Results 381-400 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Other Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 20 together. I recognise the particular challenges that Brexit can pose for some of the sectors the Deputy mentioned. One of our core ways of dealing with the challenges in different areas is the action plans for jobs. The north east-north west regional action plan is a key response to try to deal with the challenges and to support employment...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Regional Development (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The establishment of the proposed technological university for the south east clearly will be important in supporting advanced education and the skills enterprise and industry need. A great deal of good work has been undertaken by the two institutes of technology and we are keen to move ahead with the planned amendments to the Technological Universities Bill 2015. They have given a momentum...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Motor Insurance (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The PIAB was established to remove unnecessary personal injuries cases from litigation. Estimates indicate that 70% of cases are now either resolved through the PIAB or settled directly between the parties. In accordance with the Acts, all personal injuries claims must be submitted to the PIAB. In some situations, however, the parties are happy to settle a claim at an early stage and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Regional Development (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: My Department published Enterprise 2025 in 2015. It sets out the strategic framework for coherence across Departments to focus our resources to foster a better future and to deliver sustainable enterprise growth and jobs. As a small open economy, we rely on external demand and international markets for growth. Since its publication, there has been continued global economic uncertainty,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Regional Development (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I have given the Deputy the figures on the improvements in job creation, including the reduction in the unemployment rate. It is good progress. However, I accept that more needs to be done and that the unemployment rate is higher than the overall national rate. It was more than 1% higher in the second quarter of 2017 than the national average of 6.4%. The building blocks are in place,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement Legal Cases (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I can confirm to the Deputy that I received a report under section 955(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2014 from the Director of Corporate Enforcement on 23 June. This report addresses the issues highlighted by Judge Aylmer in his ruling in the case of DPP v .Seán FitzPatrick. The report sets out the facts relating to the case and does not purport to be an investigation or an inquiry. It...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement Legal Cases (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: This trial and the various issues it has thrown up is a complex situation. Some of the issues have been examined in the report. It was a very complex trial, as the Deputy is aware, in terms of the issues that were dealt with and it was one of the longest in the history of the State. I would certainly like to publish the report but when I publish any report I have to be conscious - the time...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement Legal Cases (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The ODCE budget in 2017 is €4.895 million. This comprises pay of €2.834 million and non-pay of €2.057 million. The spend up to 31 August 2017 is €1.844 million. We are supporting the ODCE. The Deputy referred to staff and recruitment. The people the ODCE wishes to recruit, such as forensic accountants, have been recruited. There was an issue around making...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Motor Insurance (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: On 27 June 2017 the Government gave its approval to the drafting of the personal injuries board amendment Bill 2017 along the lines of the general scheme. The purpose of the personal injuries board amendment Bill 2017 is to amend the existing legislation, to strengthen PIAB in terms of operational issues, to ensure greater compliance with the PIAB process and to encourage more claims to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The first thing the Department has been doing is engaging extensively with business and working cross-departmentally to deal with the challenges posed by Brexit, as well as continuing to provide support for diversification, development and innovation. We have been working with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, to develop tailored and targeted supports to address the needs...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is a loan guarantee scheme for SMEs that need extra liquidity to cope with working capital challenges brought about by Brexit. Obviously, we want to support businesses that would be viable if they had access to that capital. It will give affordable working capital financing to Irish businesses that can demonstrate they are currently impacted by Brexit or will be in the future. It will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I and my officials in the Department are very alert to these issues, and we have to be in the context of Brexit. This is an enormous challenge for business and one of the greatest challenges Irish businesses have ever faced. We want businesses to get involved with supports that are there at present. As I have already said, we have filed a rescue and restructure scheme under the state aid...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Regional Development Initiatives (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Government is committed to regional development and my Department and its agencies are working towards ambitious targets to ensure that employment and investment are as fairly distributed as possible across the country, including in Tipperary. While more work remains to be done in the County, it has made steady progress in job creation terms, with unemployment having decreased...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I recognise that the impact of Brexit is one of the most immediate concerns facing the retail sector. As a result, my Department has ensured that Retail representatives have been included in all relevant stakeholder engagements on Brexit, including the Enterprise Forum on Brexit and Global Challenges. Brexit has also become a standing item on the agenda at meetings of the Retail...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise 2025 (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: Enterprise 2025 sets a roadmap for long-term enterprise development and resilience, with the ambition to achieve a step-change in the performance of our enterprises, to build a real and distinctive competitive edge sector-by-sector and to excel in creating a jobs-fit environment with top-3 competitiveness ranking. The Action Plan for Jobs 2017, which I lead across Government, sets...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland Expenditure (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The “Winning Abroad” Programme was launched by IDA Ireland in 2014. It provided for the engagement of up to 35 additional personnel by the Agency to deliver new jobs for people in Ireland.  Its other key objectives included targeting new forms of foreign direct investment and broadening the geographic base from which the Agency seeks and...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: European Innovation Partnerships (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 25 and 26 together. Innovation 2020, the national strategy for research and innovation, recognises that in order for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, our research and innovation system must be open with strong international collaboration links. Membership of leading International Research Organisations is an important mechanism for...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Staff (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: As the Deputy will be aware, an additional €3 million was secured for my Department in respect of Pay in Budget 2017 targeted specifically to assist with increased staffing needs for the Department and a number of our Agencies to deal with the evolving Brexit scenario.  These funds are enabling the Department and, primarily, our Agencies to recruit additional...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Brexit Issues (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Regional Action Plan for Jobs imitative, launched in January 2015, is a central pillar of the Government’s ambition to create 200,000 new jobs by 2020, 135,000 of which are outside of Dublin. Importantly, the Plans have been embraced within the regions and implementation rates for actions within the published Progress Reports are in excess of 90% for each region. There has...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Enterprise Ireland (12 Oct 2017)

Frances Fitzgerald: The Food and Agribusiness sectors are vital to the prosperity of the Irish economy. In 2016, Enterprise Ireland supported clients reported exports of €21.6 billion, 49 per cent of this was from the Food Sector. Of the 201,108 people employed in Enterprise Ireland supported companies, just over 58,000 were from the Food sector (28.8%). Food sector clients represented 19% (just over...