Results 1,501-1,520 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I am not in a position to discuss that because an arbitrator has been agreed on by the two parties in question. I hope the arbitrator will pull the two parties together and we will get a reasonable outcome.

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As I said to Deputy Niall Collins earlier, I expect and hope I will be appointing an arbitrator soon.

Other Questions: Employment Rights (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The news that the company in question has committed to an additional investment and an increase by 100 in its workforce is a welcome development for County Clare and the wider region. It will create new employment opportunities for the people of the area as well as serving as a real endorsement of the Shannon area as an attractive destination for inward investment. All...

Other Questions: Employment Rights (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Many of the new jobs in question are senior positions, including supply chain, process and improving engineers who are paid the market rate. They are not paid below the market rate. In 2009, the company in question had to restructure and it nearly closed down. However, as I said, the 100 jobs that were announced in the recent past are very well-paid and senior positions. While many of the...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: ConnectIreland created plenty of jobs in Ireland and the Deputy is correct that there is a dispute. I understand that this week a meeting was held between the chief executives of ConnectIreland and IDA Ireland. It is, however, prudent to do a review as there is much taxpayer money involved. I must understand exactly how that initiative functioned, as well as its strong and weak points, as...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: We are appointing someone and I am going to get it done as quickly as possible. A decision on who will author the review, as well as its precise start date, will be taken very shortly.

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Each regional action plan for jobs targets one of eight regions around the country, seeking to build on the differing capabilities and strengths of each region. West Cork comes under the south west action plan for jobs, which covers counties Cork and Kerry and was launched in July 2015. As of quarter three, the south-west region unemployment rate had dropped to 6.4%, from a high of 14.3% in...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Tourism is very important in the Deputy's area. There is a new 10,000 sq. ft. Ludgate digital hub building that opened this year in Skibbereen, providing up to 75 desks, training and meeting room space. The building has 1,000 MB connectivity. I am definitely in the business of making sure that good quality jobs come to Ireland and are developed and scaled in Ireland by Enterprise Ireland...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My implementation group for the south-west region deals with the regional action plan for jobs and it is why we have seen growth in jobs all across the country. I pay tribute to the work it does. On it working together there are industry partners, local employment offices, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and all the different educational bodies. We operate a regional plan and not a county...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I am not referring to Cork city.

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The agrifood sector is of critical importance to the Irish economy. Its regional spread means it underpins the socioeconomic development of rural areas in particular. Ambitious plans under the Food Wise 2025 strategy could see the creation of 23,000 jobs and a growth in the value of exports by 85% over the next decade. Enterprise Ireland works closely with Irish food and drink companies to...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: We are also concerned about Brexit. I remind the Deputy that extra staff have gone in from Enterprise Ireland. Further supports for these sectors were provided for in budget 2017, including the €150 million low-cost loan scheme that was launched on 31 January last, agri-taxation measures and the increase in funding under the rural development and seafood development programmes. A...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I reject the Deputy's suggestion that we have not invested in infrastructure. When I was first elected to this House in 2011, the Government was having to cut budgets and the IMF and the EU were in here, having loaned us money. I am not sure whether the Deputy remembers that. It was a short time ago. I absolutely acknowledge that we need to improve infrastructure like roads, housing and...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Succeed in Ireland initiative has operated on the basis of a contract with IDA Ireland that was originally agreed in March 2012. The contract, which was extended by 12 months early last year, is now set to conclude on 26 March. When the board of IDA Ireland considered the long-term future of the initiative at its meeting last November, it decided that the agency would not re-tender...

Priority Questions: Job Creation (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As the Deputy knows, the Succeed in Ireland initiative operates on the basis of a comprehensive agreement between ConnectIreland and IDA Ireland. I understand this agreement, which was mutually entered into by both parties, sets out the process by which jobs are verified as having been created. I am informed that as it currently stands, 527 jobs on the ground have been created. I make it...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The question tabled by the Deputy was slightly different so I will answer that one. Brexit will impact on all policy fields of the Department and agencies and I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority. I am satisfied that all efforts are being made to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities. This is reflected in the recently...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Senior officials in the Department have explored the stabilisation fund and have discussed it in Brussels with the Commission. That will be difficult. We are conducting a targeted survey and we and EI are finding there are different requests from companies. Some are looking for more credit, some for cheaper loans, some want lean programmes to be initiated, some want to make sure there is...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Senior officials in the Department are exploring that. It is quite confidential at the moment. We give grants with EI in accordance with state aid rules. That is not all of what the companies want. We are engaging with them. EI has 1,500 clients on its books and is engaging one-to-one with the companies and the sectors. The answer is not to throw money at them. It is to have a targeted...

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: There will be opportunities and the opportunities we are seeing are in financial services and my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is responding to that. There have been approximately 100 queries to IDA Ireland and we are working our way through them. I will ensure that we avail of whatever opportunities arise. Is this Question No. 2?

Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (9 Feb 2017)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I would like that the questions being asked are what I have in front of me.