Results 25,221-25,240 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (21 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: In the time available since this Question was tabled my Department has not been able to collect the extensive volume of information requested by the Deputy. Once the available information is collated I will arrange for it to be forwarded to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Semi-State Bodies: Semi-State Bodies (21 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The salary of individual employees in the Agencies under the remit of my Department is a day-to-day administrative matter for which I have no function. However, I am referring the specific question to each of the Agencies under my remit with a request to respond to you directly.

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (20 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: My Department does not collate statistics in relation to numbers in employment. However, I am attaching a Table provided to my Department by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) www.cso.ie, which details employment figures for Q1 2007 to Q1 2011. I would also draw your attention to the latest (April 2011) update on the Growth and Stability Pact, available on www.finance.gov.ie, and in...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (20 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: National competitiveness is a broad concept that encompasses a diverse range of factors, including costs to business, and also policy inputs such as education and training, economic and technological infrastructure, and the taxation and regulatory framework. The Harmonised Competitiveness Indicators provide one measure of our competitiveness trends. The recent report published by the National...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (20 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: IDA is an autonomous Agency set up by statute with a mandate to attract foreign direct investment in manufacturing and internationally-traded service industries into Ireland, and to support new and existing FDI operations so as to maximise the related industrial employment, output, exports, economy expenditures including wages, and corporation tax contributions. The management and location of...

Written Answers — County Enterprise Boards: County Enterprise Boards (20 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The role of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) is to provide support for micro-enterprises in the start-up and expansion phases, to promote and develop indigenous micro-enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity and entrepreneurship at local level. The CEBs deliver a range of tailored Programmes and Supports in order to fulfil this role. The overall priorities for...

Written Answers — Wage-Setting Mechanisms: Wage-Setting Mechanisms (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: On 24 May last, the Government decided to publish the Report of the Independent Review of Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreement Wage Setting Mechanisms. The Report's overall finding is that the basic framework of the current JLC/REA regulatory system requires radical overhaul so as to make it fairer and more responsive to changing economic circumstances and labour...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Carrigtwohill East site consists of approximately 54 hectares located in a high profile position on the eastern side of Cork City on the Main Waterford-Cork Road. All of this land forms part of IDA's property portfolio. IDA Ireland maintains a property portfolio specifically to support the promotion of Ireland and its regions as a suitable location for FDI by providing tailored property...

Written Answers — Credit Guarantee Scheme: Credit Guarantee Scheme (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that as part of the Jobs Initiative announced in this House on 10 May, both the Minister for Finance and I confirmed the commitment given under the Programme for Government to initiating a tendering process for the development of a temporary partial credit guarantee scheme. A call for competition for the design of a scheme was published on e-tenders on 15 June 2011,...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The co-operative model is one of a number of legal options that are available to those considering establishing themselves in business, and the different models have their own distinct characteristics. It is of course up to each individual operation to choose the model that best suits the nature of the business and the desired ethos of the entity. Insofar as the direct promotion of...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 48 together. The Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to "enact the Fair Trade Act, which will ban a number of unfair trading practices in the retail sector such as 'hello money' which suppliers have to pay to secure a place for their goods on supermarket shelves". It is my intention to give effect to the commitment in the Programme...

Written Answers — Departmental Responsibilities: Departmental Responsibilities (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The new arrangements provide specifically for the transfer of responsibility to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of certain trade promotion functions, including, specifically, management of the Export Trade Council, as well as responsibility for Joint Economic Commissions. The new Export Trade Council, being established following the commitment in the Programme for Government and...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 233 together. Following a wide consultation by my Department with all interested parties in relation to the existing legislation pertaining to co-operatives, I recently announced that I had obtained Government approval for the preparation of new legislation aimed at addressing some of the practical difficulties faced by the co-operative sector. Among...

Written Answers — Legal Fees: Legal Fees (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I am keen to ensure that all costs that impact on businesses, including legal costs, are kept as low as possible in order to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in Ireland. Improved competitiveness will help businesses to retain existing jobs, create new ones, and contribute to economic recovery. The National Competitiveness Council monitors and analyses costs and other...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I recognise the importance of supporting business start-ups if we are to encourage entrepreneurship and create more jobs. I also acknowledge that micro enterprises can find it very difficult to access funding from traditional sources, particularly at start-up phase. For this reason, the Minister for Finance and I confirmed on the 10th of May...

Written Answers — Wage-Setting Mechanisms: Wage-Setting Mechanisms (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 43 and 50 together. On 7 July, the High Court issued its ruling in a legal challenge, taken by John Grace Fried Chicken Ltd and others, to the Joint Labour Committee system and the 2008 Employment Regulation Order (ERO) covering the Catering Sector outside of Dublin. The High Court ruled that certain provision of the Industrial Relations Acts of 1946 and...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: The enterprise agencies under the aegis of my Department do not have a specific role in the provision of supports to the social enterprise sector. Rather, the agencies are focused on assisting enterprises in the commercial sphere to create employment with a central focus on export-led growth. In both the Programme for Government and in the recently announced Jobs Initiative, the Government...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Ireland experienced a significant loss in cost competitiveness as measured by the real Harmonised Competitiveness Indicator over the past decade, reflecting a combination of an appreciation of the Euro against the currencies of many of our trading partners and higher price inflation in Ireland. Between 2002 and early 2008, our cost competitiveness declined by almost a third. Adverse...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Job creation is central to our economic recovery and the Programme for Government has job creation at its core. The role of my Department is to ensure that we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The Jobs Initiative announced on 10 May focuses our limited resources on measures that offer...

Written Answers — Information Technology Sector: Information Technology Sector (19 Jul 2011)

Richard Bruton: Ireland is extremely well-placed to take advantage of the rapidly-growing international potential of cloud computing. A recent report commissioned by Microsoft has estimated that by 2014 the cloud computing industry in Ireland could be worth €9.5 billion and employ 8,600 people. Now more than ever we must do everything we can to seize opportunities like this. I do not believe that these...