Results 25,561-25,580 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Jobs Initiative: Jobs Initiative (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 54 together. Since I took up office as Minister with responsibility for jobs, enterprise and innovation, I have received submissions from various parties, outlining proposals which they feel can contribute to economic recovery. I have met with various business representatives and other stakeholders to hear their views on the economy, job creation and...

Written Answers — EU Funding: EU Funding (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The EU Competitiveness Council recently endorsed a new European integrated industrial policy for the globalisation era which puts competitiveness and sustainability at centre stage. This policy forms part of the seven Flagships launched under the European Union's new strategy for Jobs and Growth: Europe 2020. I fully support the core elements of the Europe 2020 strategy and its objectives to...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: A key objective of the Programme for Government is to promote job creation across the economy, including in the manufacturing and services sectors. The Programme outlines the actions which will be taken on a number of fronts to support jobs growth, including: · improving access to finance for enterprises, · getting our cost base right, · helping businesses to be more innovative and...

Written Answers — Technology and Innovation: Technology and Innovation (5 May 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. A wide range of programmes are being delivered by the Enterprise Agencies - IDA Ireland Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, to promote innovation and cost efficiency and give Irish enterprise a competitive edge in...

Written Answers — Small and Medium Businesses: Small and Medium Businesses (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: There is widespread acceptance that small and medium enterprises are central to our economy. The appointment of my colleague, John Perry, T.D., as Minister for small Business is confirmation of the Government's commitment to this sector. The Programme for Government also outlines a number of measures which the Government will take to assist small and medium enterprises with a view to...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: There are no proposals in the Government's legislative programme that would oblige an employer to recognise a trade union or that would compel an employer to engage in collective bargaining with a trade union. There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to ensure that Irish law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining is consistent with recent judgements of the...

Job Creation Projects (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: Maximising the opportunities for employment is central to the programme for national recovery drawn up by Fine Gael and the Labour Party. Our Government plans to introduce a jobs initiative next week, which will be an important first step to restore confidence and support economic recovery. These measures will be supportive of job opportunities on Dublin's northside and throughout the...

Job Creation (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 20 together. A key objective of the programme for Government is to stimulate the economy and incentivise employment growth both in the short term and the medium to long term. The programme outlines the actions which will be taken on a number of fronts to support jobs growth, including improving access to finance for enterprises; getting our cost base...

National Wage Agreements (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: An independent review of the statutory wage setting mechanisms was initiated on 8 February last and was undertaken jointly by Kevin Duffy, chairman of the Labour Court acting in an ad hoc capacity, and Dr. Frank Walsh, School of Economics, UCD, under specific terms of reference. The report of the independent review team has been completed and was received by me last Thursday, 28 April. I am...

National Wage Agreements (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: As the terms of reference have made clear, the role of statutory wage setting mechanisms is to strike a balance between the need to protect employment and the need to protect working standards. There are two sides to this and, as I pointed out to Deputy Boyd Barrett, there have been significant job losses in these sectors on a truly dramatic scale. For example, 37% of low income jobs in...

National Wage Agreements (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The change in the policy on the national minimum wage is a decision of the Government and it reverses the position adopted by the previous Government under the EU-IMF agreement. This decision reverses the policy in place before the Government took office. Legislation will have to be introduced to implement this because I cannot do this by order. A Bill will have to be debated and voted on...

National Wage Agreements (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The indication in the programme for Government is that the independent chairperson is not to question the independence of those who are already in place but to indicate that the basic structure of the JLCs with independent chairpersons would remain. Clearly, there will be radical reform. There was no reflection on any individual.

Foreign Direct Investment (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: Since becoming Minister,I have met and had discussions with the chairmen, chief executives and senior executives in key companies, both indigenous and foreign direct investors, across a range of sectors. Many of the companies involved already have substantial and valuable activities in Ireland while others are considering major investments here for the first time. On 17 and 18 March last,...

Foreign Direct Investment (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: I have not met with Twitter executives, but on foot of the Deputy's inquiry, I will inquire as to what contacts have been made and whether there is an opportunity to get access at an appropriate level to try and influence such a choice. I read the document Blueprint for Recovery as I was travelling from India to Saudi Arabia in the middle of the night and perhaps my recollection of it is not...

County Enterprise Boards (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The county and city enterprise boards, CEBs, have been the principal deliverers of State support to the micro-enterprise sector since their establishment in 1993. The CEBs support micro-enterprises employing up to 10 people in the start-up and expansion phases and also promote economic activity and entrepreneurship at local level. The CEBs deliver a series of programmes to underpin their...

Grocery Industry (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: I expect shortly to receive the report of the facilitator appointed to engage with the various stakeholders to explore the possibilities of agreeing a voluntary code of practice to regulate relationships and practices in the grocery goods sector. As soon as I have considered the report, a decision will be made on publication of the report and on the detail of any legislation that might be...

Grocery Industry (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: We regularly meet representatives of various sectors. There is a possibility of engaging directly with the sector to agree a voluntary code, but it appears unlikely that will happen. I believe the likelihood is that there will be legislation. Of course there is already legislation and if people came forward with evidence, activities such as demanding hello money would in theory be in...

Job Losses (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The redundancy payments scheme, which is now operated by the Department of Social Protection, provides statutory redundancy entitlements to those who have lost their jobs. In addition, the Department of Social Protection and FÁS offer supports to redundant workers, including assistance in identifying new employment opportunities as well as retraining and up-skilling to improve their...

Job Losses (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: Many years of bad policies have led to the scale of these figures, which will not be reversed overnight. We will do our level best to make jobs our priority and reverse those losses. I am very keen to provide more mentoring support and support generally to management capability in a broader range of companies than now receive support. I would be keen to see ways developed that would result...

Job Creation (5 May 2011)

Richard Bruton: The role of Government is not to create jobs directly but to put in place the environment where businesses can prosper and generate jobs. In this context, the objective of the forthcoming jobs initiative will be to put policies in place to improve the business environment in Ireland, drive competitiveness, continue to increase our exports and restore confidence in the economy, both...