Vol. 708 No. 4
49 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the appointment of a facilitator in the development of a code of practice for grocery goods undertakings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19197/10]
The Deputy will be aware that the Renewed Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to "implement a Code of Practice for doing business in the Grocery Goods sector to develop a fair trading relationship between retailers and their suppliers" and "to review progress of the Code and if necessary to put in place a mandatory code".
The Government will give effect to this commitment by including a specific provision in the legislation, currently being prepared to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority, which will allow for the introduction of a statutory Code of Conduct in the grocery goods sector. I expect to publish this legislation later this year.
As previously indicated to the House by my predecessor, the Tánaiste, the opportunity will be taken in the interim period until the legislation is enacted, to explore with all the relevant stakeholders the possibilities of agreeing a Voluntary Code. In this regard, the Tánaiste had requested the former Attorney General and EU Commissioner, David Byrne, to act as facilitator in leading the discussions with stakeholders in relation to the development of a Voluntary Code. Whilst the possibility of the role of facilitator conflicting with his existing commitments was raised by Mr. Byrne at the time of his appointment by the Tánaiste, he was of the view that any such conflicts, having been declared, could be managed.
Mr. Byrne subsequently advised me that, having reflected further on the matter, he had since come to the view that it would not be possible to satisfactorily manage the role of facilitator in the light of his existing commitments and that he would not, therefore, be in a position to take up the appointment as facilitator.
Whilst I regret that it was not possible for Mr. Byrne to carry out the assignment of facilitator, I fully understand and appreciate his position in this matter.
I have appointed Mr John Travers as facilitator to engage with stakeholders in relation to the drawing up of a Voluntary Code. Mr Travers previously served as CEO of Forfás and as acting CEO of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) at its inception.
I would urge all stakeholders to engage with the facilitator once appointed as it is through a Voluntary Code that stakeholders have the best opportunity to develop a Code which best respects their interests and which is most suited to the dynamics of the Irish grocery goods sector.
50 Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he plans to develop or publish a new Asia strategy for trade to replace the current strategy which has since expired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19264/10]
The Government's Asia Strategy spanned ten years, from 1999 to 2009, and has been very successful in developing Ireland's Trade and other links with the key Asian economies.
Ireland's exports to the eight priority countries of the final phase of that Strategy rose very significantly, from €4 billion in 1999 to €9.6 billion in 2009, ahead of the target. We also achieved a five-fold increase in the number of Irish companies with a presence in those countries, from 54 at the start, to 267 in 2009, again ahead of target. In addition, substantial growth has been achieved on other targets relating to Tourism, specialist food exports, developing inward student numbers, academic partnerships and a range of others. These outcomes, together with progress in wider awareness-raising, have been greatly assisted by focussed high-level visits. Over the last five years, Taoiseach-led Trade Missions have been organised to China, India and Japan and other Ministerial-led Trade Missions have taken place to China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs has expanded their network of Embassies and Consulates in the region.
The Government is committed to developing and expanding this engagement, as the key Asian economies represent an exciting and continuously developing market for Irish goods and services. To this end and in response to the Smart Economy Framework, my Department is both reviewing the achievements of the Asia Strategy, and working with other relevant Departments and the development agencies to prepare a new Trade, Tourism and Investment Plan. The new Plan will focus on high growth markets such as China, Brazil, the Gulf States, India and Japan, as well as on our existing key trading partners such as the UK, the US and the Eurozone, and its aim will be to increase our economic engagement with these high- growth and high-potential markets. The Plan, which will be completed by mid-year, will boost our exports and investment performance and bring further focus and coherence to Ireland's single-minded pursuit of our international economic and commercial interests.
51 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the degree to which his Department and agencies intend to interact in the rebuilding of the economy with particular reference to employment creation and retention; if he will further outline his proposals, if any, to examine and address the precise reason for the relocation of manufacturing or service jobs outside this country to other jurisdictions; whether, arising from any studies, his Department or other agencies have identified the exact measures needed to address the issues arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19309/10]
Jobs and economic growth are about direct and indirect measures. My Department and the state agencies have a role to play in both directly supporting business and ensuring that the policies pursued across Government are consistent and support our overall national objectives of reducing unemployment, regional development and building the smart economy.
My Department and it's agencies, interact regularly and intensively via the Cabinet Committee on Economic Renewal and the Senior Officials Group that underpins it. The primary purpose of these interactions is to prepare and deliver the actions that have and will continue to drive recovery and growth, and they have a specific focus on employment creation and retention.
