Results 5,081-5,100 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I am aware of the job losses at the company in its plants at Coolock and Rathmore. The company is a client of Enterprise Ireland and the agency has been maintaining close contact with the company. There have been large scale voluntary redundancies at the company in recent years. While significant progress was made over the last two to three years, the Irish operations continue to be under...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: During the course of Social Partnership talks in 2008, the Government committed itself to introducing legislation amending Section 4 of the Companies Act 2002 to the effect that certain categories of vulnerable workers, formerly or currently covered by collective agreements, when engaging in collective bargaining, would be excluded from the Section 4 prohibition. The commitment will take...

Written Answers — Competition Authority Report: Competition Authority Report (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 117 together. The publication last week of the study by the Competition Authority of the retail-related import and distribution sector is part of my own and the Government's ongoing commitment to bring greater transparency to structure and pricing in the retail sector. I asked the Competition Authority to carry out the study following the findings of a...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Temporary Agency Work was adopted, on 19 November 2008. Under the terms of this directive there is a three-year period within which Member States will be required to transpose the Directive into national legislation i.e. by 5 December 2011. Some months ago, I invited the Social Partners to discussions with my Department,...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Despite the recent increase in the Live Register figures for June I would point out that in the twelve-month period to the end of May 2009, 144,000 people left the Live Register as they had secured employment. This is important as it shows that jobs are still being created. In response to the rising numbers of unemployed the Government has already taken a number of actions, including...

Written Answers — Departmental Payments: Departmental Payments (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Responsibility for implementing the terms of the Government Decision relating to the payment by Central Departments of business suppliers within 15 days rests with each individual Department. Suppliers experiencing difficulties with payments should contact the relevant Departmental section with which the contract was arranged. The Secretary General of my Department wrote to all Government...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I am very much aware that the key to creating employment is to provide the necessary support to the enterprise sector. In this regard, the Government made provision in the recent Supplementary Budget for in excess of €500 million for capital investment in enterprise. In doing so, the Government has prioritised investment in the most productive sectors of our economy and is investing in...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: There is one person working in my Department whose temporary contract will expire before the end of 2009. The expiry date for the contract is 14th August 2009. Science Foundation Ireland Science Foundation Ireland has 25 staff on fixed term contracts, none of which is due to expire by the end of 2009. FÁS FÁS has 23 persons (21.7 full time equivalent posts) on temporary contracts, 11 of...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: On the 25th June 2009 ABB advised IDA that it has decided to close their electrical transformer manufacturing operation in Waterford with the loss of all 185 jobs. Closure will take place by March 2010. The plant has sufficient contracts in place to ensure that the factory remains open until March 2010. The Waterford operation has been operating at break-even and an expected upturn in...

Written Answers — Retail Sector: Retail Sector (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 134 together. Issues in relation to the strategies employed by businesses, including in the area of sourcing supplies, are primarily matters for the businesses themselves. The need to reduce costs and streamline operations at all stages of the supply chain is particularly more pressing in these difficult economic times. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Consideration of issues of this kind would, in the first instance, be a matter for the Board. However, I have been advised by their Chief Executive, Ms Patricia Byron, that there are currently no plans for redundancies at the Board.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy is being collated at present and we'll issue him with a response as soon as the necessary data has been gathered.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The information sought by the Deputy in relation to my Department and its Offices is set out in the tables. Employment Rights Prosecutions and Civil Enforcement Cases NERA, and its predecessor the Employment Rights Compliance Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, processes both the enforcement of awards of both the Labour Court and the Employment Appeals Tribunal...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: For the purpose of promoting investment and jobs in Dublin, the Enterprise Development agencies do not distinguish between individual postal districts of the city. As regards foreign direct investment, there are some 450 IDA Ireland supported companies in the city employing over 50,000 people. In the past week IBM Corporation, the largest information technology company in the world,...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: The buildings and premises occupied by my Department and the 8 Offices of my Department are not rented or leased by the Department or its Offices. The information requested by the Deputy is, therefore, not relevant in the case of my Department and its Offices. The Deputy may wish to know that all buildings and premises occupied by my Department and its Offices are provided by the Office of...

Written Answers — Job Losses: Job Losses (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Employment data in respect of companies supported by the Enterprise Agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Shannon Development) is collated by Forfás on an annual basis only, and accordingly data is not available for 2009. The knowledge agenda transcends all sectors of the economy and data is not categorised on this basis. Data on job gains and job losses in Kildare County in...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together. There are many differing and complex factors, apart from costs, that influences a firm's decision to relocate. Therefore, it is not currently possible to say how many jobs have 'relocated' from Ireland over the past 10 years. Job 'churn' occurs in the internationally trading sector of the economy, in a number of ways and for a variety of...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: There are a number of factors which impact on economic growth. These are level of investment, consumption, government spending and net exports. The impact of the fall in housing and construction volumes is well understood and has had a negative impact on economic growth. One of the primary areas of focus in my Department is on growing exports. The most recent export figures are...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Under the framework for Economic Renewal we are taking a number of measures across Government to improve our competitiveness. Cost competitiveness is a particular focus of action and we are already seeing results. Firstly, Irish inflation declined by 4.7 percent in the year to May 2009. We have also seen a decline in unit labour costs which has a direct effect on competitiveness. We will...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (7 Jul 2009)

Mary Coughlan: Employment and Unemployment is measured by the Quarterly National Household Survey or QNHS and published by the Central Statistics Office. Employment in the last 12 months has decreased by 158,500 while unemployment has increased by 96,100 in the 12 month period (Quarter 2 2008 to Quarter 1 2009). QNHS Quarter Unemployment Change in Quarter Unemployment Employment Change in...