Results 1,261-1,280 of 4,491 for speaker:John Perry

Topical Issues: Foreign Direct Investment (6 Dec 2012)

John Perry: The Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, who is in Brussels this evening, sends his apologies to the Deputy. The challenge ahead of us all in Government, in Departments and in agencies is to do everything possible to ensure this strong flow of jobs and investments continues. This means we must concentrate on developing indigenous industry, in particular, the small and medium-sized enterprise...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Courts Service (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I remind the Senator of the legacy the Government was handed. The country is, regrettably, in the hands of the troika and we have no funding. It is all about value for money. The Government must make decisive choices. I advise the Senator to engage with the consultation process in Kells. No definitive decision has been taken on the closure of Kells courthouse. It is all about engagement...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Courts Service (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: Yes, I know that for certain. In the good times when the country was awash with money and the Government had no reason to close anything down it closed courthouses. This matter is in the effective management of the Courts Service. I advise the Senator to engage with the community, the borough council and the Garda Síochána and put a case to the Courts Service as to why the courthouse...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Flood Relief (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, is very concerned. This is a detailed response from OPW. There is no ambiguity at all about this. The company went into voluntary liquidation and there was reappointment. Unfortunately, it is like anything else in that certain matters would be outside of one's control. There is all the evaluation and public consultation. The Senator has been a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Courts Service (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. As he will appreciate, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of courts is the responsibility of the service and the Minister has no role in the matter. This was my experience of Ballymoe courthouse in the previous Administration, and was there since 1804. It was closed...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Flood Relief (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I will be sympathetic all right.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Flood Relief (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I apologise on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, who is not available. I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I am very aware that these issues are of great concern to the people affected. The Office of Public Works is working closely with Cork County Council to deal with flood risk in a number of locations in the county including, Bandon, Skibbereen and Clonakilty....

Seanad: National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I thank the Senators for their contributions to the debate and their support for this important legislation. The points that were raised have been noted and will be brought to the Minister's attention. This is an important Bill. It is another step in fulfilling the Government's commitment to ensure the required measures are in place to provide for the protection of children and other...

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: There was much known that was clarified by the Attorney General when we came into government and there was much more information we found out afterwards that we did not know about the disaster of the previous Government.

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: When it comes to the reality of business in the retail trade at present, if one takes small business, while retail is under considerable pressure, it is about confidence and credit. There are many spheres in the economy affecting small business, while Deputy Calleary gets hung up on the retail trade. The previous Administration fuelled shopping centres in every village and town, far beyond...

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: Deputy Calleary did nothing for them.

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: Deputy Calleary does not want to recognise what was done. The Government to which he was party did nothing. I was here in opposition asking it time and again. Deputy Calleary had no respect for the domestic economy.

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: The Government has an understanding, concern and respect for small business which the previous Administration did not have.

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: On the revaluation of rates, that is why it is so important that there will be centralisation of services in the one business desk where local government will be very much involved. On the revaluation of rates in Dublin, it is hard to justify such a 40% increase. It does not stack up. I would certainly appeal that decision. If Deputy Wallace was raising the role of the investment bank,...

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: A review of the Credit Review Office is being undertaken and when we receive the report, we will examine our options for enhancing it. With regard to Deputy Tóibín's point on the 55% figure, I will not defend the banks because it is clear they must do better. The fact the Credit Review Office has overturned 55% of decisions shows how effective it has been.

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: We are working with the banks. With regard to AIB and the €600 million for new lending, we must also take into account the fact that people are opting out of existing loans from other banks. With regard to Deputy Tóibín's point about Greece, the report in question was from the Central Bank which included all banks not giving money.

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: The report included all banks. We must remember the main players for small and medium-sized enterprises are Bank of Ireland, AIB and Ulster Bank. The report included all banks, including those which do not fund small and medium-sized enterprises. Deputy Wallace made a point on an investment bank. Years ago the ICC bank was very effective and had a niche market for business. The State...

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 14 together. As I outlined in response to an earlier question from Deputy Calleary, the Government recognises the importance of the retail sector to the economy. It is employment intensive and covers every community in the country. Combined with wholesale, the sector employs 258,000 people in Ireland, which is almost 15% of our total workforce. The...

Other Questions: Retail Sector (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: To take the last point, very effective soft supports exist for small businesses, such as educational and mentoring supports. With regard to electricity, people do not realise commercial electricity charges here are cheaper than in Northern Ireland and Britain. People do not fully recognise that VAT is reclaimable and this reduces the unit cost to a very competitive rate. Business people do...

Other Questions: Small and Medium Enterprises (22 Nov 2012)

John Perry: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 21 together. My Department has introduced two targeted initiatives to support an additional flow of credit into the economy by filling gaps where specific market failures exist – the credit guarantee scheme and the microfinance loan fund. The guarantee scheme has been live since 24 October and is expected to provide an additional €150...