In addition, the wide range of direct enterprise agency supports are aimed at improving productivity, market knowledge, competitiveness, and leadership and management capabilities so that firms can compete successfully in international markets and grow their exports.
State supported indigenous companies currently employ 133,000 people. Enterprise Ireland's objective is to create a further 40,000 new jobs over the next five years. State supported foreign companies currently employ 124,000 people. IDA's objective is to create a further 62,000 new jobs over the next five years. The IDA and EI targets for job creation could lead to an additional 70,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy.
In addition, the County and City Enterprise Boards support micro-enterprises across the country. Companies supported under the Employment Subsidy Scheme and the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund have committed to maintaining over 100,000 jobs to the end of November 2010.
We are also supporting companies with direct funding for R&D and through the recently enhanced R&D tax credit. Enterprise Ireland and IDA support companies ranging from Innovation Vouchers to large scale research programmes. We are funding collaborative research partnerships between companies and partnering companies with the strong science base we have built through PRTLI and Science Foundation Ireland. SFI funded researchers now work with over 300 companies.
However, the relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. We successfully manage this process, through our policies on enterprise and foreign direct investment. These policies have enabled us to win many prestigious and value added investments, and have enabled us to replace lost jobs with others of equal or higher value in the economy. New jobs created in the enterprise development agencies' client companies in the last number of years are heavily concentrated in high-value added, knowledge-based companies that offer higher salaries and greater security in the face of intense international competition.
Since the onset of the global downturn, Agencies and groups associated with my Department such as Forfás, EI, IDA, the National Competitiveness Council have examined the underlying factors affecting mobile international investment and Ireland's competitive position. Specific actions to both protect jobs and create opportunities for employment in the future are set out in the reports such as that on Green Enterprise and the Innovation Taskforce. My Department is driving the implementation of prioritised recommendations in conjunction with my Government colleagues.
52 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when he will publish legislation to address employee representation at work which was promised by June 2009 under the review of Towards 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19191/10]
The Towards 2016 Review and Transitional Agreement 2008 — 2009 (paras 9.1 — 9.3) provides for the establishment of a review process to consider the legal and other steps necessary to enable the employee representation mechanisms that had been established under previous agreements — and in legislation — to operate as they had been intended. In furtherance to this commitment, two informal meetings took place late last year, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach and at which my Department; the Department of Finance; trade unions; and employers were represented. Position papers were prepared by the employer and trade union representatives on the issues which they saw as requiring to be addressed by any new legislation in this area. While consideration will continue within Government on proposals to address the issues involved, progress in bringing the work to a conclusion will have to take account of other priority legislative commitments to be delivered in the employment area, resource constraints within Departments, and the extent of agreement between the trade union and employer sides in this area.
53 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 70 of 2 December 2009, the efforts he and bodies under the aegis of his Department, such as Enterprise Ireland and the South Cork County Enterprise Board, are making to support enterprise development and innovation, maximise entrepreneurial development and promote enterprise culture in Youghal, County Cork, and the entire east Cork area; the amount of grant support made available to local businesses and entrepreneurs in 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010 in the Youghal area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19307/10]
The Government is working hard to sustain and create jobs all over the country by creating a business environment that is supportive of enterprise. The enterprise development agencies play a key role in stimulating the development of new businesses, facilitating the expansion of existing companies, and targeting new foreign direct investment through a broad range of initiatives. Since 2008, Enterprise Ireland has approved €50m approx. to client companies in Cork City and County. Enterprise Ireland has a client base of over 700 companies in County Cork employing circa 18,000 people. EI provides a range of supports that includes the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund, seed and venture capital funds, research and development funds, greentech support and the lean business initiative.
The CEB in South Cork provides support to small businesses in the start-up and expansion phases, to promote and develop indigenous micro-enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity and entrepreneurship at local level throughout the area. Between 1993 and 2009, the CEB has provided over €6.1m in grant assistance to 451 clients. Their grant intervention has assisted in the creation of 916 jobs in the area. In addition 3,016 people have participated in South Cork CEB training programmes.
CEB assistance in the Youghal area has included support of an enterprise centre, direct grant support to eligible micro-enterprises, the promotion of enterprise related activities and of an enterprise culture in Youghal through networking and business development activities. Grant assistance to eligible micro-enterprises was approved to the value of €352,000 approx in 2008 and €486,000 in 2009. Projects in the Youghal area were approved grants to the value of €57,500 in 2008 and €30,000 in 2009. In addition, it's estimated that 3,676 people are employed in IDA client companies in the East Cork area.
