Results 22,061-22,080 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: In the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has set a target of having 100,000 more people at work by 2016. Obviously, the more of these jobs that can be filled on a full-time basis, the better it is for those in the labour force. It is important to remember, however, that part-time work is an important choice for some people due to their personal circumstances, and many people benefit from...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Jobs (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 and 44 together. I recognise that there has been an increase in emigration, particularly amongst young people, since the start of the recession. However, CSO data also indicates that significant numbers of Irish migrants have been returning to the country since 2008. For example, 20,600 Irish people returned to Ireland in the year up to April 2012, and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The most up to date figures available for job creation in the manufacturing and services sector are included in the Forfas Employment Survey 2012. There is no data available on a month to month basis for each of these sectors. In relation to the Manufacturing sector, the total number of jobs lost in 2012 was 7,987; the number of jobs gained in 2012 was 10,704. Therefore the total net new...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Energy costs in Ireland are influenced by various drivers, including global gas and oil prices, exchange rate fluctuations, the small size of the Irish market, geographical location and low population density. The most important factor affecting energy prices in Ireland is the continuing upward trend in international gas prices. In Europe, wholesale gas prices have been on an upward curve...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Retail Sector Issues (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The 2013 Action Plan for Jobs contains a number of measures aimed at supporting the retail sector. These include an initiative to increase the number of small businesses trading on-line and a project to streamline business licence application procedures for the retail sector. In addition, the Action Plan includes a commitment to establish an Interdepartmental Group to consider further...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Joint Labour Committees Agreements (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 41 together. On 2 October last, I published the Report of the Labour Court's Review of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system. The Report owes its genesis to Section 41A of Industrial Relations Act 1946 (inserted by Section 11 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012) which provides that reviews of each JLC be carried out by the Labour Court,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Appeals Tribunal (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The statistics below relate to the enforcement of the decisions of both Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) determinations and Labour Court rulings. The enforcement statistics are recorded by the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) as one complete group rather than being allocated individually between the two bodies. Table 1 summarises the number of cases in respect of which requests to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Crafts Council of Ireland (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Crafts Council of Ireland is the national design and economic development organisation for the crafts industry in Ireland with the objective of fostering the sector’s growth and commercial strength, communicating its unique identity and stimulating quality design, innovation and competitiveness. Since 1976, the State, through my Department, has provided funding to the Crafts...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights Issues (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 30 together. Section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 contains a protection for employees who are employed on zero hour contracts. The zero hour protection applies to all employees whose contract operates to require them to be available whether they work on a casual basis or not. This feature of the legislation covers situations...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Employment is now increasing across many sectors and occupations, both in full-time and in part-time employments. The latest information from the Quarterly National Household Survey shows an annual increase in employment of 1.8% or 33,800 in the year to the second quarter of 2013, bringing total employment to 1,869,900. This compares with a decrease of 1.3% in the year to Q2 2012. The QNHS...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Innovation and technology are key aspects of employment across most sectors. My Department and its agencies are focused on the development and support of internationally trading manufacturing and services firms in Ireland, and have a clear and steady focus on the potential and opportunities that exist and can be created by prioritising innovation and technology as a key driver of success....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Forfas Annual Employment survey, which reports on job gains and losses in the enterprise development agencies does not track the language skills requirements of employees in individual companies nor their level of fluency in a foreign language. Research undertaken by the Expert Group on Future Skills has identified foreign language skills as a key skill requirement for enterprise, trade...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on job gains and losses in companies that are supported by the industrial development agencies. The Survey does not track the data sought by the Deputy. However, it should be noted that there is free movement of labour within the European Economic Area (EEA) and persons recruited from outside the EEA must comply with Employment Permit Legislation.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Labour Market Issues (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Labour market flexibility needs to be complemented by support to workers enabling them to make smooth transitions between different types of labour market status (e.g. activation measures for the unemployed, training for employment, work experience options, transitions towards self-employment, etc.). The quality of transitions will determine the quality of a worker's career and the smooth...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 46 together. The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 included a series of actions to address the Manufacturing Sector, in order to exploit the advances in manufacturing technology, and to build and maintain a strong base of manufacturing activity. This developed as a result of the challenges facing the sector and of the imperative of supporting the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 42 together. The key mechanism for the development of cross-border business and enterprise activity is through the operation of InterTradeIreland, the North/South Trade and Business Development Implementation Body, which is co-funded by my Department and D'ETI. InterTradeIreland operates a wide range of innovative programmes designed to develop...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are both enterprise development agencies operating under the aegis of my Department. Enterprise Ireland (EI) is the agency responsible for the development and promotion of the Irish business sector and its focus is on the growth of world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global markets. On the other hand, IDA Ireland’s focus is on...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Availability (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: Access to finance remains a major concern for business and is also a major concern for Government in responding to the needs of business. In this respect, the Government is focused on delivering on a practical programme of actions that can achieve positive improvements in the overall operating environment for SMEs and improving access to credit is of course a priority for the Government. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Oireachtas Joint Committee Reports (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: The report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the South East Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS), launched on the 16th September, is a helpful contribution to identifying possible interventions to assist the South East region economically. It represents a comprehensive detailed assessment of a wide range of factors that can contribute to the overall...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (10 Oct 2013)

Richard Bruton: One of the actions under the Action Plan for Jobs 2012 was the development of a strategy for the Construction sector to 2015. This work was undertaken by Forfás and the report, entitled Ireland's Construction Sector: Outlook and Strategic Plan to 2015 was published in July 2013 along with the Government response to the report announcing measures to be undertaken. One such measure was...