Results 20,241-20,260 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States and the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Peru, is an Agreement within the meaning of Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution. Ratification by Ireland is therefore subject to prior approval of Dáil Éireann. It is my intention to seek the necessary approval of Dáil Éireann before the end of 2014....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Strategy Statements (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 to 425, inclusive, together. I recognise that consultation is an important component of best practice in policy-making. Policy development is an ongoing process and my Department has a range of mechanisms and processes to ensure continuous feedback on the efficiency and effectiveness of our Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) system, all of which...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Exports Controls (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: My Department is responsible for controls on the export of military items from Ireland. Under Irish law, military export licences have to be sought in respect of the goods and technology, and any components thereof, listed in the Annex to the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order, SI.216 of 2012 which reflects the EU Common Military List. The EU Common Military List includes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Arms Trade (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 427 and 428 together. The European Commission is seeking to reverse the declining role of industry in Europe as a mechanism for growth and economic recovery. Increased industrial competitiveness can be a strong driver of growth and employment and is one of the stated objectives of European integration under the Lisbon Treaty. The 2010 European Commission...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Agreements (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: Political agreement on the key elements of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada was announced in October last year, and it is expected that the conclusion of negotiations will be announced at the EU-Canada Summit on 26 September, 2014. The Agreement will cover virtually every aspect of economic activity, and is an extremely important one for Ireland....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Appointments (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: Information relating to the appointments made by me and the Ministers of State at my Department since March 2011 is set out in the following tables. In all cases these appointments were replacements for departing postholders and were not additional posts. Current Ministers’ Offices: Appointments made by Minister Richard Bruton (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) Grade...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: The number of staff of my Department on career break at the time the Haddington Road Agreement came into force was 29. While on Career Break, staff continue to be made aware of redeployment opportunities at the relevant grade. Of the aforementioned 29, 16 are still on career break. In the context of the staffing limits set under the Employment Control Framework (ECF), only three staff...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition Law (17 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Competition (Amendment) Act 2006 prohibits certain practices by grocery goods undertakings (defined as an undertaking that is engaged for gain in the production, supply or distribution of grocery goods). Under the Programme for Government, the Government committed to enact legislation to regulate certain practices in the grocery goods sector. The recently enacted Competition and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am happy to discuss it with the committee if Deputy Tóibín wishes, but I am simply not briefed at the moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the work. Much of what we do is informed by issues raised in the committee. We do not always get them quite as members would like, but if we look back over time, we can see progress in respect of issues that members have raised. We try to ensure we are listening to what is going on and we appreciate the platform to discuss the issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I do not have a briefing note with me. I would be quite happy to appear before the committee and speak about it. Obviously, in all free trade agreements there are very important protections in terms of workers' rights, political rights and so on which are built into the EU approach to all such agreements. I would be happy to appear before the committee which is probably the best place to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: These agreements require a step-up in political rights and they also have protection clauses within them that if certain conditions are not adhered to that certain parts will cease to apply. Generally, our approach would be that free trade agreements are an important way of integrating countries into better standards and rules. Rather than say, let us have no agreement, we would say that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I will get back to the Deputy on that. One concludes trade agreements with countries whose political approaches will not always be the same as our own. One could pick any one of our trading partners and find criticism but the EU has taken care to build requirements into these agreements so that there is a genuine effort to incentivise proper behaviour. The EU is the negotiator and puts...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: We have made a commitment to beef up the Competition Authority. Additional resources, including ten additional posts, have been approved. As the Deputy will be aware, tougher enforcement was required, which meant ensuring the authority was able to take on more cases. Additional resources have been provided. The Competition Authority and National Consumer Agency have been merged. This is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: Ten additional posts have been sanctioned.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: It has the potential to secure savings of €2 million while delivering improvements in service. Many of the processes in this area were based on paper inputs. We have consolidated 30 applications on a single form and most users now avail of a new electronic facility. We have been able to streamline case management and we are moving to earlier mediation and early resolution. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: Yes; it is fairly substantial. The number of cases for hearing in the Employment Appeals Tribunal stood at 5,700 at the end of 2013. The figure has declined significantly, however, having stood at 8,700 at the end of 2011. While a backlog remains, waiting times are falling.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: The increase in administrative costs reflects the integration of Forfás into the Department. This is the first year in which Forfás is showing in the administrative budget of the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: I suggest that can be done by trying to make the regulations as user-friendly as possible. It is clear that many accidents and deaths are occurring on farms, which are largely one-person or two-person operations. The Health and Safety Authority cannot ignore the obligation to observe safety requirements just because the business is small. We have introduced the BeSMART tool to provide an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Review of Vote 32: Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (16 Sep 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Revenue Commissioners have done some work on it. They reviewed the tax credit and with their accountant's eye passed it as a valuable incentive, which bears out what the Minister of State, Deputy English, has just said.