Results 10,381-10,400 of 13,254 for speaker:Seán Sherlock

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Copyright Infringement (9 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: An independent Copyright Review Committee was established in May 2011 to examine the Irish copyright framework to identify areas that might be deemed to create barriers to innovation and to make recommendations to resolve any problems identified. The ‘fair use’ doctrine was also to be examined to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish/EU context. The Committee conducted an...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Initiatives (4 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is not a direct job-supporting agency in the same way as its sister enterprise agencies, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. SFI is specifically mandated to focus excellence in research investments through the higher educational sector in the areas of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Biotechnology and Sustainable Energy and Energy...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Geothermal Energy (4 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The recommendations of the Report of the Research Prioritisation Steering Group, as adopted by Government Decision on February 21st 2012, were made within the context of a 5 year time-frame. I personally chair the Research Prioritisation Action Group tasked with driving implementation of the recommendations in the report and a primary focus of our agenda is to target support towards the 14...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Competitiveness Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister of State (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I shall try to answer the Acting Chairman and give the Irish position because he asked a question on the Single Market Act. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Bruton regarding his interaction with Commissioner Barnier, there is a determination to distil the Act into areas where Ireland has an interest. In terms of the Presidency we are talking about the proposed establishment of a high...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Competitiveness Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister of State (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I wish to reinforce the idea that the Government is prioritising smart regulation through the entrepreneurship agenda and reducing the regulatory burden. Hence, the communication between the Minister, Deputy Bruton and Commissioner Barnier. There will be an impetus during the first six months of the Presidency to drive results and reduce regulations in the SME sector. Over-regulation is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Competitiveness Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister of State (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank the Acting Chairman.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Competitiveness Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister of State (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: With the permission of the Chair, I will call on my officials, Mr. Tommy Murray and Mr. Pat Kelly, on some of the technical issues. I was not aware of the sunset clause to which Senator Quinn referred, but I will defer to Mr. Murray to answer that specific question. The issues relating to food are in the health silos but we have a prioritisation action group which is a research...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Forthcoming Competitiveness Council Meeting: Discussion with Minister of State (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank members for giving me the opportunity to provide a summary of the outcome of the previous Competitiveness Council and discuss the agendas for the meetings in Luxembourg on 10 and 11 October. I will also briefly apprise the joint committee of my Department's priorities for the EU Presidency in 2013. I am accompanied by Mr. Tommy Murray and Mr. Pat Kelly from my Department and Mr. Tim...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Copyright Legislation Review (2 Oct 2012)

Seán Sherlock: An independent Copyright Review Committee was established in May 2011 to examine the Irish copyright and legislative framework to identify areas that might be deemed to create barriers to innovation and to make recommendations to resolve any problems identified. The ‘fair use’ doctrine was also to be examined to see if it would be appropriate in an Irish/EU context. The...

Topical Issue Debate: Unemployment Statistics (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The Deputy has stood where I am standing today and knows I will not be drawn on the budgetary process. Let me talk, however, about the EU Presidency. One of the central themes of the Irish EU Presidency will be job creation. There will be statements on Ireland's position on getting Europe to engage on this agenda in due course. The planning is ongoing and this week there was a Cabinet...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: This began as a conversation about HPAT and has turned into a conversation about Project Maths.

Topical Issue Debate: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: With all due respect to her, I ask Deputy Mitchell O'Connor for the courtesy of allowing me respectfully to respond to her query. I would be happy to engage with her on the issue of Project Maths, knowing that she has made some quite vociferous statements in the last month or so regarding Project Maths. The offer is there for her to engage further on the issue of Project Maths. Is that...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: As Minister of State with special responsibility for STEM and Project Maths, I am happy to sit down with her myself in that regard. I have not seen the findings of the report of the research group. As I have indicated, the report is expected to be published within the next few days. I have not seen the report but Deputy Mitchell O'Connor suggests she has already seen some of its...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The report will be submitted to the academic councils of the institutions concerned for consideration. It is understood that the report will be considered by the academic councils before the end of the year, most likely in November or December. The implementation of any changes will be a matter for the institutions and their medical schools. More generally with regard to third level entry...

Topical Issue Debate: Unemployment Statistics (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank the Deputy for the tenor in which he made his contribution. I acknowledge that the latest quarterly national household survey, QNHS, figures show an increase in unemployment, but we never said recovery would be fast or easy. The Government inherited a jobs market in free fall with more than 250,000 private sector jobs lost in the three years before we took office. That is not a...

Topical Issue Debate: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (20 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank Deputy Mitchell O'Connor for raising this matter. The determination of selection criteria and processes for admission to medical schools is a matter for the universities and the medical schools in line with their statutory autonomy in academic affairs. A new entry process for admission to medical schools was introduced in 2009 on foot of a recommendation of the Fottrell working...

Confidence in the Minister for Health: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (19 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: It was worse during the Fianna Fáil years.

National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The look on Deputy Humphrey's face suggests otherwise.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Organization for Nuclear Research (18 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I propose to take Questions Nos. 543 to 545, inclusive, together. The issue of whether or not Ireland should join CERN was formally reviewed by my Department, through Forfas, which commissioned an expert report by consultants Georgia Tech in 2001 to examine the case for Irish participation in a number of intergovernmental research organisations. That Report concluded that, because of high...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research Funding (18 Sep 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The European Research Council (ERC) is a European funding body set up to support investigator-driven frontier research. It was established to implement the "Ideas Programme" of the Seventh European Union Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7). Its main aim is to stimulate scientific excellence by supporting and encouraging the very best, truly creative...