Results 61-80 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Foreign Direct Investment (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am pleased to be in a position to state the feedback from the international companies that invest here, representatives of dozens of which I have met in the almost six months I have been Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, both in Ireland and abroad on trade missions, is positive. The job announcements in Drogheda, Limerick, Waterford and so on and recent weeks bear testament...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I acknowledge the work of organisations such as IBEC, which recently published a piece of work on Irish businesses and helping them to export and diversify, and InterTradeIreland. All of the organisations in this area are doing a huge amount of work to ensure businesses are Brexit-ready. I would encourage any company, particularly those dependent on the UK market, that has not completed the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: A very good range of research reports, commissioned by a variety of agencies, are available and this is important. I will share as much as possible of that information. Information relevant to companies will be shared with them. If there is information that is key to our negotiating strategy which it would be better not to publish at a particular point from a national interest point of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy has asked a number of detailed questions on this issue, in response to which I sent him a letter last night containing a lot of detail.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I sent the Deputy as much information as possible in regard to the questions asked.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Deputy’s assertion that no prosecutions have been brought or convictions achieved by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement in the past two years does not present a complete picture of the activities of that office over the past two years.   It is important to make the point that the Director of Corporate Enforcement is only statutorily empowered to initiate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is clear that, in the context of Brexit, we need to intensify efforts to support Irish SMEs and large companies. We need to try to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities. Earlier this morning, I attended a meeting of CEOs to discuss how Irish companies can remain competitive in the face of Brexit but also in the light of other global challenges, including attitudes on taxation...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ticket Touting (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: My predecessor as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O'Connor T.D., published a consultation paper on the resale of tickets for entertainment and sporting events on 20 January 2017 along with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the then Minister for Tourism and Sport. The 24 responses to the consultation were published on the Department's website on...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: In advance of the UK Referendum, my Department conducted a contingency risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across policy areas of the Department. We have refined our analysis post-referendum and have been working with Agencies to put in place actions to mitigate risks and maximize opportunities. In this regard, my Department is conducting a number of research projects to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department, its Offices and the Agencies under its remit, are committed to the success of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy that was launched this year and the implementation of the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with Disabilities. Officials of my Department are members of the Steering Groups overseeing the implementation of both of these Strategies.  A...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Arms Trade (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16 and 30 together. The 2016 Annual Report under the Control of Exports Act,2008, was submitted to Government this week and will be laid before both houses of the Oireachtas and published as soon as it is translated into Irish.  I expect to publish the Report before the end of the year. The objective of publishing these reports is to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: CETA will not undermine the regulatory standards in Ireland or the EU that benefit our citizens.  It will not affect the right of governments to regulate in the public interest. The Agreement includes provisions to ensure governments’ “right to regulate”. CETA will not affect EU rules on food safety or the environment. The Agreement explicitly excludes...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Schemes (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: According to CSO, the number of people in unemployment in October 2017 was 131,300, a decrease of 26,800 from the same month in 2016, a decrease of 17%. Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in Q1 2012 the number of people in employment has increased by almost 225,000, while the unemployment rate has dropped from 15.2% to 6.0% in October this year. Between June 2015...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Earlier this month I published a paper, entitled Building Stronger Business, which sets out all the wide ranging work both underway and planned by my Department, to deal with the enterprise issues of Brexit, including various pieces of wider research on Brexit issues currently being undertaken. The approach  is to minimise risks and maximise opportunities by ensuring the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Development (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government and my Department value an evidence based approach as part of our efforts to ensure that work pays.  In that context I note the findings of the South East Economic Monitor as referenced in the Deputy's question in relation to examining income tax returns as a proxy for job quality and employment levels. A closer examination of the research and analysis behind the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Research Funding (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) has been an important funding programme in developing research capacity within the higher education system in Ireland. There have been five cycles of the PRTLI to date and approximately €1.2bn of public and private funding has been invested since the commencement of the programme in 1998. PRTLI has complemented other...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Job Creation Targets (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Supporting job creation via the Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government's key instruments to reduce regional disparities in terms of income level and deprivation. This Government’s goal is to have an additional 200,000 people at work by 2020, including 135,000 jobs outside of Dublin. Since the first Action Plan for Jobs was launched in early 2012: - There are over 225,000...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Site Visits (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This Government is strongly committed to regional development and my Department and its agencies are working towards ambitious targets to ensure that employment and investment are evenly distributed across the country. The employment situation in the South East has been steadily improving in recent years. I am pleased that there has been a substantial increase in job creation in...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Industrial Development (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I note the Deputy's reference to the 2016 Pobal HP Deprivation Index, which considers affluence and disadvantage across the combined dimensions of demographics, social class composition and labour market situation at a detailed level of spatial analysis throughout Ireland. The outcome of the index for North Meath and for many other areas serves to underline the importance of maintaining a...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Support Services Provision (23 Nov 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government is intensifying efforts to address the challenges facing Irish companies as a result of Brexit. Those efforts are focused on minimising risks and maximising opportunities by ensuring the growth and resilience of Irish enterprise across the following four pillars: - Helping firms to compete:The Government is taking a cross-Departmental approach to create the conditions...