The effectiveness of the agencies in job creation must also take into account the indirect effects of their activities. It is generally estimated that the jobs directly created result in approximately the same number of jobs being generated in the local economy. However, we cannot be complacent and I can assure the Deputy that I am examining the potential for State agencies to take a more collaborative approach to sectoral and enterprise development and in particular to implement the findings of the Forfas Regional Competitiveness Report for the South West.
54 Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his views on the situation whereby refunds of redundance money is paid to employers even when an employee is made redundant but takes up a new job within the same company; if he has quantified the cost of refunds paid in such situations this year or any year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19249/10]
My Department administers the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) in relation to redundancy matters on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Under Redundancy legislation, all eligible employees are entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment on being made redundant. As a general rule, a redundancy situation exists where an employer requires fewer employees to do work of a particular kind, where a company goes into liquidation/receivership, where it is decided to rationalise/reorganise a company or, of course, where a company closes down. Other examples would include partial closing down of a company, a decrease in an employer's requirements for workers of a particular kind and skills/qualifications or, an employer's requirements for fewer employees due to prevailing economic conditions.
Entitlement to statutory redundancy payments are governed by the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2007. In particular, Sections 7 to 9 of the Act set out the circumstances in which a redundancy situation applies. Section 9 specifically provides that dismissal by way of redundancy applies in the circumstance that the contract of employment is terminated. It provides moreover that an employee is not considered to be dismissed by his employer if the contract of employment is renewed, or he is re-engaged by the same employer under a new contract of employment where the conditions of employment do not differ from those of the previous contract and the contract takes effect immediately on the ending of the previous employment contract or, where renewal or re-engagement is offered within a period of four weeks from the ending of the previous contract.
In any instance where my Department is unsure, on the basis of claims made, whether a genuine redundancy situation exists, my Department will pursue this with the employer concerned. My Department also has the option, if there is any element of doubt relating to the existence of a redundancy situation, of referring cases to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for a decision. My Department is not aware of any cases in which statutory redundancy was paid out this year or any year where the redundancies were not of a genuine nature.
55 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he will make a statement on his strategy Jobs and Growth 2010, published on 19 March 2010. [19196/10]
My predecessor an Tánaiste published the policy statement ‘Jobs and Growth 2010' in March. This Statement brings together the Government's key strategies for growth, economic renewal and the development of a sustainable, internationally trading enterprise base for the creation of jobs. The Strategy focuses on the policies and actions which are being taken in a number of critical areas:
Improving our competitiveness;
Investing in people;
Investment and jobs;
R&D and Innovation;
Investment in infrastructure;
New jobs in new sectors;
The green economy; and
Trade and markets The Government has also implemented a comprehensive economic strategy that includes addressing the issue of budgetary sustainability. It has at its heart policies targeted at new, sustained growth in business, exports and jobs, based on increasing levels of productivity, competitiveness and innovation. These are the policies that are firmly at the top of my agenda as the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Innovation, and I believe that these policies will continue to show results. Under the Enterprise Subsidy Scheme, we are investing approximately €133 million to support 1696 companies, who have committed to maintain over 100,000 jobs. Under the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund, 193 companies have been approved a total of €72 million, of which €64 million has been paid out up to 30 April 2010. The remaining €6 million under this scheme is expected to be allocated over the next few months.
We are already seeing a recovery in cost competitiveness with lower business costs, particularly wages and energy. We are reducing the administrative burden by driving better regulation. We are targeting R&D and Innovation to drive productivity and ensure that we have the skills and technologies available in Ireland that will give us a competitive advantage. We are focussed on opportunities for growth in a number of key sectors. For example, the Green Enterprise report estimated that 80,000 new jobs could be created in the coming years. My priority is to ensure that the business environment is supportive of Irish enterprise and export growth and also reinvigorates Ireland's international standing to encourage high value foreign investment.
56 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the process of renaming his Department will be completed in accordance with the decision announced in Dáil Éireann on 23 March 2010; the estimated cost of the rebranding of his Department, including stationery costs, signage, website and other changes that will be necessary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19177/10]
As the Deputy will be aware, the name of my Department was officially changed on 2 May last. The estimated costs associated with this name change are anticipated to be in the region of €10,000. This includes the costs of stationery, signage and changes to my Department's website. Every effort has been made to keep these costs, which will be provided from within my Department's existing resources, to a minimum. Where possible, work associated with the name change has been undertaken in-house, by the staff in my Department.
