Results 20,341-20,360 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Consumer Protection (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The rights of purchasers of tickets for the Garth Brooks concerts derive from their contract with the ticket service provider. The terms and conditions governing tickets sold by Ticketmaster provide that, where an event is cancelled and not rescheduled, ticket purchasers are entitled to a refund of the sale price of the ticket, including the relevant service charge. Ticketmaster have issued...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Reports (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: It is anticipated that my Department’s annual report for 2013 will be finalised in the autumn. The report will then be translated into Irish, as required by the Official Languages Act 2003, and will be published in both languages when the Irish translation has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Programme (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, the ongoing programme which I have initiated to reform the State’s employment rights and industrial relations structures is at an advanced stage. This reform programme will result in the establishment of a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure comprising two statutorily independent bodies replacing the current five. We will have a new single body of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banking Sector (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The position in relation to finding a suitable buyer for MBNA's UK loan book remains unchanged. By way of background, the former MBNA Credit Card processing facility in Carrick-on-Shannon now comprises two operations. Firstly, a new operation called AvantCard was established following the purchase of part of Bank of America’s Credit Card portfolio by Apollo Global Management. This...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: A report on the Social Enterprise sector in Ireland was published by Forfas in July 2013. The report, “Social Enterprise in Ireland: Sectoral Opportunities and Policy Issues”, profiles the sector and contains a number of recommendations for actions that could be taken to support the development of Social Enterprise in Ireland. It is clear from the Forfas report that there are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The total public relation costs incurred by my Department and its Offices in 2013, 2014 and estimated in 2014 are as follows:- Year 2013 Expenditure to date in 2014 Total Estimated Expenditure for 2014 Total PR Costs Incurred €79,663* €1,476 €3,321 * €76,480 was incurred to provide the Department with Press and Media Relations Services for the Irish Presidency...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (15 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: SMEs are at the heart of Government policy and since coming into office this Government has maintained an unrelenting focus on alleviating the difficulties being experienced by this sector. Actions to support SMEs are set out in the Action Plan for Jobs. Since the Action Plan process was launched in 2012, a significant number of initiatives have been introduced to support the SME sector....

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: This section arises from the previous role the National Consumer Agency played in financial affairs, and it provides that the new commission will continue to play that role. It is a continuation of a role rather than exploring any new ground.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Perhaps the ruling has changed and I do not want to prejudice proceedings.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I see. We went through a phase and the IFA, for example, has spoken about an ombudsman. In the Competition Authority we have a really seasoned player with many years of battle scars in trying to deal with fair trading and competition. It is the best placed body to deal with this, and especially now that it will have the experience of the consumer agency. As I noted on Second Stage, this...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Maybe I am on the right track. I thank the Senators for the kind remarks. I have enjoyed debating this interesting Bill, which has garnered many views. We are adopting a balanced approach and it will not be a red-tape disaster which many fear. We have tried to confine it and be balanced, and I hope that aspiration will emerge from it.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Most countries have looked at the grocery sector and found that it has problems that are particular to it because of the presence of very substantial retailers relative to pretty small players on the supply side in some cases. We have ensured it will also apply to relatively small retailers which might have supply chain problems with very large distributors. Senator Barrett is right in...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: There are two main issues in these amendments. Irish and EU law recognise simple retention of title clauses of the kind set out in the amendment and the courts have upheld such clauses. However, to take up Senator Quinn's point, it is one thing for the law to uphold certain forms of retention of title clause freely agreed by contracting parties, but another for it to insert a mandatory...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Senators. Senator Darragh O'Brien to a degree has answered the question. The Government proposes to deal with this issue by way of regulation and not by way of a primary provision in the Acts. To answer Senator O'Brien, the Government is developing the regulations in parallel as, obviously, the Department cannot finalise regulations until the final version of the Bill is seen....

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The two issues of introducing a prohibition in respect of compelling of payment in respect of shelf space to the list of prohibited activities that may be included in the regulations, as well as a prohibition on requiring a grocery goods undertaking to obtain any goods or services from a third party from whom the relevant grocery goods undertaking receives payment for this arrangement, were...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Bill already provides for a wide suite of means of sanction for offences related to the grocery goods regulations. Included in the Bill are specific sections relating to civil action by aggrieved parties for damages. For example, section 83, which inserts the new section 63E(3), (4) and (5) into the Act of 2007, provides that an aggrieved party can take action to seek relief through the...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: Section 86, which the Government introduced on Report Stage in Dáil Éireann, provides that where a court has made a final finding in a particular case in respect of breaches of the grocery goods part of the Bill, that finding is res judicatafor the purpose of subsequent proceedings regardless of whether parties to those subsequent proceedings are the same as the parties to the first...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am not aware of any such representations but this debate has a very long history, dating back to previous Ministers and the appointment of John Travers. The lobbying on this issue was carried out by the Irish Farmers Association. A level playing field is provided by the accountancy regulations, which apply everywhere in the European Union. There is not a different set of accountancy...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: This amendment seeks to include a statement in section 63B(1) to the effect that the Minister should include the importance of, and impact on, the economic viability and sustainability of primary producers of decisions made at processing and-or retailing level when considering introducing regulations. On the first element of this proposal, this would introduce the concepts of viability and...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Richard Bruton: These amendments, that call for relevant grocery goods undertakings to disclose the profits of their Irish outlets, refer to a stand-alone provision not related to the regulations that may be made to regulate certain practices in the grocery goods sector. The purpose of this Bill is to regulate the relationship between various parts of the supply chain to ensure there are no abuses and the...