Results 22,601-22,620 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Prompt Payments (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Prompt payment for goods and services rendered is critical to the effective working of any economy and is an issue to which this Government is committed. The reduction in the number of late payments in commercial transactions is of vital importance to business, particularly SMEs and is one of the ten principles cited in the Small Business Act for Europe as a means to help SMEs to deal with...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Skills Shortages (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The ICT sector is of strategic importance to the Irish economy, in terms of both its contribution to exports and the number of high-skilled professionals employed. There is a growing demand for ICT skills, with employment in the Irish ICT sector increasing by around 7% in 2012. While new job creation is a contributor to demand for IT professionals, many vacancies continue to arise as a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Broadband Services Speeds (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: There are 10 sites in Ireland directly managed by Enterprise Ireland. The Agency’s offices in Dublin and Shannon are currently connected to broadband in excess of 100Mb. The eight other regional offices are currently connected to broadband at a speed of 10Mb. All Enterprise Ireland sites in Ireland have the capability of being connected to broadband in excess of 100Mb and up to a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Local Enterprise Offices Establishment (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: My vision, and my clear intention in rolling out the new Local Enterprise Office infrastructure, is to ensure that the operating environment in which State support is delivered to the micro and small business sector facilitates and promotes the creation and maintenance of employment across the regions. A key element of this new structure will be the consistent application of policy across...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I wish to reassure the Deputy that there will be no reduction in the maximum grant of €80,000 for financial assistance to projects. The ultimate aim of the reform of the existing micro and small enterprise support structures is to create an enhanced and integrated national micro-enterprise support model designed to deliver tailored supports to the highest standards, benchmarked by...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: IDA’s North West Region comprises the counties of Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. There are 38 IDA client companies in the Region employing 5,199 people in full and part time employment. IDA Ireland has indicated that, in seeking to win FDI, the concept of scale is crucial. Leading global corporations require a significant population pool, access to qualified talent, world standard...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Significant progress to implement the Government Decision on the reform of the supports to the micro and small sector has been made. A new Micro and Small Business Division has been established in Enterprise Ireland which, through its Centre of Excellence, will lead, develop and manage the enhancement of support services, delivered through the LEOs, that generates innovative, small and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Joint Labour Committees Reviews (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The new Section 41A of Industrial Relations Act 1946 (inserted by Section 11 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012) provides that reviews of each Joint Labour Committee (JLC) will be carried out by the Labour Court, as soon as practicable after the commencement of the Act, and at least once every 5 years thereafter. In this context, the Labour Court appointed Ms Janet Hughes to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Local Authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual Local Authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV), which is...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Availability (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, all cost elements are critically important to the efficient running of a business and the level of employment. The cost of credit is just one of a number of very important cost factors for business and this Government takes this issue very seriously. SMEs are the engine room for jobs and growth in Ireland and the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 contains a specific section...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 48 together. The recently published Forfas report “Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2012” is an important report in the context of our need to continue to build an export led recovery. It looks at the relative importance of different areas of cost for different sectors. The report indicates that business costs have reduced...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Statistics (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. According to the QNHS figure for Q1 2011, the number of people employed aged 15 to 24 years classified by broad ILO economic status was some 171,800 persons. According to the most recent QNHS data available (Q4 2012), the number of people in employment within this cohort was...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Social Insurance Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: I have not had any discussions regarding making mandatory PRSI contributions for the self-employed at the joint employee and employer rate. There is a recent ECJ decision that will have implications for the technical detail of how Ireland categorises owner-directors as self-employed for PRSI purposes.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Illegal Moneylenders (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Moneylending is regulated by the provisions of Part VIII of the Consumer Credit Act 1995, which includes specific prohibitions on engaging in the business of moneylending without holding the required licence granted for that purpose. The Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 designated responsibility for the provisions of Part VIII of the 1995 Act, including...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition Authority Staff (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: On foot of a review of resources in the Competition Authority in 2012 I approved an additional ten posts in the Authority for enforcement purposes. To date 8 of these positions have been filled by a combination of redeployment, staff returning from career break and open recruitment and I expect the final 2 posts to be filled in the coming weeks.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Credit Availability (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: My Department has introduced two targeted initiatives to support an additional flow of credit into the economy by filling gaps where specific market failures exist and are not directly involved in the export market - the Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) and the Microenterprise Loan Fund. The CGS has been live since 24 October 2012 and is intended to address market failure affecting...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Issues (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: In a small open economy such as Ireland, exports sustain and create jobs. Enterprise Ireland's (EI) objective is to grow jobs in Irish companies by increasing their trade in overseas markets, which in turn will support existing jobs and job creation here. EI works in partnership with Irish enterprises, providing a cohesive set of supports to help them win export sales on global markets. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Numbers (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: My Department compiles data on employment in companies supported by the enterprise development agencies: Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Shannon Development and the County and City Enterprise Boards. Table 1 below sets out the overall figures for full-time jobs created and lost in client companies of the agencies in 2011 and 2012. Overall, the agency-supported companies created 16,652 net...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: Both I myself, and IDA Ireland, fully recognise the seriousness of the situation as announced in March last, that this company intends to cease operations at its facility in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow, which will result in all 280 positions at that site being lost. Layoffs will start around the end of 2014 and the facility will close in 2015. Some production will transfer to other Merck...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Costs (22 May 2013)

Richard Bruton: The recently published Forfás report "Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2012" indicates that business costs have reduced significantly in recent years with overall price levels in the economy falling back to levels last experienced in 2002. The improvement in business cost competitiveness has been driven by dramatic reductions in property related costs (in terms of purchase and rent...