57 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the breakdown of the 2,600 applicants under the second round of the employment subsidy scheme by employee numbers; the further breakdown of the successful applicants under the scheme by employee number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19065/10]
Under the second call for the Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary), 2,590 applications were received. Following an assessment process, 1,241 companies have been approved. A breakdown of all applicants and of successful applicants by employee size is given in the following tabular statement.
|
Number of employees |
Number of applicants |
Number of successful applicants |
|
>1000 |
2 |
1 |
|
750 to 999 |
4 |
4 |
|
500 to 749 |
10 |
8 |
|
250 to 499 |
51 |
42 |
|
100 to 249 |
200 |
121 |
|
50 to 99 |
408 |
240 |
|
25 to 49 |
720 |
536 |
|
10 to 24 |
1,195 |
289 |
|
Total |
2,590 |
1,241 |
58 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he will outline his proposals, if any, for the restoration of competitiveness and cost effectiveness throughout industry with specific reference to manufacturing, services, transport and retail in view of the impact of such sectors on the wider economy; if he has engaged with the various interested parties with a view to identifying a broad strategy that can place this country on at least a level footing with its immediate competitors and trading partners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19310/10]
Since January 2008, Ireland has regained competitiveness as domestic inflation remains below that of our main trading partners and the euro weakened — in February 2010, Ireland's real harmonised competitiveness indicator (HCI) was back to its January 2005 position. Improving our relative cost competitiveness requires the cost of doing business in Ireland to fall relative to that of our trading partners. Data which will be published shortly by the NCC will show that prices in Ireland have moderated in the past year, particularly property and energy prices. In addition, at an economy wide level, Irish labour wage rates — when adjusted for productivity — are becoming more cost competitive.
In parallel to the fundamental steps taken over the past 18 months to stabilise the public finances and restore the banking system, the necessary price adjustment to restore competitiveness is underway. Business costs have fallen: wage bills, asset prices, energy and prices in general have responded to the effects of recession and corrective government action. This is resulting in improvements to cost competitiveness across the economy in the manufacturing and services sectors. Further strengthening Ireland's competitive position will foster economic growth. I am working with my colleagues in Government to further embed the improvements already achieved and to strengthen Ireland's relative international competitiveness position.
59 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the work of the company law review group; the timeframe for the publication of legislation following the reports of this group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19183/10]
In accordance with Section 70(1) of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001, the Company Law Review Group's (CLRG) Work Programme is assigned by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation every two years. I have received the Report of the Review Group on its 2008-2009 Work Programme. Following consideration by the Government, the Report will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. While there is no obligation on my part to legislate in respect of any recommendation from the CLRG, the main focus of the Group's work to date has been in relation to the General Scheme of the Companies Consolidation and Reform Bill which was published in July 2007. The Government subsequently approved the drafting of a Bill along the lines of the General Scheme. The proposed Bill will consolidate all the existing Irish Companies Acts, dating from 1963 to 2009, as well as other regulations and common law provisions relating to the incorporation and operation of companies, into a single Act comprising more than 1,300 sections. Given its size and complexity it is envisaged that the Bill will be published in the Autumn 2011 at the earliest.
60 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he shares the concerns of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association that the recent departmental division of FÁS including the allocation of certain responsibilities to the Department of Education and Skills will serve to add further delays in redundancy rebates. [15486/10]
The transfer of FÁS to the Department of Education and Skills will have no impact whatsoever on the waiting time for payment of redundancy rebates as they are completely unrelated. Responsibility for all aspects of FÁS including training and the governance of FÁS has transferred out of my Department and now resides, since the making of the Government order in early May 2010, with the Department of Education and Skills. It is intended that responsibility for the national employment service (including the local employment service) and employment programmes will move from the Department of Education and Skills to the Department for Social Protection under a further Government order to be made in due course. Responsibility for the redundancy and insolvency payment schemes currently resides with my Department pending the making of a Government order to transfer these functions to the Department of Social Protection. In transferring the functions between Departments, it is the intention that this will operate seamlessly and without any adverse impact on the service levels being experienced by individuals or the business community awaiting payment of redundancy claims. There will be full engagement between my Department and the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Skills in the necessary planning and organising to achieve a seamless transfer of functions.
