Results 521-540 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Live Register. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: I do not quite understand the issue with the redundancy figures. I can give the Deputy details of the redundancy claims lodged between 2002 and 2009. I am not sure whether the Deputy is interested in them from a statistical point of view. Clearly a person who was in part-time employment does not get redundancy. While I know what the Deputy is asking, he might want to reframe that...

Live Register. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: May I finish? The live register is a measure of unemployment and underemployment.

Live Register. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: On the final question about resources, of course in an ideal world we would prefer if these payments could be done pretty well immediately. However, as the Deputy knows considerable pressures have been added to staff working in the redundancy section precisely because of the jump in the number of redundancies.

Live Register. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Of course there are huge pressures on businesses. We would hope to reduce the delays over a period. For the moment we have reassigned 26 additional full-time people into the redundancy payments area to process these payments more quickly. The level of redundancy claims does not bear much relationship to the level of unemployment. That is an important point. In 2002 there were 24,000; in...

Smart Economy. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 86 together. My Department has made significant progress in several aspects of the smart economy framework since it was published last December. Our priorities under that initiative have been activation, support for enterprise and credit supply, while continuing our focus on strategic issues such as research and development, skills and venture capital....

Smart Economy. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: I am not aware of an effort to sabotage Project Maths. I am a Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science with responsibility for the third level spend on research and development and I am an enthusiastic supporter of this project. However, it is only one of a range of complementary measures needed to increase the take up of maths, particularly at higher level for the...

Smart Economy. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Only 16% of those who take the leaving certificate do higher level maths and while that is the average, according to the Pisa comparative study of uptake in higher level maths across Europe, we are not content with that. It must be leveraged much higher to increase the pipelines of qualified people to take up jobs in the smart economy of the future. We are anxious to implement further...

Smart Economy. (12 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: A number of key issues must be addressed. This is Maths Week 2009 during which we are encouraging citizens and students to be enthusiastic about, and to understand, maths. Teaching inputs for this subject need to improve. It is a disappointment that a significant number of maths teachers do not have a qualification for doing so. They did not do maths as part of their degree and that is...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (11 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: The Government has recently agreed to the retention of offices in both Ballina and Galway within the new inland fisheries management structures, given the scale of operations in the Western River Basin District.

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (10 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: While meeting Ireland's obligations to protect wild salmon stocks, the Government sought to mitigate the impact on individuals' incomes. The Government's €25m Salmon Hardship Scheme provided, since its introduction in 2007, a measure of relief to affected individuals on foot of the cessation of the mixed stock fishery. The scheme was administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) and the...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (10 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Under Section 14 (1) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1999, the Central Fisheries Board is obliged to submit draft annual accounts to the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) no later than three months after the end of each accounting period year. The Board is then obliged to submit to the Department as soon as may be but not later than one month after an audit by the C&AG a copy of its...

Written Answers — Aquaculture Development: Aquaculture Development (10 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: I am aware of the concerns raised nationally and internationally surrounding the incidence of sea lice in salmon farming and the associated impact on wild salmonids including sea trout stocks. Wild Atlantic Salmon is a protected species under the EU Habitats Directive and the management of all fisheries (including salmon farming) must make an appropriate assessment of its impact on wild...

Written Answers — Natural Gas Grid: Natural Gas Grid (4 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Shell E&P Ireland Limited submitted an application to me pursuant to section 40 of the Gas Act 1976, as amended on 9 February this year for a gas pipeline to link the Corrib gas field to the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy, County Mayo. The application is under consideration and when a decision has been made it will be published in accordance with section 40A of the Gas Act 1976 and will...

Written Answers — Small and Medium Enterprises: Small and Medium Enterprises (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: The objective of the Innovation Voucher Initiative is to facilitate and encourage enterprises, in particular small enterprise, to avail of the support available from research institutions. Under the Initiative vouchers worth €5,000 are allocated to small businesses whose proposals, to work with public knowledge providers on specific innovation questions, meet basic criteria. Companies can...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Government Budget Appropriations or Outlays on R&D (GBAORD) is an internationally recognised indicator which measures spending by the government sector on R&D. It comprises Exchequer funding for R&D, EU public funding and funding for humanities and social science research performed by government departments or agencies. It includes · Funding for R&D programmes in the higher education...

Written Answers — Engineering Programmes: Engineering Programmes (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: STEPS to Engineering was established in 2000 to encourage primary and post primary students to explore the world of science and engineering. The programme is managed by Engineers Ireland and is supported by my Department, the Department of Education and Science, Forfas, FAS and a number of major engineering employers. The programme aims to redress the shortage of engineers in Ireland by: ·...

Written Answers — Fisheries Protection: Fisheries Protection (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: As I outlined in my reply to previous questions referred to by the Deputy, the primary motivation in aligning the management of the wild salmon fishery with the scientific advice and the introduction of the appropriate regulations to cease mixed stock fishing is the conservation of the wild salmon stocks. It is not possible to relax the conservation measures other than where river stocks...

Written Answers — Fisheries Conservation: Fisheries Conservation (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: As the Deputy may be aware, the primary motivation in aligning the future management of the wild salmon fishery with the scientific advice and the introduction of the appropriate regulations to cease mixed stock fishing is the conservation of wild salmon stocks. The harvest of salmon by commercial and recreational means is only permitted in those rivers that are meeting their conservation...

Written Answers — Fishing Industry Development: Fishing Industry Development (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 988 and 989 together. As I outlined in my replies to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1034 on 6th October 2009 and 423 on 13th October 2009, the Court has recommended that the parties consider mediation as an alternative to having the issues determined by the Court. The Northern Regional Fisheries Board has indicated that it welcomes this initiative. I...

Written Answers — Offshore Exploration: Offshore Exploration (3 Nov 2009)

Conor Lenihan: Six Frontier Exploration Licences were awarded in areas off the County Donegal coast in the past five years. Five of these licences are still active. Details of the licences awarded are provided in the table. Licence Number Date Awarded Companies awarded licence 1/05 20 January 2005(surrendered 19 January 2007) * Lundin Exploration BVIsland Donegal LimitedRamco Donegal LimitedPetroceltic...