Results 1,381-1,400 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Consumer Protection (7 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Gift vouchers supplied to consumers are subject to the provisions of general consumer protection legislation, in particular the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 on unfair, misleading and aggressive commercial practices and of the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 27 of 1995). Gift vouchers that are not financial services...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research Funding (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department’s allocation to the Programme for Research in third Level Institutions (PRTLI) in 2016 was €30.4m; this included a Supplementary Estimate of €20m in December 2016. The allocation in 2017 is €14.4m. The PRTLI allocation is being used to pay off an outstanding bill for PRTLI Cycle 5. Cumulatively, the HEI’s have yet to spend their full...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Responsibilities (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: On 28thJune 2016, the Government made delegation of function orders to my Department’s Ministers of State at my request. Under S.I. number 333 of 2016, the Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Mr Pat Breen T.D., was delegated responsibility for legislation relevant to employment rights and industrial relations, workplace health and safety, standards and metrology and...

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

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 358 and 359 together. IDA Ireland's official employment data is tracked at a county and regional level through an employment survey which is conducted by my Department. Information at city level is unfortunately not available.  In 2016, IDA Ireland client companies created 697 new jobs in County Waterford. Job losses for the same period...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Report (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Low Pay Commission met on 10 occasions during 2016. As part of its annual deliberations on the appropriate rate for the National Minimum Wage, the Commission advertised in national newspapers and through its website for submissions from interested parties.   Furthermore, as part of their 2016 work programme the Commission was asked to examine the underlying reasons for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Living Wage (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Living Wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe, decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living is very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and State-provided supports such as Child...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Measures (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor:  A number of actions were initiated as part of the Government’s response to the insolvency and immediate closure of Clerys. The Duffy-Cahill report provides a comprehensive analysis of the relevant provisions of employment law and company law. It makes a number of proposals for reform of the law, which are primarily concerned with amendments to employment law. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Meetings (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 364 and 365 together. Details of the meetings that I have had with employers organisations and trade unions since my appointment as Minister are set out in the following tables. Trade Union/Employer Organisation Met Date of Meeting Purpose of Meeting Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IMPACT, Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed, SIPTU, UNITE...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Disputes (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As we are all aware the issue relates to Tesco workers on legacy contracts (pre 1996). I understand that over a year ago that there were over 1000 such workers in Tesco on these legacy contracts. I further understand that Tesco offered a redundancy package as part of the process in place to resolve the dispute with workers on these legacy contracts and the number of employees now remaining...

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

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The latest CSO’s figures show that there were 7,823 on the Live Register in Waterford County and 9,271 people in Waterford City on the Live Register in January 2017. These figures represent decreases of 1,084 and 1,310 respectively over the previous 12 months. The source of data in relation to unemployment rates is the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) undertaken by the...

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

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The most recent Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) undertaken by the CSO shows that the unemployment rate in the South East has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to 9.4% in Q4 2016. This compares to the national average of 6.7%. The South East Action Plan for Jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the South East region, with public and private...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Funding (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Irish Government allocated $915.7m (adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)) on research and development (R&D) in 2015, or $197 (PPP) on a per-capita basis in 2015 on R&D, compared with $246 (PPP) per capita on average in EU28 countries and $276 (PPP) per capita on average for all OECD countries.  Ireland's per-capita Government allocations on...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research and Development Data (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Public expenditure on research and development (R&D) has been rising steadily since 2014. However, due to the fact that our GDP levels have been rising at a far greater rate (notably to 26% in 2015) the R&D intensity rate has shown an overall decline. While the level of R&D expenditure has been increasing, it has not been increasing in line with the fluctuating GDP levels. ...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Food Industry Exports (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Irish Food Sector is one of the most important sectors of the Irish Economy and remains Ireland’s biggest exporter. The Food sector is a key priority for Enterprise Ireland and a significant employer across the regions and in County Kildare in particular. Enterprise Ireland (EI) works in tandem with Bord Bia who is charged with the promotion of Irish food at home and abroad....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Given that Brexit is likely to represent a structural shift in the UK trading relations with partners, short, medium and long term responses are needed. These include market diversification, cost reduction, innovation and price repositioning. My Department, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) have measures in place to address these issues for client companies....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Legislative Process RIA (2 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 377 and 378 together. 2011 Bill/Act published where Regulatory Impact Assessment was undertaken Did the RIA include the Specific impacts referenced Patents (Amendment) Bill 2011 Yes Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work ) Bill 2011 Yes Industrial Relations (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2011 No Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011 Yes...

Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016 [Seanad]: Referral to Select Committee (1 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I move:That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation pursuant to Standing Orders 84A(3)(a) and 149(1).

Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I welcome the supportive interventions from a number of Deputies, including Eugene Murphy, James Lawless and Fiona O'Loughlin, who indicated broad support for the content and aims of the Bill. Support for the Bill was not unanimous, however, and I wish to respond to a number of the points that have been raised. I will clarify Deputy Eamon Ryan's reference to an historical judgment. The...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Applications (1 Mar 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: A General Employment Permit application was received in respect of the named individual on the 4th April 2016. This application was refused on the 4th May 2016 on the grounds that the supporting documentation submitted in support of the application did not meet the all of the requirements as set out in the Employment Permits Regulations with regard to the market test.  A...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (28 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I welcome the opportunity to speak to this Private Member's Bill which seeks to amend the Competition Act 2002 to provide that section 4 of that Act shall not apply to collective bargaining and agreements in respect of certain categories of self-employed workers. The motivation behind the Bill is clear in that it aims to protect certain categories of vulnerable workers and to ensure that...