61 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps taken since the publication of the innovation task force’s report to implement those key and supporting recommendations that the report would be considered immediately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18782/10]
85 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if the implementation of the innovation task force’s report will be made a priority; the steps he has taken since the innovation task force’s report was published to implement some of the key recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18781/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 61 and 85 together.
The development of Ireland as an Innovation Hub is a key priority of the Government's economic recovery framework. The Innovation Taskforce has put forward a road map to make Ireland: the best place in Europe to turn research and knowledge into products and services; the best place in Europe to start and grow an innovative company; the best place to relocate or expand and scale an SME; the best place in Europe for research-intensive multinationals to collaborate with each other and with clusters of small companies.
Recent changes in Departmental structures have brought innovation to the fore in my new Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the Government has agreed that I personally chair a High Level Implementation Committee to oversee implementation of the Report of the Innovation Taskforce, as published in March. This reflects the highest political priority that is being afforded to the implementation of this report.
The membership of the Implementation Committee will comprise a number of private sector members, including representatives from the Innovation Taskforce and some members of the Enterprise Feedback Group for the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation which will be subsumed into this new Committee. The Implementation Committee will also include the Secretaries General of key Government Departments. The CEOs of key agencies will also participate in the work of the Committee.
I envisage a first meeting of the Implementation Committee at an early date and regular meetings thereafter. Each of my Ministerial colleagues has been asked to prioritise the implementation of recommendations from the Taskforce report for which they are responsible. Particular attention will be given to those recommendations from the Taskforce Report which can be implemented in the shorter term and work is already underway on a number of such recommendations. I will report on our work on a regular basis to the Taoiseach and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Renewal.
62 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he is taking to support the role of county enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18785/10]
The County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) have primary responsibility for the delivery of State support to the indigenous micro-enterprise sector i.e. businesses which employ 10 or less workers. In the current economic climate, entrepreneurship, and the growth and development of small Irish businesses, is central to economic recovery and it is essential that Irish enterprises continue to be supported. The CEBs play a key role in this regard and their priorities for 2010 are to assist owner/managers in enhancing the survival and sustainability of their businesses in these difficult economic times and to assist people wishing to start their own business including those made redundant.
To enable the CEBs to fulfil their role I have secured funding of over €28m for the network of CEBs of which €14.9m has been allocated for Capital expenditure. During 2010 the CEBs will ensure that this funding is targeted to maximise entrepreneurial development. This will be done not just by direct grant aid to businesses and project promoters but also through the provision of a range of other important business supports such as mentoring, business training and business advice all of which help to stimulate indigenous enterprise creation.
My Department, in association with the CEB Central Coordination Unit within Enterprise Ireland (CCU), and with the CEB network, will continue to monitor the level of funding and range of support services offered by the CEBs to the micro-enterprise sector.
63 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if his attention has been drawn to the impact on businesses and in particular small businesses of the restrictions of credit by the banks; if he has any assessment of the consequences of this; and if he proposes any measures to deal with it before further jobs are lost. [18786/10]
Government policy on banking has been to return the banks to a position where they can access funds and lend these funds on to viable businesses and households to support enterprise growth and economic recovery.
The Government has taken decisive action in order to get credit flowing again. The Bank Guarantee Scheme, the 2009 Recapitalisation Scheme, the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Banks and the establishment of the National Assets Management Agency have all contributed to the stabilisation of the banking sector with a view to facilitating the flow of credit. The 2010 Recapitalisation package builds on the earlier initiatives and includes additional supports for enterprises, including SMEs. In particular, AIB and Bank of Ireland have both committed to making available not less than €3 billion each for new or increased credit facilities to SMEs in both 2010 and 2011. This must include funds for working capital for businesses. Both banks must each produce a plan that includes a sectoral and geographic breakdown of how they intend to divide up this new lending. This will be a significant increase on the figures reported by the banks for 2009 and will help to sustain the economy and foster growth. This figure can be reviewed as the needs of the economy change.
In the past, Irish banking has focused too much on property-related lending and our banks have not been very well acquainted with our modern economic sectors. In order to change this, under the new Recapitalisation arrangements, the banks are required to work closely with Enterprise Ireland to improve their expertise. Specifically they are required to: commit resources to work with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Banking Federation to develop sectoral expertise in the modern growth sectors of the Irish economy; explore with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Banking Federation how best to develop the range of banking services that Irish SMEs trading internationally will need; and develop expertise and bring forward new credit products in areas where cashflow, rather than property or assets, is the basis for business lending.
