Results 25,181-25,200 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Industrial Relations: Industrial Relations (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: While Article 40 of the Irish Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to form associations and unions, it has been established in a number of legal cases that the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of association does not guarantee workers the right to have their union recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining. No differentiation is made in this regard between workers...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: Total IT expenditure in my Department and its Statutory Offices in 2010 was €6,334,328 and the budget for this expenditure for 2011 is €6,450,921. The amounts include purchase of IT hardware, software and services but do not include cost of telecommunication services. All IT purchasing within my Department and in all Offices and Agencies under my remit is subject to general public...

Written Answers — Expenditure Reviews: Expenditure Reviews (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: Departmental submissions to the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure are a central part of the overall pre-budget deliberations of the Government. As such, release of these documents could not be considered in advance of Government decisions on the forthcoming Budget. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has already indicated that it is his intention to publish the reports submitted...

Written Answers — County and City Enterprise Boards: County and City Enterprise Boards (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: The role of my Department is to drive Ireland's competitiveness and productivity by creating the conditions where enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation can flourish and quality employment opportunities are grown and maintained. Funding is provided to a number of State Agencies under its aegis including that of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) and Enterprise Ireland, through...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: During my visit to Waterford on 12th September, I announced that I had requested the State development agencies under my remit, including IDA Ireland, to present plans and proposals to me, within 30 days, for increased actions and activities in the South-East region. This will include an assessment of the causes of the particular unemployment problems in the South-East Region. In that...

Written Answers — Health and Safety Regulations: Health and Safety Regulations (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: As I stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 138 of 14 July 2011 it is proposed that a national standard, more comprehensive than the European standard, will be published late in 2011 on providing guidance for manufacturers and installers as well as consumers on safe window blind products. On 10 August 2011 a draft standard was issued by the National Standards Authority of Ireland...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: The information requested is as follows: The Health and Safety Authority Number of Staff Budget 182.1 €20.556m The National Consumer Agency Number of Staff Budget 43.6 €6.366m In addition, under the Central Bank Reform Act 2010, the consumer information and education functions carried out by the Financial Regulator were formally transferred to the Agency with effect from 1...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: A number of points were made about the Department, that it needed to be more motivated and out selling. We are developing our new strategy. There is a requirement to develop it in the six months of the life of the Government. There is a recognition internally that the Department has not been boxing above its weight and that it needs to do so. I agree with Senators on most of the issues...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: As some of the questions asked are well beyond my remit, I am not in a position to answer them. I acknowledge Senator Keane's point that there is a gap in enterprise support. One of our ambitions is to have a more seamless system. We cannot support every company in the light of resource implications. However, companies with potential for expansion should not be debarred from receiving...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: One can analyse oneself into paralysis. There is an element of risk taking involved in governing, when we must choose which of a menu of options to implement. An initiative such as JobBridge, which puts young people into internships, is a win-win situation. I do not know what analysis one could apply, but I would be happy to do it on the back of an envelope to show that it is a good thing....

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: It is to do with agriculture, so it does not come under the remit of Science Foundation Ireland.

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: I must say I do not have the answer to that, but I think it has been answered in the other House.

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am sure I can get the answer for Senator O'Brien.

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: On the budget restriction on county enterprise boards, to be fair, the boards know their budget for the year and they have to stick within it. There has been a tendency for some of them to spend their allocation in the first quarter of the year, and that is not an ideal way in which to proceed. There was an issue with some money towards the end of last year, which might have resulted in...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: The solution is not to put responsibility for enterprise support into local authorities, but more what Senator Cummins mentioned - to have a significant one-stop shop where people can go to access not only the enterprise network, whatever that is, but other functions. I understand that business development units in local authorities help to steer people through the planning and licensing...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: It is an area of weakness. There are different ways in which to support small companies on export. Mentoring by experienced people is a worthwhile exercise. Enterprise Ireland has graduate placement programmes in which it puts people into markets such as China or wherever and there are companies to which they are aligned. There are also trade missions. There are various tools that we can...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: Part of the issue is funding. Perhaps we should consider a halfway house to give people who start up at least the security of a certain number of years of cover to help them on the difficult journey they are on. Personal guarantee demands can be appealed to the Credit Review Office. There is a pattern, but they can be appealed if they are thought to be unfair. I do not want to speak out of...

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: No. It is a pleasure to be in the Seanad to speak about this critically important issue. It is a long time since I was a Member of the Seanad, but I certainly learned here the importance of adopting a constructive approach to politics which, perhaps, has been lost a little in the Lower House in which the approach to issues tends to be more partisan or contentious and less constructive. I...

Job Losses (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue and I understand their sense of the huge blow this is for Waterford, in particular for the workers concerned. I was first informed of this decision on Wednesday, the day it was to be announced. I was dismayed, as was the IDA, at the way this was handled. In discussions with the CEO, local management and the representatives of head office in...

Job Losses (14 Sep 2011)

Richard Bruton: I acknowledge the support of Cabinet colleagues. The Minister for Social Protection responded immediately and staff from the Department have been in Talk Talk during the week and, indeed, were there last week. The Minister for Education and Skills also responded immediately and the support of FÁS for the workers is in place. In addition, the Minister for Education and Skills indicated...