Results 1,821-1,840 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Unemployment Levels (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The economic crisis hit the South East’s job numbers badly with the loss of 37,800 jobs between 2007 and 2012. As a result of a focused collaborative approach and a range of reforms delivered in the region over recent years, the unemployment rate has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to the current rate of 10.4%. The numbers on the Live Register in County Wexford have fallen by over...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The 2017 Revised Estimates Volume will be published by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in the coming weeks. Capital funding of €555 million is being made available to my Department next year. This is a €52 million increase on the 2016 Revised Estimate Volume. This 10% increase will support Government’s Regional jobs plans. The additional...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Confidence levels among Irish businesses are an important factor in Ireland’s economic performance. The usual way of gauging business sentiment at a point in time is by way of survey. The reliability of survey results depends on many variables such as sample size, timing of the survey and questionnaire design. The Dublin Quarterly Business Trends Survey referred to involved...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The economic crisis hit the South East’s job numbers badly with the loss of 37,800 jobs between 2007 and 2012. As a result of a focused collaborative approach and a range of reforms delivered in the region over recent years, the unemployment rate has fallen from a peak of 20.1% in 2012 to the current rate of 10.4%. The numbers on the Live Register in County Wexford have fallen by over...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 30 and 34 together. At the 16thEU-Canada Summit on the 30thOctober 2016 in Brussels, EU leaders and the Canadian Prime Minister signed the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). CETA is a comprehensive and progressive trade agreement between the EU and Canada. It removes over 99% of tariffs that currently hinder trade between the EU and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Emigrant Support Services (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Action Plan for Jobs is the Government’s key instruments to support job creation. Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in 2012, almost 190,000 more people are at work. My Department and agencies have a range of initiatives underway to connect with emigrants and other interested in a career in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has specific targets to attract...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Jobs Initiative (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The South East Action Plan for Jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the South East region, including Wexford, with public and private stakeholder actively engaged in delivering a range of innovative and practical actions set out in the Plan, with clear timelines for delivery over the period 2015 – 2017. The core objective of the South East Plan is to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Microfinance Loan Fund Scheme Data (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Board of Microfinance Ireland (MFI) provides me with Quarterly Reports of progress, and these are published on the websites of both MFI and my Department. Details of individual loan applications and approvals are subject to data protection legislation and it will not be possible to provide further information on same. I have extracted for the Deputy the following highlight statistics...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Ireland remains a strong and committed member of the EU and in this context fully intend to continue to retain full access to the Single Market, which is of enormous benefit to Irish businesses and consumers. It should be remembered that this will continue to give Ireland access to a market of 450 million people, even after the UK’s departure. While Government is working to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Company Law (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Section 279 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that in limited cases for a particular transitional period, US Accounting Standards may be used by certain companies. This is conditional on compliance with Irish company law and is subject to the company meeting a number of qualifying criteria. This transitional arrangement was first introduced in 2009 in the Companies (Miscellaneous...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development Initiatives (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Government and I are committed to regional development and increasing the number of long-term, sustainable jobs outside of Dublin. Key to achieving this will be the provision of suitable property solutions in the regions for both indigenous and international businesses. IDA Ireland holds land and property for the purposes of promoting industrial development throughout Ireland. These...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutory body responsible for the enforcement of domestic and EU competition and consumer law in the State. Section 9 (5) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 provides that the CCPC is independent in the performance of its functions. I, as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation have no direct function in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Action Plan for Jobs is working. Based on the latest CSO data released earlier this week, 189,500 additional people are at work since the start of the Action Plan for Jobs Process in 2012. Over the last twelve months, an additional 56,500 are at work. The unemployment rate is now down to 7.9%, from over 15.1% in 2012. Over 72% of the additional jobs created were outside Dublin. The...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Staff (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The “Winning Abroad” programme was launched by IDA Ireland in 2014. It allowed for the engagement of 35 additional personnel by the Agency in order to deliver additional new jobs for Ireland before 2017/2018. Other key objectives of the programme have included targeting fast-growing alternative sectors and broadening the geographic base from which the IDA seeks and secures...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It is too soon to accurately assess the implications of Brexit on investment into Ireland. The full impact will only become apparent in time. As it stands, however, I am informed by IDA Ireland that the Agency is on track to achieve broadly similar results for 2016 as it did last year. Planning for Brexit – and particularly its potential effects on foreign direct investment (FDI)...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Foreign Direct Investment (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 262 together. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remains a vital contributor to Ireland’s economic development and growth. The role it plays in sustaining employment in Ireland is well-documented: approximately one out of every five private sector jobs here directly or indirectly results from FDI. Multinational companies also, of course,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 261 together. The direct trading relationship between Ireland and the UK is significant with €1.2 billion traded between our two countries every week. The UK is and will continue to be a very important market across a wide range of sectors. EI continues to help a large number of companies deepen their presence in the UK by identifying new...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Growth Initiatives (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Action Plan for Jobs is the Government’s key instrument to support job creation. The Action Plan for Jobs is working. Almost 190,000 more people are at work today than in 2012 when the first Plan was launched. The original target was to add an extra 100,000 jobs by the end of 2016. In the first nine months of 2016, 48,500 new jobs were created. The unemployment rate was 7.3% in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Enterprise 2025 sets out a vision for Ireland as the best place to succeed in business, delivering sustainable employment and higher standards of living for all. The overarching ambition is to reach 2.18 people in employment by 2020, with growth delivered throughout the country. We aim to achieve and retain a top three competitiveness ranking. We aim to generate growth that is sustainable,...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (8 Dec 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, my focus is on improving Ireland’s competitiveness performance. Ensuring Ireland is a competitive location internationally to establish and run a business is essential for job creation. In July of this year, the National Competitiveness Council published its annual Competitiveness Scorecard benchmarking report which provides an in-depth...