Results 1,961-1,980 of 4,073 for speaker:Mary Mitchell O'Connor

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (15 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: In terms of assessing the impacts of Brexit on businesses, I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority. I am establishing a new focused Brexit Unit within the Department, and a Brexit Senior Officials Group to monitor developments across the Department on a regular basis at official level. As chair of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am also very...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (15 Nov 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 to establish and run a business is essential for job creation. Ireland’s competitiveness also impacts on the comparative cost of living between Ireland and other regions with which we compete, including between North and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Site Visits (15 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The number of site visits for the first two quarters of 2016 is set out in the following table. The number of site visits to the end of the third quarter, which incorporates the period directly after the result of the EU-UK referendum, is also set out for comparison. IDA Ireland operates in an environment of ever increasing worldwide competition for foreign direct investment. For...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Losses (15 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland (EI) and Westmeath Local Enterprise Office continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of the job losses in Westmeath caused by the closure of the company concerned. Good progress was made in this respect in 2015, with a total of 750 new jobs being created in the county. IDA Ireland, for its part, is engaging with both current and prospective clients...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Supports (15 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: IDA Ireland’s mission is to attract high-value foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country. The Agency achieves that by actively marketing Ireland as an investment location for international companies as well as supporting the growth and expansion of its client base already here. In furtherance of those goals, the Agency may provide grants to companies wishing to locate or expand...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Retail Sector (15 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: As chair of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am very aware of the specific issues faced by the retail sector. The Forum provides a platform for my Department to engage directly with the concerns of retailers and its work programme is focused on maintaining the competitiveness of the sector. In so doing, we ensure that retail businesses are supported in identifying challenges that may impact...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development Initiatives (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. First, I should point out that the factory concerned is not under the ownership of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland. The owner of the facility is not a client of either agency. Both agencies are aware of the factory's availability. They have engaged with the relevant parties about marketing the facility as suitable for potential investors. The...

Topical Issue Debate: Regional Development Initiatives (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The IDA does not own the facility but it is selling it by promoting it, as is Enterprise Ireland, and I will make sure it is on the top of their list. We have an action plan for regional development in the area and we are pushing it as much as possible. I will take on board the Deputy's suggestion about Mullingar being a centre of excellence. I visited Mullingar and I was very impressed by...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: On the advice of the Attorney General, I am proposing a new Long Title to the Bill because some other Government amendments seek to amend the Competition Act 2002 by inserting a new Part and a new Schedule into that Act regarding the application of section 4 to collective bargaining and agreements in respect of certain categories of workers.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I am proposing the deletion of section 1. As my amendments seek to amend the Competition Act 2002 by inserting a new Part and a new Schedule into that Act, it is necessary to define that the "Principal Act" referred to in my amendments to later sections means the 2002 Act.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The need to protect vulnerable self-employed workers was often cited during previous debates on this Bill. As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I have a duty to ensure all workers, regardless of their situations, are protected by robust and transparent law. The Bill, as initiated, proposes to exempt people other than vulnerable self-employed workers from certain provisions of...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Amendment No. 5 is a standard provision for the Short Title and collective citation. In respect of the commencement of the Act, I may appoint different days for different purposes but in any event all parts shall be in operation three months after its enactment.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I confirm that there is nothing in the amendments to stop unions reapplying.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: I, too, commend Senators Bacik and Nash on all of the work they have done. I am delighted to be here today and thank Senators for their nice comments. It has been a pleasure to put through this legislation because we have all worked together. I thank my departmental officials for their hard work. They worked with Senators to make sure that we got the exact sense of what needed to be done....

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: It is great that this legislation has been passed. We have worked hard in a collaborative manner with the Government to ensure a more targeted measure has been agreed and that the focus in the Bill is on vulnerable self-employed workers. I thank my officials for doing this work in a good, efficient and effective manner. I look forward to similar collaboration in the Oireachtas in the future.

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Services (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body that was established on 1stOctober 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The Commission’s name was specified under Section 10 of this Act. I believe that the suggested renaming to include Equality Commission in the WRC title would risk confusion with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC),...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Workplace Relations Services (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body which was established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. As an independent body I have no involvement in its day to day running. The WRC has responsibility for information provision, workplace advice, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, inspection and enforcement in relation to employment...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Work Permits Applications (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: My Department’s Employment Permits Section has no record of the named person having applied for an Employment Permit. If the person is a non-EEA national, they must have either an employment permit or a permission from the Minister for Justice and Equality to live and work in the jurisdiction. The details of this person have been passed on to the Department of Justice and Equality...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Regulation (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: Good regulation aims to provide a stable base for economic activity and a level playing field for business, while also protecting workers, consumers and the environment. Better Regulation Policy aims to ensure that the processes for generating new regulation, and for evaluating existing regulation, are as effective and efficient as possible. Regulation should achieve the policy goals...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Economic Competitiveness (10 Nov 2016)

Mary Mitchell O'Connor: The Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, which is co-ordinated and developed by my Department since 2012, has set out a comprehensive set of measures to improve our competitiveness performance. Substantial progress has been made in terms of improving Ireland's competitiveness in recent years and we have climbed from 15thto 7thin the 2016 IMD competitiveness rankings. We have moved from...