Results 17,861-17,880 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies Expenditure (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The purchasing of promotional items by Enterprise Ireland is undertaken through a procurement framework in line with public sector procurement policies. This central procurement process is used to ensure value for money and centralised procurement.The variety of promotional items purchased is very wide and includes indoor and outdoor flags, pens, gifts for speakers at events, trade mission...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies Expenditure (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The payment for public relations and communications consultancy is a day-to-day matter for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), for which I have no direct function.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) operates as a self-funding State Agency through income generated from the fees charged to claimants and respondents. The amount of fees received by the PIAB during 2015 from claimants was €1,474,842 and from respondents was €10,281,622. Respondents’ fees are levied when the respondent consents to an assessment being made by...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Allowances (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I have set out details of the travel related expenses claimed by me and the Ministers of State in my Department since the formation of the current Government in the following tables. The tables cover the period 2011 to 2015 and also include the annual kilometres travelled by car in undertaking official business. There have been no travel claims processed for January 2016 yet.The payments made...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (28 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The total expenditure incurred by my Department on media monitoring services in each of the years 2011 to 2015 is set out in the table below. In late 2012 my Department put in place a new arrangement for delivery of a press cuttings service which uses centralised technologies and has resulted in significant cost savings. Expenditure Incurred by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Staff Retirements (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: As a Government Department, the scope for retention beyond normal retiring age for staff of my Department is regulated by Department of Finance Circular 13/1975 which permits retention on certain limited grounds. These typically relate to grounds of hardship or public interest. In my Department, there have been no instances in recent years of cases being referred to third parties regarding...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Employment Rights (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The liquidation of OCS Operations Limited is currently in the hands of liquidators under the supervision of the High Court. The liquidators of OCS Operations Limited have confirmed that they have submitted a report to the ODCE in accordance with their statutory duties. The Director of Corporate Enforcement is independent in the exercise of his statutory functions. On 14 January 2016,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Zero-hour Contracts (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Statement of Government Priorities, July 2014 committed to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero hour contracts among Irish employers and their impact on employees and make policy recommendations to Government on foot of this. The University of Limerick was appointed in February 2015, following a competitive tendering process, to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together. While there are no formal protocols in place with the agencies, my office is informed on a regular basis of pending job announcements related to agency client companies. All press releases that contain Ministerial quotes require clearance from my office.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation (27 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the OECD has acknowledged, job creation “can be stimulated through a stable macro-economic framework” and also “structural policies which encourage innovation, skills and business development” (OECD, 2014). While this Government has always acknowledged that it is businesses, not Government, that create jobs, we understand that every Government Department has a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the committee for facilitating us in taking this issue. This was essentially an inadvertent omission from the Companies Act, which, as the committee knows, is quite a tome. Basically, section 1120, which is being amended here, provided for the application of provisions that were set out in Part 1 of the Bill - sections 310 to 313 - that applied to private limited companies. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: This statement will contain the full particulars of all transactions with connected persons. There is a provision that the statutory auditors of the company have a duty to examine the statement and to make a report to the members on that statement. A final safeguard in section 313 is that these are the provisions in respect of company law but, of course, most of the oversight of credit...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Companies Act 2014 (Section 1313) Regulations 2016: Motion (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: It was a genuine oversight. I do not know at what point this issue was raised specifically. This was an inadvertent oversight in an Act that runs to 2,500 sections. On the issue of tactical insolvencies, the Companies Act 2014 sets out, in section 599, additional protections for workers and creditors in situations of the type we have described. We have yet to see the impact of those....

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Exports Data (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: In the period 2011-2015, Free Trade Agreements were concluded by the EU covering a wide range of goods and services, including those with Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Ukraine.As regards agriculture specifically, the following table shows the markets that have been opened up to Irish agricultural exports in the period 2011-2015. Year Country Product 2011 Turkey...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement will be the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment deal, and a successful pact is expected to benefit Ireland more than any other EU Member State. It is very important to Ireland as it will build on our already rewarding economic relationship with the US and create new opportunities to stimulate growth, create...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Investigations (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: In 1999, my Department was advised by ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises of Ireland Association, that irregularities in the use of funds allocated from the European Social Fund (ESF) had been notified to the Garda Fraud Squad. A file was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who decided that there were no grounds for action. In accordance with rules relating to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: Health and safety is crucial in the workplace, and there is a range of legislation underpinning the requirements to keep people safe. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the national statutory body with responsibility for ensuring that approximately 1.8 million workers (employed and self-employed) and those affected by work activity are protected from work related injury and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Third Level Expenditure (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) was launched in 1998, with five cycles of expenditure to date. The PRTLI supports the provision of top-class research infrastructure (buildings, laboratories and cutting edge equipment) as well as human capital development, through Structured PhD/Emergent Technology programmes across Ireland’s Higher Education Institutes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Community Enterprise Centres (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am informed by Enterprise Ireland that submissions made under the competitive Community Enterprise Initiative Scheme are currently subject to assessment as to eligibility, identification of eligible expenditure in line with aid and scheme guidelines and a competitive evaluation process.I am also informed that it is targeted that details of successful applications will be announced in the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Small and Medium Enterprises Supports (26 Jan 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are now the ‘first-stop-shop’ State support service for micro and small businesses in each local area. The LEOs provide advice and direction, covering all government supports and requirements, to anyone who wishes to start or expand a business. They can also provide funding for projects that meet certain criteria, generally with regard to...