Results 1,021-1,040 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (2 May 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1418 and 1421 together. In the first quarter of 2017, there was one IDA Ireland-sponsored site visit to Co. Roscommon. In 2016, there was one site visit only.  While this is disappointing, it must be borne in mind that site visits are not the only indication of foreign direct investment (FDI) activity in a county. The majority of new FDI comes from...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Closures (2 May 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The company referred to by Deputy Murphy received a number of supports under various schemes from my Department, through Enterprise Ireland, between 2006 and 2011. In January 2013, the Department of Health communicated to all Government Departments and their agencies the guidelines for the implementation of Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Data (2 May 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department, through Enterprise Ireland (EI) provides a range of supports to help Irish companies start, grow and export.  There are now over 201,000 people employed by EI supported companies across the country, an all-time high for the Agency.  The fact that over 130,000 of those 201,000 jobs are outside of Dublin is also significant.  All regions recorded increases in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Data (2 May 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1423 and 1424 together. IDA Ireland collates its client companies’ exports to the UK and European Union by NACE code only. The Agency does not track the information by individual European countries. The tables below provide details of all IDA Ireland client company exports in 2015, which are the latest available figures. The breakdowns provided are...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Expenditure (13 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: “Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021” was published in September 2015 by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on behalf of Government at that time. The capital plan set out that an indicative amount of €3.01 billion in capital investments would be made through the Department’s Vote primarily through the enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development Initiatives (13 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In February 2015, the Government launched a five year strategy aimed at accelerating the jobs recovery in every part of the country. This included the delivery of a €150 million IDA Ireland led regional property programme. Its objective is to help attract foreign direct investment into different parts of Ireland by improving the availability of marketable serviced land...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Travel (13 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I can advise the Deputy that as part of the Government’s St Patrick’s Day schedule to foster opportunities for development of Irish businesses and international links, I visited the United States of America (USA) and visited Chicago, St Louis and New York. My trip was for 8 days from 8thMarch to 16thMarch. The cost of the flights from Dublin to Chicago and internal flights...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (13 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department is engaging directly with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the allocation of public capital investment, for which they have immediate responsibility. In regard to infrastructural investment, the State needs to make clear, strategic and evidence-based choices to support the productive sector in the first instance. In that context, my Department supports the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (13 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In Budget 2017, I secured additional monies, both current and capital, to support Enterprise Ireland’s strategic response to Brexit, including 39 targeted posts, both at home and abroad to support its clients across all markets. There are 1,500 Enterprise Ireland (EI) client companies recording exports to the UK.  They employ 100,000 people across the country and have exports of...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I do not support amendment No. 2, the effect of which would be to introduce a permanent exemption from an important transparency measure. It would also be confined to a particular sector, which I believe would not be appropriate. Furthermore, it would raise concerns from a state aid point of view. It is a long-standing rule of Irish company law that virtually all types of company must...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Senator was chatting.

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The difficulty I have is with the third line of the amendment. It is on the distribution of pharmaceutical products. It only speaks about one type of company and one sector. We believe that will have implications on state aid rules. The issue is more complex than the Fianna Fáil amendment suggests. As I said, it affects other sectors and it may cut across state aid rules. I have...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I understand the Senators' comments but I still have to deal with the issue that this is not just in the pharmaceutical sector. I must talk with the other companies. We have written to the companies and I am meeting some of them tomorrow to understand exactly what their views and issues are. To be fair, the concerns of the pharmaceutical industry only came to light in the last few weeks,...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I was only nodding as I listened to the Senator.

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I am not in favour of accepting amendment No. 3. The contribution order remedy is a unique feature of New Zealand and Irish company law. The Irish provision in section 599 echoes the judgment of Mr. Justice Costello in Power Supermarkets Limited v.Crumlin Investments Limited. It is a mechanism that deals with related companies in insolvency and the possibility of unfair behaviour in the...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: While I note that the Senators propose to introduce more prescriptive criteria in terms of the circumstances the court ought to address when considering whether a related company should contribute to the debts of a company being wound up, I am not satisfied the amendment, as drafted, adds to the settled provision.As I already stated, I am not in favour of accepting this amendment. I do not...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Government has taken several actions in response to the closure of Clerys. First, the CLRG was asked to examine legislation with a view to recommending ways the law could be amended to better safeguard companies, employees and unsecured creditors. That work is ongoing. I am awaiting recommendations from an expert group. My Department has looked at the Senator’s amendment and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Minimum Wage (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In October 2016 the Low Pay Commission submitted its report on the sub-minima rates of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, which included a study by the ESRI on the usage of sub-minima rates both in Ireland and internationally. The Commission found that sub-minima rates of a similar nature are in use in a number of OECD countries.  It concluded that incidence of usage of the sub-minima...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ticket Touting (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Twenty three submissions had been received by 10 April 2017 in response to the consultation.  The submissions will be made publicly available in due course. I have no immediate plans to issue a report summarising the main proposals and recommendations in the submissions, but have not ruled it out. 

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: State Bodies Data (12 Apr 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Of the Non-Commercial State Sponsored Bodies which come under the remit of my Department, the following Departmental officials have been appointed to their Board.  Agency Nominee IDA Ireland Dermot Mulligan SFI Dermot Mulligan Enterprise Ireland Clare Dunne PIAB Breda Power  HSA Paraig Hennessy NSAI Nina Brennan Some of these appointments were made by my predecessor...