Results 24,901-24,920 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

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

Richard Bruton: Recent jobs losses which have occurred in the FDI sector in Ireland are largely the result of the continuing restructuring process that is ongoing in Ireland and other developed economies driven by competitive pressures and technological change. This results in jobs at the lower end of the value added scale being either phased out completely or relocated to lower cost locations. Some of the...

Written Answers — Research Funding: Research Funding (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Both I and the Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, TD, continue to engage with the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn on a regular basis including at meetings of the EU Competitiveness Council with a view to ensuring that Ireland maximises its return from the EU Framework Programme in terms of funding and increased research and technological...

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

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 239 and 241 together. The manufacturing and internationally-traded services sectors in Ireland have begun to recover in the last two years, based on a relative improvement in Ireland's competitiveness, and their exports have performed strongly. In spite of the weak global economic climate, Ireland has many strengths which gives it a competitive edge and which...

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

Richard Bruton: As Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, I have had many meetings with business representative organisations, chambers of commerce and individual business leaders from both the SME section and large enterprises. In his role as Minister for Small Business, my colleague, Minister John Perry has also met with a wide range of business people and business representatives to hear at first...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: No former holders of the office of Attorney General have been appointed to State boards under the Aegis of my Department by the current or former Governments.

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Company Law Review Group gave in-depth consideration, over a period of four years, to the reform of partnership law, in particular to the possibility of introducing limited liability partnerships for accountants and solicitors. In general, the CLRG did not find any strong tide of opinion running in favour of introducing limited liability partnerships. However, the group indicated the...

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Some 2,500 sections of the Bill have been published online, which comprise part 1 of a two-part Bill. It is a major piece of work.

Proposed Legislation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I understand the second part is being worked on. It is a major endeavour.

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am preparing a jobs strategy for the Government that will set out a series of clear, actionable measures to support the creation and retention of jobs. The strategy will focus on areas such as improving competitiveness and intensifying competition in the sheltered sectors, assisting indigenous business to grow, supporting indigenous start-ups, attracting inward entrepreneurial start-ups,...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not know whether a question was asked. Public procurement is certainly an area where we will look to ascertain what initiatives can be developed to ensure SMEs get a greater share of opportunity from public contracts. I know the Deputy in his question to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Sherlock, referred to the potential impact of €3.1 billion in creating 30,000 jobs. To put...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I cannot comment on a Bord Gáis contract that is not issued under my Department, in which I have had no direct role and about which I do not know the legal status. However, it will be an ambition of Government to seek to create opportunities for small business. The thresholds for contracts are sometimes set just too high for small businesses to have a chance to compete and we will seek to...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will have to submit another question on that because I do not have the details of the individual involved and I am not in a position to comment. As I understand it, the Minister has announced modifications in the retail planning guidelines which are designed to improve competitiveness and to have value available. The truth is that Irish people pay something like 20% more for...

Export Trade (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Government is fully committed to developing and expanding engagement with the key high potential markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, as these countries are very promising destinations for the sale of Irish goods and services. The agreed programme for Government commits us to achieve the maximum growth in exports, including the long-term development of new markets. We plan to...

Export Trade (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: As the former Minister will know, the likelihood that I will reveal budget decisions is remote. Yes, a new unit is operational within Enterprise Ireland. For example, it is seeking to engage with companies which are below the threshold normally regarded as making them eligible for Enterprise Ireland involvement. This is specifically to encourage more small companies to seek export markets....

Export Trade (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is right in that these are countries in which we are working from a low base. The figures are encouraging, but this is not the final word on our attempt to exploit these markets. They indicate ups and downs, with the figures being good in some years and then there is a reversal. That is a feature of territories in which, it is widely accepted, companies have to invest in the...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Policy responsibility for upward-only rent reviews comes within the remit of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter. I do not have specific data on the impact of upward-only rent agreements but the National Competitiveness Council provides some data on rents generally. Rent represents an average of 2% to 7% of total costs for manufacturing businesses, and 5% to 6% of...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: I do not have that information to hand and the question would have to be directed to the Minister of State responsible for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Brian Hayes. He is responsible for public rent. I do not intend to understate the difficulties in the retail sector, and this issue has been raised by that sector. The Government has included the matter in the programme for Government...

Economic Competitiveness (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Far be it from me to tell the Deputy to whom he should address the questions but the responsibility for public rents falls to the Department of Finance. Deputy Brian Hayes has been given an explicit mandate to seek reductions in costs across a range of procurement issues. Last week the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, published documentation on public service...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is at the top of the Government's agenda. Since we came into office, we have been working hard to create the improved economic conditions which will support the maintenance of existing jobs and the creation of new ones. Our objective is to put the country back on the road to economic recovery and full employment. However, we are also realistic about the scale of the task that...

Job Creation (22 Nov 2011)

Richard Bruton: Deputy Murphy asked several questions. Yes, there are targets. The figures I quoted of 22,000 jobs per annum and 110,000 jobs by 2016 are targets set by IDA and Enterprise Ireland and those targets have sectoral elements within them. I can provide those figures to the Deputy. The Deputy is right to say there have been reduced capital allocations. However, the enterprise area has been...