Results 1-20 of 32,559 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Data centres are at the heart of the ICT sector. That is the reality. Without them, we cannot develop a sector in which we have created a considerable competitive advantage. We have short-term problems of capacity constraints in meeting their demand. As the Minister said, though, we have a substantial opportunity in the long term to develop the offshore sector. We need domestic users of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: There are huge opportunities for us to rethink the way we design these sectors to reduce their impact both on climate and the wider environment. My specific question is: will the Minister consider introducing sectoral strategies around the circular economy in the key sectors within his remit?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 68. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if there are plans to develop the structure under which local enterprise offices operate so that centres of excellence could be developed for specialist sectoral support to be available on a regional basis, and inter-enterprise structures developed to evolve responses to collective problems that enterprises face; and if he will make...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: The Minister has extended the remit of the remit of local enterprise offices, LEOs. I come across a lot of enterprises which do not feel they have access to the specialist advice in each of the 31 LEOs. There needs to be regional centres of excellence. There is scope, in particular in areas like adaptation to green demands, for collaborative approaches in sectors.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. One of the concerns I have is that there has been an extraordinarily low level of take-up of initiatives to promote a move to sustainable processes through the supply chain, in particular among LEO and Enterprise Ireland clients. Group initiatives are the way to go. I am sceptical that drawing in a contractor essentially to move...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Enterprise Support Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I agree simplification is a help, but we need people to act in concert. We have seen the success of group schemes in all sorts of different walks of life, such as group water schemes, sustainable energy communities and so on. We need to have a similar momentum within the enterprise sector. That is not happening at the moment. There are huge opportunities in the food sector for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Enterprise Sector (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I add my voice to Deputy O'Reilly's point. In my experience, there are many trip points for social enterprises in getting access, such as the definition of whether an enterprise is commercial. If an organisation has a charitable status, it can be excluded from Office of Public Procurement contracts because of this status. Much like Deputy O'Reilly, I believe there will be a lot of...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 28. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how many childcare providers have applied for fee increases within core funding; the size of the fee increases approved to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43485/24]

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Early Childhood Care and Education (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 32. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the level of shortage in childcare being experienced at present has been identified; if proposals are being developed to accelerate the process of filling the gaps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43486/24]

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 75. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which there is untapped potential for clustering in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43501/24]

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (24 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 282. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth whether an up-to-date audit of the gaps in childcare provision is being planned to inform future capital provision in the sector; and how he hopes to attract new entrants to the sector. [41196/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I thank the witnesses for their work on this issue. I know this Bill was the cause of quite a bit of angst, with some high-profile liquidations that were not liquidations. What are the custom and practices with respect to the sole trader provision? A lot of sole traders just cease trading and do not enter into personal insolvency arrangements. They just wind up. Is this requirement of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: That brings me to another question. Ms Breathnach said the implications of being deemed insolvent under this provision are ring-fenced from any other implication. I imagine, unless there is an aggravated end to a business, that employees of a sole trader might not want to put their hand up to say their employer should be deemed insolvent. They would fear phraseology like that, which has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Will the employer, that is, the former sole trader who was the employer, be notified that this happened?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Could an employer who discovers that they cannot pay, but wants to process the thing, trigger this process which would be private and only between themselves and their employee, instead of having it the other way around, where the employee has to trigger this? As Deputy O'Reilly said, there is something of a burden in that and there is probably a psychological issue for people. Could an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Are many of these are statutory entitlements, such as holiday pay?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: The Department is still requiring an application process and it is not allowing the employer to trigger this process where they recognise the statutory entitlements of their worker but are just not in a position to meet them at that moment. Would it be possible to consider that by way of amendment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: Does Ms Breathnach mean that everything is paid up with sole traders?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: I just thought that it would not be that unusual for an employee to be left without something, if a business had to close its doors. It would be worth it for the Department to check that out with some of the well-known stakeholders who might have knowledge of these things.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Electricity Grid (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Bruton: 39. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is aware of caps that apply to the sale by domestic solar into the grid; and if he believes they should be lifted. [43504/24]