The Credit Review Office headed up by John Trethowan will examine the credit policies and practices of the banks, particularly for SMEs. The Office is also open to review cases where credit has been refused to viable companies and to make appropriate recommendations to the relevant bank concerned. The Government has also introduced a number of initiatives to improve the availability of credit to the small business sector. The Finance Act 2010 provided for the start-up company exemption to be extended into 2010 encouraging both entrepreneurship and economic activity.
The Enterprise Stabilisation Fund was established by Government in 2009, as a 2-year scheme to support viable but vulnerable exporting companies experiencing difficulties because of the economic climate. The fund supplies direct financial support to internationally trading enterprises by supporting their drive to reduce costs and through increased competitiveness, gain sales in overseas markets. In 2009, €58m was spent on 180 projects. To date in 2010, 13 companies have been approved for funding under this initiative.
The Government is also encouraging employers to create new jobs through reducing the costs associated with employment through the Employer Jobs (PRSI) Incentive Scheme. For each new eligible job, the scheme gives an 8%-10% saving on employment costs for the first year of employment. This will actively encourage the creation of new employment now when it is most needed. Work is also under way in my Department on the examination of a possible scheme of Loan Guarantees for the SME sector.
The Government places a high priority on supporting entrepreneurship and growing Irish owned business. The State support agencies, including Enterprise Ireland and the network of 35 City and County Enterprise Boards, are working hard to support and maintain existing business and to help those people who want to start new businesses. Government will continue to monitor the banks' response to providing credit to SMEs to ensure that the significant assistance provided to stabilise the banks results in a proper functioning banking system which supports enterprise development and facilitates Ireland's ability to benefit from a general upturn in international markets.
64 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his plans to amend the Competition Act to facilitate negotiations between himself and the Irish Medical Organisation; if he will provide a licence to the National Union of Journalists and Equity to negotiate pay rates on behalf of their members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19297/10]
I assume that the Deputy is referring to amending the Competition Act 2002 to facilitate negotiations between the Minister for Health and Children and the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO). The issue of amending the Competition Act 2002 to facilitate such negotiations is being examined in the context of the Consumer and Competition Bill, which I hope to publish later this year. This Bill will, inter alia, give effect to the merger of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority. In addition, an amendment to competition law to give effect to the Government commitment under “Towards 2016” regarding the exemption of certain specified categories of vulnerable workers (voice-over actors, freelance journalists and session musicians) from competition law will also be considered in the context of this Bill. All such amendments would have to be subject to consistency with EU competition law.
Negotiation licences are issued to trade unions under the Trade Union Act, 1941 for the purpose of carrying out negotiations for the fixing of wages and other conditions of employment. The Irish Medical Organisation, the National Union of Journalists and SIPTU (of which Irish Equity is a part) hold negotiation licences under section 6(1) of the 1941 Act.
65 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his views on the recent report by the European office of Amnesty International which suggests that a number of EU countries have been involved in the export of weapons of torture. [13348/10]
Ireland is totally committed to taking persistent, determined and effective measures to eradicate torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through our work in the EU and in other international fora such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Ireland signed the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) on 28 September 1992, and ratified it on 11 April 2002. Ireland also signed and ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 14 March 1988 and signed and ratified both Optional Protocols to the Convention on 10 April 1996.
Ireland's commitment to eradicating torture is further demonstrated through our support for the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. In the past six years, Ireland has given more than €1 million to the Voluntary Fund. Council Regulation No 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods that could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is implemented in Ireland by means of Statutory Instrument No. 488 of 2005. This legislation prohibits the export of goods, which have no practical use other than for the purpose of capital punishment or for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Regulations list the products whose export or import is prohibited.
Under the Regulations an authorisation is required for any export of listed goods that could be used for the purpose of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. No export authorisation has been either sought from or granted by my Department for any of the products listed in the Regulations. Furthermore, to reinforce our serious concerns about any trade in these goods, Customs spot check for any trade flows of products that have similar trade identification codes to ensure, that as far as possible, there is no circumvention of these vital controls.
I invite the Deputy to let me know of any circumstances of which he may be aware concerning unauthorised trade in these products. An official of my Department has been in contact with Amnesty International to arrange a meeting to discuss the recent report.
