Results 21,301-21,320 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Jobs Data (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Ireland’s NUTS-II regions are defined as: - Border, Midland and Western NUTS-II Region and - Southern and Eastern NUTS-II Region The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on the number of jobs gained and lost in the enterprise development agencies. The survey is conducted on an annual basis and aggregated at county level. Details of the number of jobs created, lost and net...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Skills Shortages (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The rapidly evolving technology sector represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Ireland, and it is my intention and the intention of my colleagues in Government to harness to the greatest extent possible developments in this sphere to the benefit of the country. Since the Oireachtas Committee Report was issued in October 2012, a study undertaken for the European Commission in April...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The UK Living Wage Foundation describe the Living Wage as an hourly rate, set independently and updated annually that is calculated according to the basic cost of living and paid by employers on a voluntary basis. The UK rate promulgated is £7.65 per hour. Ireland generally operates a voluntarist system of Industrial Relations where terms and conditions are negotiated freely. This has...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The IDA Ireland Strategy for the period 2010 to 2014, “Horizon 2020”, set an ambitious regional economic development target of 50% of investments in regions outside Dublin and Cork and this has proven to be a challenge. There are many complex factors influencing investor location decision-making such as the increasing preference of investors globally for cities of scale with 1...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I am aware that, through a process of negotiations in line with Ireland’s voluntary system of industrial relations, Mandate, the trade union representing retail workers in Ireland, have concluded a number of collective agreements with individual employers in the retail sector providing for wage increases for their members. A return to wage bargaining is visible in certain sectors of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Policy responsibility for the PRSI system is a matter for the Minister for Social Protection and any substantive changes to the PRSI system are generally agreed by the Government as a whole in the context of the Budgetary process. As the Deputy will be aware, the PRSI system operates on a tripartite basis, with contributions being made by employers, employees and the State to the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Grocery Industry Competition (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Competition law prohibits retailers from compelling suppliers to make payments for the advertising or display of grocery goods. Anyone who has evidence of traders engaging in such practices should bring this evidence to the attention of the Competition Authority in order that it can be fully investigated. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to regulate for certain practices in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: In consideration of the need to generate a step-change in the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland, I established an Entrepreneurship Forum, chaired by entrepreneur and investor Sean O’Sullivan in May 2013 to draft appropriate policy conclusions and recommendations aimed at supporting business start-ups, sustainable growth and long term job creation. Membership of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Property Portfolio (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The two agencies under the remit of my Department who hold industrial property portfolios are IDA Ireland and Shannon Development. Details of the land holdings of both agencies are set out in the tabular statement. IDA Ireland also provides property solutions to companies who are clients of Enterprise Ireland. Under legislation both agencies are independent in the exercise of their...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Guarantee Scheme Application Numbers (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) was established under the Credit Guarantee Act 2012, to address specific market failures in lending to SMEs and in response to calls from business interests. It is a novel Scheme in an Irish context and it is currently developing a position in the Irish financial arena. My Department, along with the CGS operator, Capita, and the participating lenders...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Since the Action Plan for Jobs was introduced in 2012, the Government has implemented over 500 actions to support job creation across all Government Departments and a significant number of State agencies. The 2012 Action Plan for Jobs contained 270 actions and 92% of these were delivered by the end of that year. The 2013 Action Plan contained 333 actions and had a 90% implementation rate....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The Forfás Strategy for the Manufacturing Sector, which I commissioned, and which was published in April last, identified that an additional 20,000 jobs can be created in the sector by 2016. A complementary report on the skills needs for the sector, which I had commissioned at the same time, was published by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and Forfás and it identified a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Missions (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 and 40 together. As part of a wider trade and investment mission to Singapore and Malaysia, I recently led the first-ever joint trade mission of Irish, Northern Ireland and British companies, together with fellow Ministers Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Stephen Hammond, UK Parliamentary Under Secretary...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Missions (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Following on from the recent first-ever joint trade mission to Singapore which I led along with my UK and NI Ministerial colleagues, Enterprise Ireland and its UK and NI equivalent development agencies are engaged in an evaluation of the mission and the benefits to its client companies. This will assist in informing how we might take future efforts forward.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Minimum Wage (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The current Programme for Government contained a commitment to reverse the €1 per hour reduction in the National Minimum Wage introduced by the previous Government on 1 February 2011. The increase was provided for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 and effected by the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 (Section 11) (No. 2) Order 2011 from 1 July 2011. The restoration of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to support enterprises to create employment throughout the whole of the country and in all regions. Regions that support strong and dynamic enterprises are crucial to Ireland’s return to overall economic growth. The 2014 Action Plan for Jobs, which was published at the end of February, includes a commitment to develop a framework for a Regional...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Retention (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 91 together. I understand in the case of Staunton sports that the Examiner is currently in the process of engaging with various parties who have expressed an interest in the business, including the Management Team, and as part of the process has requested proposals from each of the parties as to their plans for the business and the employees of the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Microenterprise Loan Fund Expenditure (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Microfinance Ireland (MFI) was established by the Oireachtas pursuant to the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012, as a private limited company, and a subsidiary of Social Finance Foundation. Under section 5 of this Act I was required to make a grant of €10 million to MFI out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. Section 21 of this Act sets out the provisions in relation to annual...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Portfolio (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: Details of the land holdings of IDA Ireland outside of the gateway cities and hub towns are set out in the attached tabular statement. IDA Ireland also provides property solutions to companies who are clients of Enterprise Ireland. Under the Industrial Development legislation, IDA Ireland is independent in the exercise of its property function. The empirical results of international...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (13 Mar 2014)

Richard Bruton: I have undertaken a significant number of foreign direct investment missions with IDA Ireland, export-focussed trade missions with Enterprise Ireland and joint trade and investment missions with both agencies since taking office in March 2011. The foreign direct investment missions arranged by IDA Ireland typically involve meeting with Chairpersons, CEOs and other senior executives of...