Results 47,001-47,020 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (3 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: The amendment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 centres on the activity following the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB, making a formal award. While PIAB awards mirror court awards in that both have regard to a book of quantum to determine the appropriate award to be given, some claimants choose to reject their award and commence litigation proceedings in the hope of...

Social Partnership. (3 Jul 2007)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Ó Caoláin is stretching it.

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (28 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: It has been a key strategic objective for Enterprise Ireland (EI) to bring all Dublin based staff together in one location since the Agency was established in 1998. The Board of Enterprise Ireland decided that the single site office in the East Point Business Park was the most appropriate from a number of perspectives, including value for money, flexibility, and customer service delivery. In...

Written Answers — Market Rights: Market Rights (27 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: I assume the Deputy's question refers to market rights as defined under the Casual Trading Act 1995. The 1995 Act sets out the law regarding selling goods in public places. Casual trading is defined as "selling goods at a place (including a public road) to which the public have access as of right". The activity is regulated by way of by-laws made by local authorities under section 6 of the...

Written Answers — Interpretation Act 2005: Interpretation Act 2005 (27 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: I am advised that section 22 of the Interpretation Act 2005 is of general application and statutory instruments, or related decisions, are not made under that provision. Section 22 provides for a general rule that a statutory instrument made under other enactments can be revoked or amended even if those enactments do not contain an express power to do so. In this context, the definition of...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions. Today the level of FDI in Ireland, relative to the size of the economy, is one of the highest in the world. At present there are over 1,000 overseas companies with substantial international operations in Ireland, employing over 135,000 people. The...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: The development agencies under the remit of my Department, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the County Enterprise Boards and FÁS (the Training and Employment Authority) have remits, respectively, in the areas of attracting and growing foreign direct investment, growing indigenous enterprises; and developing the labour market. A range of strategies, programmes and financial incentives are in...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: The following is the position in relation to the Bills in my Department: Chemicals Bill I expect to seek Government approval for the drafting of this Bill before the end of the year. The content and timing of publication of the Bill will be decided by the Government in due course. Collective Investment Schemes Consolidation Bill My intention is to have Heads of Bill available for submission...

Written Answers — Job Protection: Job Protection (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: On 7 May, the company in question announced that it was necessary for it to discontinue with immediate effect, the sale of the sole product manufactured in Athlone. On 22 May, the company advised all employees that it was considering closing its facility in Athlone and entered into a period of consultation with employees and their representatives. In the meantime, discussions had been taking...

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: I am informed by the Employment Permits Section of my Department that a Work Permit in respect of Mr. Wai Ming Mak was renewed for the period 19 March 2007 to 18 March 2009. The original work permit was issued to the employee and a copy was issued to his employer on 13 June 2007.

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: The development agencies under the remit of my Department, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, the County Enterprise Boards and FÁS (the Training and Employment Authority) have remits, respectively, in the areas of attracting and growing foreign direct investment; growing indigenous enterprises; and developing the labour market. A range of strategies, programmes and financial incentives are in...

Written Answers — Departmental Projects: Departmental Projects (26 Jun 2007)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Finance's guidelines on the Appraisal and Management of Capital Expenditure Proposals in the Public Sector provide that a cost-benefit analysis should be carried out on capital projects above a threshold of €30 million. My Department has not directly approved any capital projects costing over €30 million this year. Capital funding allocated to my Department's Vote is...

Job Creation. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: I understand that the Deputy is referring to recent announcements of job losses in IDA client companies, Motorola and Bourns Electronic in Cork, which is part of the south-west region, and Thompson Scientific in Limerick, which is part of the mid-west region. Job losses are regrettable, no matter where they occur, but they are a feature of economic development in all countries as various...

Job Creation. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: When a redundancy takes place or a closure occurs, FÁS has a structured response which involves going into the company concerned and conducting a dialogue with the employer, seeking to profile the collective employee group and inviting employees to engage with FÁS. Not every employee does this. The feedback from the intervention by FÁS in a number of cases in the past year and a half has...

Industrial Development. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: Investment decisions concerning grant aid, including research and development, to individual undertakings are operational matters for the development agencies. Under the Industrial Development Acts the Minister of the day is precluded from giving directions to the agencies concerning specific projects. Under existing arrangements local authorities can engage with the development agencies...

Control of Exports. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: In the autumn.

Employment Support Services. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: The full range of services provided by FÁS is available to all unemployed people. In particular, FÁS provides an integrated support service for people being made redundant because of company restructuring or closures. This involves information sessions, skills analysis, training and retraining courses and job placement. In the delivery of these services, FÁS liaises with other relevant...

Employment Support Services. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: The question relates to the difficulties older people encounter, because of their age, when seeking employment. Evidence suggests there has been an increase in the order of approximately 10% in the employment of older people over recent years. We have had good success in this regard. FÁS intervention through the One Step Up initiative is very much directed at workers in employment....

Official Travel. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: The mode of transport staff of my Department use in travelling to and from work is a matter of choice for them. However, my Department generally supports the use of public transport by staff. In this context, it operates a travel pass scheme which was introduced by the Department of Finance in 2001. Under this scheme, an employee can forego part of his or her salary in lieu of the...

Official Travel. (26 Apr 2007)

Micheál Martin: I will not introduce a fatwa against civil servants, follow them around and insist that they travel in a certain way. We need practical application and to cop on. Mileage has been paid for some time and rates are negotiated by union representatives. One cannot unilaterally wade into this matter. In the case of labour inspectors and other civil servants travelling to particular locations,...