Results 2,781-2,800 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Consumer Rights Enforcer Bill 2004: Second Stage. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The current Director of Consumer Affairs is an independent statutory officer appointed by the Public Appointments Service. As a general principle, appointments made in this manner are much more likely to find favour outside the Oireachtas than the Deputy's proposal. Members frequently complain that answerability to Parliament is not sufficient across a wide range of issues. If we were to...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Following his recent appointment, the Minister reviewed the policy on the operation of the FÁS employment schemes, which comprise community employment, job initiative, and social economy programmes. In undertaking this review, he took fully into account the views and concerns expressed by various interest groups and other key stakeholders, including the social partners. On foot of this...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The most recent figures available are participation levels as of 24 September 2004. There were 20,643 places on community employment, 1,994 on job initiative and 2,189 on social economy. The budget for this year was of the order of €351 million.

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Two points about community employment schemes were that there were specific difficulties regarding people aged over 55 years, and the review findings and the Minister's announcement address that difficulty. They also go some way to address the second difficulty about which individual schemes complained, namely, that they had great difficulty in recruiting participants and schemes frequently...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: It is certainly not the kind of information specifically available to me at this stage. I will see if it is available and if it is, I will make it available to the Deputy.

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999 was a Private Members Bill introduced in the Dáil by Deputy Pat Rabbitte on 15 June 1999. The purpose of the Bill is to provide protection from civil liability to employees who make certain disclosures "reasonably and in good faith" regarding the conduct of the business and affairs of their employers. The Bill aims at prohibiting employers penalising...

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Government has taken the view that a sectoral approach is likely to be the more successful in this instance. I referred to the Labour Party Bill because it is the legislation that is de facto currently before the House and was examined at considerable length by Parliamentary Counsel on how it might be amended. The view was ultimately taken that a sectoral approach was likely to be...

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I acknowledge the value attached to having effective legislation in this area, as does the Government. In the legislation to be discussed on Committee Stage next week, I am pleased we will be having a sectoral approach, which we believe will be effective. I will certainly raise the issues with the Minister that were presented by the Deputy.

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Support for job creation and investment on a regional or local basis is a day-to-day operational matter for the industrial development agencies. The agencies are actively promoting all areas, including County Mayo, for new investment and jobs on an ongoing basis. The number of jobs in IDA Ireland client companies in Mayo has increased from 3,170 in 1998 to 3,468 in 2003. The number of jobs in...

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Deputy should acknowledge that the percentage of this country's jobs created in the BMW region increased from 25% to 48% over the period of the plan, which is a little more than half-way through. It will be possible to achieve a much better spread if the agencies continue to pursue the policies they are pursuing at present. There is a fairly widespread understanding of the need to spread...

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I will undertake to raise the matter with the relevant Minister.

Economic Competitiveness. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I welcome last month's publication of the National Competitiveness Council's 2004 annual competitiveness and competitiveness challenge reports. The key findings of the reports are that the economic environment for 2004 has been encouraging, significant improvements have been recorded in GNP growth and employment, there has been a reduction in the unemployment rate and foreign direct...

Economic Competitiveness. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Deputy referred to the role of the regulator, which was debated at some length during Taoiseach's Question Time. It is clear that the Government is examining that matter. Considerable progress could be made in this area if the examination is successful. The Deputy is aware of the work of the anti-inflation group, which has been meeting for a long time and has enjoyed considerable success...

Economic Competitiveness. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: An examination of the insurance area illustrates well the challenges we face in this regard. The Deputy is right to suggest that competition affects prices and value in this sector more than in many other sectors. He is also right to point out that the Personal Injuries Assessment Board has been challenged in the courts. The court challenge highlights the difficulty of dealing with the...

Tax Code. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: On 22 October last President Bush signed into law the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which provides for the amnesty in question. It gives US multinationals a one-off chance to repatriate to the US accumulated profits held outside the US, by availing of a special effective corporate tax rate of 5.25%. Non-US profits repatriated to the US are normally taxed at between 35% and 40%. As the...

Tax Code. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The issue of whether the report will be published is for the Minister, Deputy Martin, and I will mention to him the Deputy's interest in that regard. On the profits currently enjoyed by US companies in Ireland, it is not at all clear — and not likely — that much is reinvested in Ireland. The taxation regime undoubtedly makes it difficult for the profits to be repatriated to the US, but it...

Tax Code. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I had reason to read all the statements made by the Taoiseach on the US election, both before and after the event, and I found no evidence that he was cheer-leading either candidate. On the contrary, he took an extremely neutral view. I take the Deputy's point on the importance of foreign direct investment in Ireland and that this country has been the biggest beneficiary of American direct...

Lisbon Agenda. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 133 together. The research agenda is one of the most important elements in the Department's drive——

Lisbon Agenda. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I am taking these two together, but separately from Questions Nos. 76 and 96. The research agenda is one of the most important elements in the Department's drive to grow competitiveness and quality employment. As the Deputy has identified, several recent reports, including those of the National Competitiveness Council, the enterprise strategy review group and the national research and...

Lisbon Agenda. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I do not have up-to-date information because figures are not available regarding the uptake of the tax credit.