66 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the progress that has been made in the appointment of a person to draw up a voluntary code of practise to regulate the retail sector; when he expects that this appointment will be made; the proposed timeline for the publication of this code of practice in view of the recent difficulties in finding a candidate to draw up this code; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19060/10]
The Renewed Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to "implement a Code of Practice for doing business in the Grocery Goods sector, to develop a fair trading relationship between retailers and their suppliers" and "to review progress of the Code and if necessary to put in place a mandatory code".
The Government will give effect to this commitment by including a specific provision in the legislation, currently being prepared to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority, which will allow for the introduction of a statutory Code of Conduct in the grocery goods sector. I expect to publish this legislation later this year. In the interim, until the necessary legislation can be enacted, it is intended to take the opportunity to explore with all the relevant stakeholders the possibilities of agreeing a Voluntary Code. In this regard, the Tánaiste had requested the former Attorney General and EU Commissioner, David Byrne, to act as facilitator in leading the discussions with stakeholders in relation to the development of a Voluntary Code. Whilst the possibility of the role of facilitator conflicting with his existing commitments was raised by Mr. Byrne at the time of his appointment by the Tánaiste, he was of the view that any such conflicts, having been declared, could be managed.
Mr. Byrne subsequently advised me that, having reflected further on the matter, he had since come to the view that it would not be possible to satisfactorily manage the role of facilitator in the light of his existing commitments and that he would not, therefore, be in a position to take up the appointment as facilitator. Whilst I regret that it was not possible for Mr. Byrne to carry out the assignment of facilitator, I fully understand and appreciate his position in this matter. I have appointed John Travers as facilitator, to engage with stakeholders in relation to the drawing up of a voluntary code. I would urge all stakeholders to engage with the facilitator as it is through a Voluntary Code that stakeholders have the best opportunity to develop a Code which best respects their interests and which is most suited to the dynamics of the Irish grocery goods sector.
67 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when he plans to publish anti-victimisation legislation designed to protect those workers who choose to join a trade union and which was promised by March 2009 under the review of Towards 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19190/10]
The Towards 2016 Review and Transitional Agreement 2008 — 2009 (paras 9.1 — 9.3) provides for the establishment of a review process to consider the legal and other steps necessary to enable the employee representation mechanisms that had been established under previous agreements — and in legislation — to operate as they had been intended. The Agreement (para 9.4) also commits the Government to bringing forward legislative proposals to prohibit the victimisation of trade union members and to prohibit the incentivisation of persons not to be members of a trade union.
In furtherance to these commitments, two informal meetings took place late last year, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach and at which my Department; the Department of Finance; trade unions; and employers were represented. Position papers were prepared by the employer and trade union representatives on the issues which they saw as requiring to be addressed by any new legislation in this area. While consideration will continue within Government on proposals to address the issues involved, progress in bringing the work to a conclusion will have to take account of other priority legislative commitments to be delivered in the employment area, resource constraints within Departments, and the extent of agreement between the trade union and employer sides in this area.
68 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the draft consumer rights directive; if he is satisfied that the existing rights of consumers here, such as the right to reject will be retained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19182/10]
The proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive was published in October 2008 and brings together in updated and consolidated form four existing Directives on doorstep selling, distance sales, consumer sales and guarantees, and unfair contract terms. Unlike the Directives it is intended to replace, the proposal has been drafted on a full harmonisation basis and, if adopted on this basis, would preclude member states from going beyond its protections in national legislation.
In the case of a complex proposal like the proposed Consumer Rights Directive, arriving at an overall assessment of its implications for consumer rights is not a straightforward matter. Some proposals, such as the proposed extension of the withdrawal period for distance and off-premises contracts from seven to fourteen days and the provision that risk would pass with delivery in consumer sales contracts, would enhance Irish consumer rights. Other provisions, such as those on unfair contract terms, broadly reflect the existing legal position here and would neither enhance nor diminish consumer rights.
Concerns about the proposal's impact for consumer rights in Ireland centre mainly on its provisions on consumer remedies for faulty goods and in particular, as the Deputy's question suggests, on their implications for what is known as the right to reject. By this is meant the right to return faulty goods, obtain a refund of the price, and, in so doing, to terminate the contract. This is a well-established feature of our sale of goods law and, though qualified by quite complex provisions on the acceptance and rejection of goods, is an important safeguard for consumers and one that materially strengthens their hand in dealing with recalcitrant traders.
