Results 18,301-18,320 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: Yes, that is no problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: We have provided the committee with a pretty comprehensive brief and I certainly do not propose to read large swathes of it into the record. Overall, we have had a pretty good first almost three quarters of the year. IDA Ireland's half-year figures, as members have probably seen, demonstrate that job approvals - which it measures at half-year points - are up by 12.5% on the same period for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: We will produce the Enterprise 2025 document before the end of the year, which will set out the direction of the challenges that we need to face. They will not come as a surprise to the Senator. Talent will come top of the list. We need to invest more smartly in our talent base, starting at primary level, with regard to the choices that people make, and we need to include access to models...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: Two thirds of all jobs come from companies in the first five years of their existence. As such, the pipeline of start-ups is crucial.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: I will take a few of those questions. The Minister of State, Deputy English, might come back on the question on apprenticeship and its status, but the Deputy is correct to say that everyone must work on building its status. It has high status in Germany but does not yet attract that high status in this country. I believe the support of companies will make a difference. To be fair, the new...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: If they have export potential, they can be supported. Any company with export potential-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: Companies can be supported in certain regards. Any company can be supported in mentoring, business development, management and so on. In terms of grant aiding, the principle has always been that a company needs to have export potential. Otherwise, we would be grant aiding one service company that was competing with another in the same domestic market, which would be unfair. That is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: -----that would be different than selling something that was an integral part of an exporting service. We would have to look beneath the surface and see.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: On entrepreneurship outside of export potential, there is quite a bit of support in this area. Start-up tax relief is available for such companies. They can get a refund of the income tax that they paid as PAYE workers in the previous six years as part grant of the investment in their new business. That is a significant incentive for people starting up who come from the PAYE sector. This...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: No, I believe we will seek an additional Supplementary Estimate. On the IDA Ireland sites, as of 2015 Athlone has been completed and IDA Ireland is marketing actively in this regard. Waterford has also been completed and is being actively marketed. In the case of Sligo, planning was received in September 2015 and contractors have been short-listed, while in Castlebar planning was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: I know Deputy Collins is very committed to mentoring. In the regional calls under the community enterprise initiative, which is a €5 million call, we looked specifically for proposals on regional volunteer mentoring. Some people who would like to be mentors do not want to be on an open portal and want to have it brokered. That has been an issue in terms of whether it should be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: At this point, it is below the figure the Department had forecast. I will have to revert to the Deputy with precise information.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: It is only fair to point out that while Enterprise Ireland runs the high potential start-ups, it has been increasingly involved in running competitiveness feasibility and competitive start programmes on a regional basis. These schemes operate at a lower level and provide grants for smaller sums. The former provides grants of approximately €20,000, while the latter provides grants of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: To be fair, we are reviewing their position but they are a service within the local authorities. The local authorities have also put in a service and business development support. There are two players here. Enterprise Ireland is providing certain financial support but there are also the local authorities, which have been very useful in coming in with their expertise in planning and so on....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: I do not think we are ever entirely happy with what staff we have. We are not under the obligation to reduce numbers to the extent that we had been. There has been some opening of positions within the Department. We have been able to fill some very strategic posts so I think we are in a good place but we are still in a limited environment. The integration of Forfás has been very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: It is certainly not planned in the immediate future. I think it will be in the next term but, clearly, that will require a referendum. There is continuing work on the operation of that court. It would not be prudent to put an issue to the people until we have all the elements of it nailed down. That work is progressing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Estimates for Public Services 2015: Vote 32 - Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: I thank the committee for its work. The committee is right to look for better performance. Monitoring certainly keeps us on our toes and it can enhance the quality of the debates we have here.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Services (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Workplace Relations Act 2015, which was signed into law on 20th May, reforms the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures. This legislation provides a statutory basis for a new structure which will see the existing five workplace relations bodies replaced by two. While a number of technical and operational provisions of the Act were commenced on 1st...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies Reports (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Equality Tribunal is an impartial, independent body, set up to investigate and decide or mediate cases brought under the equality legislation. Its decisions and mediated agreements are legally binding, and it has extensive powers. In accordance with the provisions of Section 75(8) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011, the Director of the Tribunal is required, within six months of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Agencies Staff Data (29 Sep 2015)

Richard Bruton: The Equality Tribunal is an impartial, independent body, set up to investigate and decide or mediate cases brought under the equality legislation. Its decisions and mediated agreements are legally binding, and it has extensive powers. The objective of the Tribunal’s Mediation Service is to provide an alternative dispute resolution process to that of Investigation in respect of claims...