Results 46,941-46,960 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Job Losses. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: We are in a globalised world, which means we can never stand still but must consistently look ahead and ask where we should be in five or ten years time. That is the approach I take as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the reason for my concentration on the science and technology innovation strategy published last year. I worked with eight other Departments under the aegis...

Job Losses. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Yes.

Job Losses. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: I congratulate Deputy Reilly on his election. He asked questions of me in a different context previously, when I held a different portfolio. Deputy O'Keeffe asked about competitiveness and the early warning system. We get early warnings related to specific companies. The current commentary on manufacturing is quite positive. Following the prolonged period of slow growth in continental...

Job Losses. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: It would be initiated by the company or the agency. On an ongoing basis, companies would contact the agency and——

Job Losses. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: We have an overall monitoring of the economy and of broad sectors. I prefer to look at these situations as challenges. To deal with Deputy Reilly's point, the Forfás annual report contains very good data on the dramatic increases in research and development expenditure over the past few years, particularly in 2006 and 2007. I do not have the specific figures here but sufficit to say our...

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, guím gach rath ort i do chuid oibre as seo amach agus tá súil agam go mbeimid go léir in ann comhoibriú leat sa todhchaí.

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: It is great to be here, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, to congratulate you on your position and wish you every success. Not so long ago you were asking me the questions and on this occasion you are refereeing. I am aware of this Supreme Court decision which arises from the first ever court decision in an abuse of dominance case brought by the Competition Authority. Following a full hearing of the...

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Let us get matters straight. The 2002 Act set up the Competition Authority as a statutory independent body. The Oireachtas, including Deputy Hogan, took that decision on the basis that it probably came to the conclusion that political interference in the operational work of the authority would carry significant hazards and could compromise the authority to an unacceptable degree in the...

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Does Deputy Hogan accept that?

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Hogan needs to be clear on where he stands. He cannot ask if the Minister will advise the authority and give leadership to it, and almost in the same sentence suggest the Minister should not become involved and should remain independent.

Departmental Agencies. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Hogan has criticised the fact the authority has taken on the Irish League of Credit Unions. I stated we are studying the Supreme Court judgment. It is only by its careful consideration that one could make observations in terms of future actions. The authority is independent. We should equally point out that many settlements are made before the proceedings ever get to court, when...

Departmental Offices. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: To reduce energy consumption in the Department and to ensure maximum energy efficiency and the minimum carbon footprint in its daily operations, my Department, through its green team which was established some years ago, continues to implement the following actions——

Departmental Offices. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: ——ensure all lighting in the Department's eight buildings is switched off overnight; ensure the Office of Public Works, which looks after the replacement of electric light bulbs in my Department's buildings, uses energy-efficient bulbs and long-life bulbs wherever possible when electric light bulbs are being replaced; ensure the central heating arrangements for the Department's buildings...

Departmental Offices. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: It is easy to make points like that but before I arrived in the Department a green team of officials had been set up to support a green officer. We may look flippantly at issues such as turning off lights but it is recognised in research that enormous savings can be made. I take Deputy Quinn's point about quantifying it but I do not know the baseline from a few years ago. The Power of One...

Departmental Offices. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Yes. As part of the fit-out of the new offices, Enterprise Ireland engaged sustainability consultants, including a specialist from Sustainable Energy Ireland. A feasibility study is being carried out by Sustainable Energy Solutions under the headings of environmental strategies, energy utilisation and development of advanced building management system. This seeks to achieve the broad...

Economic Competitiveness. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: National and international surveys indicate that the administrative burden or red tape factor of regulation on business is not particularly onerous in Ireland. In a recent ESRI survey, over half of businesses stated that the level of regulation in their sector was about right. However, it is important we ensure that regulation remains balanced between cost and benefit and that we constantly...

Economic Competitiveness. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Hogan is wrong. I was never against it.

Economic Competitiveness. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: The election is over.

Economic Competitiveness. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: I worked quickly on this. The audit exemption thresholds that the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern, and I worked on was raised from €1.5 million to €7.3 million and from €1.9 million to €3.65 million in terms of turnover and balance sheet respectively.

Economic Competitiveness. (4 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Many companies have benefited from it and have articulated gratitude. The small business forum, which I established, came up with practical recommendations for small businesses. As a result of that and in consort with my colleague, the Minister for Finance, as the Deputy has graciously acknowledged, significant measures were introduced in budget 2007 which reduced the administrative burden...