my remit - Enterprise Ireland (EI), the Local Enterprise Offices and Inter Trade Ireland - have been active in supporting companies in assessing and addressing their exposure to Brexit. EI’s current “#Prepare for Brexit” campaign includes a Brexit Scorecard available to all companies to self-assess their preparedness...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Since the UK referendum, the State agencies under my remit - Enterprise Ireland (EI), IDA, the Local Enterprise Offices and Inter Trade Ireland - have been active in supporting companies in assessing and addressing their exposure to Brexit. EI’s current “#Prepare for Brexit” campaign includes a Brexit Scorecard available to all companies to self-assess their...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department and its agencies are fully engaged in supporting companies to prepare for Brexit. Enterprise Ireland’s (EI) #PrepareforBrexit communications campaign featuring the ‘Brexit SME Scorecard’ was launched in March.  The Scorecard is an interactive online platform which can be used by all Irish companies to self-assess their exposure to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (29 Jun 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Ireland is and will continue to be an attractive location for foreign direct investment.   As a small open economy Ireland punches above its weight and attracts significant levels of inward investment. The number of new investments secured by IDA Ireland in 2016 rose by almost 12% against a background of global economic uncertainty, intense competition and a changing global tax...