Results 21,861-21,880 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: On 4 November 2013 I announced the establishment of a new fund of €125 million which will be managed by MML Growth Capital Partners Ireland. This Fund was the first announcement under the Development Capital Scheme. The establishment of the Development Capital Scheme is a critical action under the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs and has the objective of increasing the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Data (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The manufacturing sector in Ireland suffered significant job losses in the period 2003 to 2010. Accordingly, I requested Forfás to undertake a study of the sector. The resultant Strategy - Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020 sets out the actions needed to address various issues, building on the steps already taken by this Government to improve our international competitiveness....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Protection (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Both Covidien and Alkermes are still in the process of implementing redundancy programmes at their facilities in Athlone. While 100 redundancies, to be implemented over a two year period, were announced at their facility in September 2011, Covidien Athlone remains an important part of the Covidien Group in Ireland, with over 600 employees, including a Research and Development group that is...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I am required by Section 22 of the Microenterprise Loan Fund Act 2012 to commence a review of the operation of this Act not later than 2 years after the date of its passing (July 2014). Notwithstanding this, the Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme has been kept under constant review by the Executive and Board of Microfinance Ireland, and by my Department, and it improved throughout its first...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Forfas’ Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020 Strategy sets out the actions needed to address various issues affecting the development and competitiveness of the Manufacturing sector in Ireland. Key actions are proposed across a wide range of areas. The Forfas Strategy sets a target to create an additional 20,000 jobs in the sector by 2016. The most up to date figures available...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Retention (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The process regarding the sale of Bank of America’s (BOA’s) UK credit card businesses remains on-going. 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 BOA’s Credit Card portfolio by Apollo. This operation employs approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001), so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. With this in mind, in late 2012 I wrote to relevant stakeholders inviting their observations on the matter....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Government’s Action Plan for Jobs has set the objective of supporting the creation of 100,000 extra jobs in the economy over the period 2012 to 2016 through a series of annual measures aimed at improving Ireland’s competitiveness and making it easier for enterprises to do business. Broadly speaking, the Action Plan for Jobs envisages that an extra 20,000 jobs can be created...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001), so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. With this in mind, in late 2012 I wrote to relevant stakeholders inviting their observations on the matter....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Structures (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Organisation Chart circulated with this Reply identifies the operational and management structure of my Department together with the areas of responsibility and the number of staff (in full-time equivalent posts) within each Division of my Department. The current structure of the Department was put in place after the formation of the Government in 2011. A revised structure will be...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Protection (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The decision by the company to commence a process which may lead to the closure of the Lufthansa plant at Rathcoole with the loss of 408 jobs was taken following an extensive review of operations, in the context of declining revenues and shrinking international market opportunities. The company has pointed out that enhanced quality and efficiencies of the new generations of aircraft engines...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Enterprise Ireland is focussed on job creation and export growth and offers a broad range of supports for entrepreneurs, start-ups and business growth in addition to supporting the work of the CEB/LEOs and other players, public and private, in stimulating job creation at local and national levels. Enterprise Ireland also provides a broad range of supports available to all qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together. The latest data from the CSO shows that in the year to September 2013, there was an increase of 3.2%, or 58,000 people, in employment. Unemployment has fallen from 13.6% to 12.8%, and youth unemployment has decreased from 31.1% to 26.5% over the year to September 2013. In terms of indigenous industry, Enterprise Ireland recognises the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100, 101 and 103 to 106, inclusive, together. Despite the significant job losses in manufacturing up to 2010, there are now 205,700 people directly employed in the sector in Ireland, and a similar number of people employed indirectly: the total supported within the sector is therefore just over 400,000. Last year, in order to build on the potential for this...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Details of employment data relating to FDI performance from the year 2007 and up to 2012 are set out in the attached tabular statements. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that IDA Ireland’s mid-year results, announced in July last, showed that foreign direct investment into Ireland was very strong in the first half of this year. During this period, there was an increased number of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Upward Only Rent Reviews (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I am acutely aware of the difficulties that upward only rent reviews cause for some businesses who had signed their leases before such clauses were abolished on 28th February 2010. The Forfás report “Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2012”, which was published on 8th April 2013 last, indicates that business costs have reduced significantly in recent years with overall...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: I believe that the policies being pursued by my Department are making a positive impact in supporting enterprises and job creation. Despite international and domestic difficulties, there has been an annual increase of 3.2% in employment of 58,000 people. Unemployment has fallen from 13.6% to 12.8%, and youth unemployment has decreased from 31.1% to 26.5% over the year to September 2013. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Progress on EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: As they say in the jargon, there are offensive and defensive interests. The defensive interest for us would tend to be agriculture, beef in particular, as was the case in the agreement with Canada in terms of lifting barriers or quotas and allowing in an increased quantity of product. It cuts both ways. In the Canadian agreement it was agreed to allow in 50,000 tonnes of beef carcases, 30%...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Progress on EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: Different approaches are adopted in Europe and the US to intellectual property rights. It would be an issue of contention. The EU itself is looking at its intellectual property rights framework. Many feel it is not sufficiently modernised to allow business exploit opportunities but at the same time I do not think there would be many in Europe which go to the extent of the US system which...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (26 Nov 2013)

Richard Bruton: The structures are as good as can be designed. FÁS training is being integrated with the VECs and we will have a good capacity to deliver training. The issue is to make sure that delivery is to a standard and meets the needs of employers. The challenge for SOLAS is to build those quality interventions that move people into the areas of opportunity. The Senator is right is pointing...