Results 23,981-24,000 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: Forfás has responsibility for the pension costs of retired staff of Forfás, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and certain other former agencies under the Industrial Development Acts 1993 to 2003. The 2012 Revised Estimates for Public Services makes provision for an allocation of €47.349 million to Forfás this year for Pay and Pensions under Subhead A3 of my...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: Details of IDA Ireland's job and investment announcements are available on the Agency's website and show that, in 2010 and 2011 combined, there were 157 such announcements, with the potential to create almost 13,000 jobs. It is important to point out that there is always a time lag, in the region of 3 to 5 years, between the announcement of jobs and their creation. That time is required for...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The proposed Europe-China Trade Hub was not discussed during my meetings with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping during his visit to Ireland earlier this year. This initiative is entirely a private sector venture with no official Chinese Government involvement. Therefore all aspects of its development are a matter for the promoters i.e. the Chinese/Irish consortium. Although not qualifying...

Written Answers — Action Plan for Jobs: Action Plan for Jobs (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 77 together. The Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 actions to be implemented by all 15 Government Departments as well as 36 State agencies, and is intended to improve supports for job-creating businesses and remove barriers to employment-creation across the economy. The Plan aims to deliver on the Taoiseach's commitment to make Ireland the best...

Written Answers — Small and Medium Enterprises: Small and Medium Enterprises (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: My Department and its Agencies continue to focus on reducing administrative burdens on business, with a reduction of 24.8% already having been achieved; this amounts to annual savings for business of over €207 million. Details of all the initiatives making up this total are available on my Department's website. Successful initiatives resulting in significant savings include: § In...

Written Answers — Job Initiatives: Job Initiatives (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The figures in respect of jobs in Enterprise Development agency-supported companies and those supported by the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) are compiled in the Forfás Annual Employment Survey and the CEB Annual Employment Survey respectively. As the information is compiled on an annualised basis, the figures in respect of 2011 as a whole are set out in the table accompanying...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: A study published in October 2011 by Forfás entitled "The Games Sector in Ireland: An Action Plan for Growth" states that employment in the games sector had increased five fold to 2,500 since 2004. The report estimates that employment in the sector could double by the end of 2014 if appropriate action is taken to support the sector in Ireland. The actions that Forfás has set out are...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: Enterprise Ireland receives budgetary funding from the Exchequer reflecting national priorities in the support of indigenous industry and the development of the knowledge economy. Value for Money and generating economic return are key principles in the work of the Agency, necessarily supported by effective targeting and performance monitoring. Enterprise Ireland's performance is assessed at...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: I acknowledge that difficulties have been experienced by some successful claimants before the various employment rights adjudication bodies in enforcing awards made by those bodies. There are no statistics available by which I can gauge the level of unimplemented determinations of employment rights bodies. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation currently has discretion to pursue...

Written Answers — Cross-Border Projects: Cross-Border Projects (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: North South economic co-operation is and will remain a priority for myself and the Government. To this effect, there is ongoing dialogue between relevant Ministers, North and South, in all areas to promote economic development in the border region. From my own perspective, I attend meetings in the trade and business development sectoral format of the North South Ministerial Council which are...

Written Answers — Cross-Border Projects: Cross-Border Projects (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Cross-Border Economic Renewal Report is a very comprehensive report published by the Centre for Cross Border Studies. The report represents a comprehensive assessment of a wide range of factors that could be pursued in relation to cross border regeneration. It provides a good historical background and a strategic framework within which a competitive future for the border region of the...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: Enterprise Ireland actively works with viable companies to help them to both sustain and create jobs. A total of more than 162,000 people (full and part-time) directly rely on Enterprise Ireland client companies for their employment. It is important to note that Enterprise Ireland created 9,038 jobs in 2011 in what was a challenging economic environment, both here and in our overseas...

Written Answers — Banking Sector Redundancies: Banking Sector Redundancies (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: It is an inevitable, but unfortunate, consequence that as a result of the reorganisation of the banking sector, redundancies will arise in that sector. Essentially, our banks need to adjust their operations downwards in order to service the present real economy. The Deputy will be aware that my colleague, the Minister for Finance, has primary responsibility for the banking sector and has...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: I am committed to delivering a world-class workplace relations service. I am determined that the new structures and systems that are designed and implemented will be ones that we and future generations can be proud of. The reform I am proposing will bring about major improvements while incorporating the best practice elements of existing dispute resolution bodies. My aim is to provide a...

Written Answers — Information Technology: Information Technology (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The Government's Action Plan for Jobs outlines a number of actions to ensure that Ireland can reap substantial benefits in terms of jobs and growth from the global expansion of cloud computing. It recognises the opportunity for Ireland to promote the growth of cloud computing by supporting the emergence of start-up companies providing technology solutions and services in cloud computing and...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: A range of initiatives have been put in place over the last thirty years to enhance Ireland's competitive strengths in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). These include competitive tax offerings, a commitment to increase levels of R&D activity, investment in higher education to produce a suitably skilled workforce and the provision of high quality, tailored property solutions for...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The figures in respect of jobs in Enterprise Development agency-supported companies and those supported by the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) are compiled in the Forfás Annual Employment Survey and the CEB Annual Employment Survey respectively on an annualised basis. The figures in respect of jobs created and lost in Enterprise Development agency-supported companies in 2011 are...

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: In 2010, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (and IMPACT acting on behalf of their airline pilot members in Ryanair) submitted a complaint to the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organisation that Ireland was not in conformity with the provisions of ILO Convention No. 98 - Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 The complaint involved...

Written Answers — Foreign Direct Investment: Foreign Direct Investment (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: Grant limits are applied under the Regional Guidelines 2007 to 2013. The Regional Aid Guidelines govern the areas in which Member States may grant regional aid, more commonly known as investment aid. Investment aid is intended to promote the economic development of certain disadvantaged areas within the European Union in order to redress regional disparities. The current Regional Aid Map...

Written Answers — Action Plan for Jobs: Action Plan for Jobs (7 Jun 2012)

Richard Bruton: The South East Action Plan contains specific actions to address the unemployment problems affecting the South East region. Following the launch of the Plan on 2 December 2011, I have been kept informed on the progress made by the stakeholders and the state enterprise development agencies on the implementation of the plan in the region. I had met with representatives of all the enterprise...