Results 7,881-7,900 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Order of Business (22 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: On the consolidation companies Bill, I am in a position to have a designated parliamentary draftsman and specific resources provided for that legislation. I am not in a position to give a date on the industrial relations legislation as other legislation promised in Towards 2016 will have to be addressed in the House also. I will revert to the Deputy in due course.

Order of Business (22 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: We do not have a date. There will be a differential between foreshore responsibilities; some of which will remain within the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, including the issues of piers and harbours, ports and fishery harbours, while the other aspects will be transferred to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Given that there have been changes...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on job gains and losses in companies that are clients of the industrial development agencies. Information is aggregated on an annualized basis at county level. The information is provided by companies on a confidential basis for statistical purposes only. The survey shows that for 2007 there were 2,532 people employed in IDA supported companies...

Written Answers — Investment Schemes: Investment Schemes (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: As outlined to the House in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 272 on 8 May 2008, my Department has informed the Irish Bankers' Federation of the proposal, the operation and the scope of the Loan Guarantee Scheme. Financial intermediaries are free to make contactdirectly with the European Investment Fund (EIF) concerning participation in the facility and I am aware that some have done so in...

Written Answers — Investment Schemes: Investment Schemes (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The Halo Business Angel Partnership was established in April 2005. However, the Programme did not commence until September 2005 when the Programme's management structure was put in place. The pilot phase of the scheme ceased on August 31, 2007. The Business Angel Partnership was designed to encourage and facilitate the provision of informal investment in enterprises by Business Angels,...

Written Answers — Departmental Surveys: Departmental Surveys (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: As a follow-up to the recommendations contained in the Small Business Forum's Report, my Department indicated to Forum members in December 2007, that it would consider carrying out research to establish an evidence base in relation to the extent and scope of late payments in business in Ireland and the effect which this issue has on business operations. The Survey is currently being...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Sound management capability amongst enterprise leaders is of utmost importance in enabling them to adapt to modern business practices, to sustain their enterprises against competitive forces and to innovate for growth, expansion and exports. In May 2007, as a follow-up to the recommendations in the Small Business Forum's Report, the Management Development Council was established, for a...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The Small Business Forum in its report 'Small Business is Big Business' sought that knowledge acquisition grants would be provided to small businesses in Manufacturing & Internationally Traded services. The Programme for Government 2007-2012 contained a commitment that such grants would be provided to enable small business in the manufacturing and internationally traded service sectors gain...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: There is a Community Employment Project currently operating in the Clogh/Moneenroe area and it caters for 27 participants. However, due to budget restrictions, there are no further places available. FÁS is available to meet with a Community representative to discuss their needs as required.

Written Answers — Port Development: Port Development (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: This important study has been initiated by my colleague, the Minister for Transport but it is still at an early stage and the proposed oversight group has not yet been established. Indeed the final membership of this group has not been settled and my Department are in contact with the Department of Transport on this matter. I am naturally concerned that Ireland should have sufficient and...

Leaders' Questions (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: That man got his answer.

Leaders' Questions (21 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I do the shopping every week.

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The Employment Permits Section of my Department informs me that the initial application made by the applicant for a work permit under the Spousal/Dependant scheme was refused. This decision has been appealed and is pending further information to be submitted by the applicant. According to correspondence received in the Employment Permits Section, this should take the applicant approximately...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ireland and its regions. The marketing of individual areas for new or expansion FDI investments and jobs is a day-to-day operational matter for the Agency. For the period 2000 to 2006 IDA Ireland had set itself a high-level performance target for the Objective 1 (BMW) Area, which...

Written Answers — Consumer Protection: Consumer Protection (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I would advise the Deputy that I have no direct responsibility in relation to property transactions or in relation to the level of conveyancing costs attending to such transactions. In so far as the Consumer Protection Act 2007 is concerned, the Act, whilst not dealing with issues such as the cost of specific products or services, does contain provisions applicable to all sectors which...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The report referred to by the Deputy deals with a number of issues which arose in recent audits of Non-commercial Semi-State Bodies, including FÁS and I have discussed this matter with the Director General of FÁS. The issues referred to by the Comptroller and Auditor General had been previously identified in a report by the FÁS Internal Audit Unit which was subsequently forwarded by FÁS...

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: Under the aegis of my Department FÁS labour market services for disabled people have been mainstreamed, in line with best practice internationally. This means that the objective is the systematic integration of disabled people into the open labour market by actively creating conditions whereby disabled people can compete and operate in the labour market on an equitable basis with their...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy is as follows: Year € January to end-April 2008 514,367 2007 3,096,703 2006 1,641,048 2005 4,593,950 2004 6,103,087 2003 6,258,496 I should point out that the figures for 2006, 2007 and 2008 refer to consultancies as defined by the revised 2006 Guidelines issued by the Department of Finance. Figures for the earlier years predate these revised...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: The table shows the details of mobile phones and BlackBerry devices issued to programme managers, advisers, press officers and personnel in my Department over the past three years. 2005 2006 2007 2008 *Number of phones/devices allocated 314 350 323 302 Hardware Cost of new/replacement devices â'¬18,690 â'¬14,110 â'¬28,034 â'¬3,189 Annual Billing Cost â'¬188,699 â'¬235,060...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (20 May 2008)

Mary Coughlan: I can confirm that a meeting took place with the company. The Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland was also present.