Results 45,981-46,000 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Competition Authority: Competition Authority (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: While any decision to issue a declaration is entirely a matter for the Competition Authority, it is open to any party to make a case to the Competition Authority why a particular category of agreements, decisions or concerted practices meets the various conditions specified in Section 4(5) of the Competition Act and to request the Authority to make a Declaration under Section 4(3) of the Act....

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: There are several mechanisms that my Department has established to ensure that emerging competitiveness issues are addressed expeditiously and responded to promptly. In July 2005, I asked the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs to identify the skills required for Ireland to become a competitive, innovative, knowledge based, inclusive economy by 2020. In response the Expert Group undertook a...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: There are a variety of differing and complex factors and not just cost, which might influence a decision to relocate all or part of a firm's functions. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the number of jobs which have relocated to low cost economies. In addition to relative wage rates and other cost factors, these may include business takeovers, consolidations and changes in product or...

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Employment Permits Section of my Department has informed me that it is not possible to determine the number of Work Permit applications received as some applications are rejected in a pre screening process if they are evidently outside the criteria for granting a Work Permit and are not captured in the statistics. The number of Work Permits issued from end January 2007 to end January 2008...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Forecasting employment figures is a perilous business and subject to a variety of unforseen extraneous variables influencing estimates of that nature. However, employment growth — being the excess of jobs created over jobs lost — is expected to continue to be positive in 2008, though growing at a slower pace than in previous years. In the Budget Outlook employment is forecast to grow by...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The National Competitiveness Council's Annual Competitiveness Report 2007 has identified three areas essential to improving our competitiveness position: costs, productivity growth and promoting an innovation intensive economy. I agree with the NCC that, as part of our economic policy, seeking to maintain low inflation, promoting competition, the pursuit of sensible incomes policy, and...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Ireland is no longer a low cost economy and manufacturers in particular are facing increased competition from producers in lower cost economies. The model of manufacturing in developed countries is changing and Irish enterprises are adapting to those changes and engaging in higher value added activities in order to compete in the global marketplace. This has been achieved as a result of...

Written Answers — Skill Shortages: Skill Shortages (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government is fully aware of the need to ensure that the skills of the labour force are adequate to meet the future requirements of the economy. That is why we established the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs in 1997 to provide advice to the Government on Ireland's future skills requirements and make recommendations as to how those needs could be met. The work of the Expert Group on...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Over the last number of years there has been a significant churn in employment as is typical of a developed, open, and dynamic economy such as Ireland's. Ireland is no longer a low cost economy and manufacturers in particular are facing increased competition from producers in lower cost economies. Other sectors, especially the services sector, are providing significant new employment...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Competitiveness is a remarkably broad policy area covering many policies and is constantly under review and consideration both in my Department and across Government. While there are a number of national and international organisations that monitor competitiveness, primary responsibility for considering competitiveness issues in the context of the work of my department lies with the National...

Written Answers — Insurance Industry: Insurance Industry (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Motor insurance is provided in an open and competitive market where consumers can exert their influence. The cost of Motor Insurance, generally, has declined by 11% in the twelve months to December 2007. Motor insurance prices have dropped by 40% since April 2003 and at the end of Q3 2007 were at levels last seen in November 1997. This is due to various reasons such as increased...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. CE aims to facilitate unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work...

Employment Rights. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: One joint campaign has already been initiated by the three agencies, which I detailed earlier, concerning the construction sector. In terms of NERA, it is a non-statutory body. The legislation underpinning NERA is currently being drafted and a memorandum will go the Government shortly on it. I have already outlined that to the Deputy. Under the existing body of legislation to which I...

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The key policy intervention concerning people on the live register at present is the national employment action plan preventive strategy which was first introduced in 1998 and rolled out nationwide in subsequent years. This process involves a more systematic engagement with the unemployed. On reaching a three month threshold on the live register, individuals aged between 18 and 64 years are...

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: That was a very lengthy question but I welcome some of the suggestions made by the Deputy. I accept the broader point that we must do more in terms of labour activation measures. I am not so sure there are huge numbers of people out there deciding not to work.

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I do not accept that totally. We have reduced the threshold in the preventative plan from six months to three. I met people in my clinic recently who had been working for 20 or 30 years, who said they thought they were entitled to their PRSI. They were only two weeks unemployed and felt they were being put through the wringer in terms of lining up another job. I cannot say what the Deputy...

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I beg the tolerance of the Chair, particularly as I mentioned him in glowing terms in the Tallaght Institute of Technology approximately two hours ago——

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: When the interviews take place in FÁS and with the Department of Social and Family Affairs, a very significant percentage of interviewees do not come back for a second interview and go back to employment. That has been a feature of our plan and a very effective part of it. On the other hand, in the broad area of disability and unemployment, we must do better than we have done in the last...

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, has developed the role of the social employment through the community services programme, which facilitates exactly what the Deputy has articulated. The fundamental mandate of the community employment programme originally was as a labour activation measure. It was meant to be short term, to get people back into...

Employment Action Plan. (28 Feb 2008)

Micheál Martin: I accept that we must re-examine the matter. When we did so three years ago, we extended the age limit to 55 years and sent social economy affairs to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with €30 million of taxpayers' money, such is my generous nature. We recognised that social economy matters belonged there, not under a labour market measure. In terms of labour...