Results 24,881-24,900 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Medium Term Fiscal Statement was published by the Minister for Finance on 4 November and outlines macroeconomic projections for the period 2011 to 2015. The Government subsequently published its Medium Term Framework for Infrastructural and Capital Investment on 10 November, to cover the period 2012 to 2016. The Capital Investment Framework places a focus on economic growth and jobs, as...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: No jobs in my Department or any of the bodies under its aegis have been outsourced since I took office.

Written Answers — Sick Pay Scheme: Sick Pay Scheme (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The introduction of a Statutory Sick Pay scheme, along the lines of those which operate in many other European countries, has been suggested for consideration by the Minister for Social Protection as part of the Government's pre-Budget preparations. No decision has been taken by Government on the proposal at this stage. I have, however, heard the views of business representatives first hand...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is at the core of Government policy and the creation and retention of sustainable jobs is central to the work of the enterprise development agencies - Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the County and City Enterprise Boards. Enterprise Ireland's primary objective is to drive the growth of Irish-owned companies in overseas markets. In so doing, jobs will be created and...

Written Answers — Job Protection: Job Protection (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary) was introduced in December 2008 to help vulnerable but viable businesses retain jobs during the most difficult period of the economic downturn. The scheme was approved by the European Commission under a Temporary Framework for State Aid measures. This Temporary Framework was limited to a two-year period and it expired at the end of 2010. There are...

Written Answers — North-South Co-operation: North-South Co-operation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: My colleague Ruairí Quinn T.D., Minister for Education and Skills, has overall responsibility for the development of further education and skills training in the context of the current difficult and changing labour market and is assisted by the Minister of State with responsibility for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon T.D. The Northern Ireland Department of Employment and Learning (DEL)...

Written Answers — Third Level Institutions: Third Level Institutions (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Cycle 5 of the Programme for Research in Third level Institutions (PRTLI) was launched July 2010 with awards totalling €359m comprising €296m in exchequer funding and €63m from private non-Exchequer sources. The PRTLI investment is in strategic areas of science and technology, including environment, marine and sustainable energy; material sciences and platform technology; biosciences...

Written Answers — Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products: Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Casual Trading Act, 1995 is the legislation which establishes the regime for the regulation of selling goods in public places. Section 2 (1) of the Act defines casual trading as "selling goods at a place (including a public road) to which the public have access as of right or any other place that is a casual trading area". Casual trading is regulated by the 88 local authorities who have...

Written Answers — Information Technology: Information Technology (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 222 together. My Department does not lease computer servers. The current number of servers owned by and in operation in my Department and its Offices is 210 with an average of 4GB memory per server. The disk capacity of each server varies depending on the application involved and the data stored by users of each application and this can change...

Written Answers — Infrastructure Investment Plan: Infrastructure Investment Plan (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies to support enterprise and innovation so that quality employment opportunities can be grown and maintained. Strong, balanced regional development and thriving entrepreneurship in all parts of Ireland are fundamental to the country's economic growth and to job creation. To support this my Department has secured an increase...

Written Answers — Competition Law: Competition Law (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Competition Act 2002 provides that the Competition Authority, the statutory body responsible for enforcing competition law in the State, is independent in the performance of its functions. Under section 30(1)(b) of that Act, the Competition Authority is responsible for investigating breaches of the Act. Investigations and enforcement matters generally are part of the day-to-day...

Written Answers — Job Protection: Job Protection (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Covidien, which has been operating in Athlone for 30 years, is undertaking a transformation of its operations to improve efficiency and future proof its facility. As part of this, one of its basic products, a low value respiratory line will transfer, over the next two years to Thailand, and the company will be offering a voluntary redundancy programme. It is too early for the company to...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Innovation Fund Ireland is an important element of enterprise policy as investments through the Fund facilitate job creation in innovative export focused sectors as well as proving a return to the exchequer over time. The Fund has up to €250 million available to make commitments. This funding runs along two parallel tracks. The first comprises a €125 million pool of funds provided by...

Written Answers — Trade Relations: Trade Relations (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Details of Ireland's trade with Japan, for the years 2007 to 2010 are set out in the table. Merchandise Imports (€million) Merchandise Exports (€million) Services Imports (€million) Services Exports(€million) Total Imports (€million) Total Exports (€million) Balance of Trade (€million) 2007 1,630.63 1,738.06 561 897 2,191.63 2,635.06 +443.43 2008 1,144.41 1,708.24 500...

Written Answers — Trade Relations: Trade Relations (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Details of Ireland's trade with India, for the years 2007 to 2010, are set out in the table. Merchandise Imports (€million) Merchandise Exports (€million) Service Imports (€million) ServiceExports(€million) Total Imports (€million) Total Exports (€million) Balance of Trade (€million) 2007 279.93 168.34 103 374 382.93 542.34 +159.41 2008 265.16 160.98 88 423 353.16 583.98...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Public Appointments Service undertakes all recruitment to posts in my Department, with the exception of cleaning staff who are recruited through FÁS. The recruitment of staff by the State bodies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for the bodies concerned. While I retain responsibility for policy issues, I am not responsible and have no involvement in the...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The use of technology and innovation has a crucial role to play in supporting economic recovery and in driving sustainable employment in the current environment. Strategic investments in Research, Development and Innovation have led to the creation and application of new knowledge and technology across the enterprise spectrum and so have contributed significantly to the competitiveness of...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The issues that impact on competitiveness cut across a range of Government Departments and include factors such as business costs, fiscal policies, the quality of our education and training systems, and economic infrastructure. I am working with my Ministerial colleagues, through the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs, to address many of these issues and to identify actions that...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 to 235, inclusive, together. Figures in respect of the number of jobs created or lost in firms assisted by the industrial development agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development, are compiled annually in the Forfás Annual Employment Survey. As the information is compiled on an annualised basis, the figures in respect of 2011 will...

Written Answers — Job Initiative: Job Initiative (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Government's Jobs Initiative, which was announced last May, was aimed at building confidence to encourage consumers to spend, providing opportunities for re-skilling for those who have lost their jobs and assisting in getting people back to work. It is a cross-Government initiative and the impacts are being seen across a range of sectors. It is not possible to indicate the exact number...