Though the proposed Directive makes provision for a broadly similar right to rescind the contract where goods are faulty, this applies only where the primary remedies of repair or replacement are unlawful, impossible or disproportionate, or are not made available by the trader, or fail to remedy the defect within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to the consumer, or if the same defect recurs more than once within a short period of time. A fully harmonised provision along these lines would, if adopted, mean that the right to reject would be a remedy of second rather than first resort for faulty goods. Though consumers are satisfied in many cases with the repair or replacement of faulty goods, the relegation of the right to reject to the status of a secondary remedy would have, and would be seen to have, an adverse effect on Irish consumer rights.
The Sales Law Review Group, which was established in November 2008, in order, among other things, to assess the implications of the proposed Directive for Irish consumer rights and law, produced a comprehensive assessment of the proposal in a position paper published in July. Though the Review Group acknowledged the positive elements in the proposal, it stated that the provisions on remedies for faulty goods and a related provision that would reduce the liability period for faulty goods under Irish law from six to two years presented ‘the greatest threat to the protections currently enjoyed by Irish consumers'. My Department has taken careful note of the points made by the Review Group and the Group's assessment has been of considerable benefit in informing our approach to the discussions on the proposed Directive.
I would like to assure the Deputy that my officials have expressed our concerns about the relevant aspects of the proposed Directive in clear and forthright terms. Those concerns were restated at political level in a policy debate on the proposed Directive at the Competitiveness Council in December 2009. It is important to recognise however that discussions on the proposed Directive have a considerable way to go at both official and Ministerial level and in the European Parliament. The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament is currently considering the proposal, and the proposal is expected to have a first reading in the Parliament before the end of the year. While I am not in a position to disclose the state of play of discussions on the proposed Directive, I can say that the European Commission is fully aware of our and other member states' concerns about aspects of the proposal. In an address to the European Consumer Day Conference on 15 March 2010, Vice-President Reding who now has responsibility for the proposal stated that ‘it is clear that the proposal as it is today does not offer the right level of protection on all issues' and expressed a willingness to work with the Parliament and the Member States to see whether ‘increasing the level of protection for certain rules would lead to a better outcome for consumers, without putting too high a burden on businesses'.
69 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when he plans to publish the legislation to amend the Competition Acts to uphold the right of certain freelance workers such as actors and musicians to collective bargaining, which was promised as part of the review of the Towards 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19192/10]
I intend, subject to consistency with EU competition law, to give effect to the Government commitment in "Towards 2016” regarding the exemption of certain specified categories of vulnerable workers from competition law in the Bill being prepared to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority.
Work on the draft heads of this Bill is now at an advanced stage and I intend to bring these draft heads to Cabinet within the coming weeks. I hope to publish the Bill in the Autumn.
70 Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if his attention has been drawn to the recent report published by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland seeking changes in the current arrangements for issuing work permits to persons from outside the EEA area which it claimed was leading to exploitation of workers; if he is planning any changes to the current regime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19194/10]
I am aware of the recent report published by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland in the context of changes proposed to the system of issuing work permits.
My Department condemn any practices by employers that may result in non-compliance with employment rights entitlements or any other mistreatment of employees including those on employment permits. Ireland's Employment Rights Legislation establishes the statutory rights applicable to all people working in Ireland whether they are Irish citizens or otherwise. I would urge all whose employment rights are being breached by an employer or those who know of such exploitation, to contact the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA).
The Employment Permits Act 2006 sets out in legislation the rules governing employment permits. One of the main focuses of this Act was in increasing the rights and protections afforded to migrant workers and the means to ensure redress in the event of exploitative practices. The Act's provisions gave immigrants greater freedom, autonomy and control over their own employment choices by enabling workers for the first time to apply and re-apply for their own permit and allowing workers to change their employer after a period of a year and move to another employment in order to take advantage of better conditions or career options. Last year, my Department issued almost 1,500 employment permits in respect of employees changing to new employers.
The Employment Permits Act 2006 allows for regular review of Ireland's economic migration policies and my Department keeps these policies under review, in line with the emerging needs of the labour market, on an on-going basis.
71 Deputy Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position and timeframe for the transposition of the services directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19184/10]
The Regulations to bring the Services Directive [Directive 2006/123/EC] into law under the European Communities Acts are almost finalized. I hope to sign the Regulations within the next four weeks.
72 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he has received any report from the Labour Court regarding a possible change in the national minimum wage; if not, when he expects to receive its report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19187/10]
In November 2008, ICTU requested the Labour Court to review the national minimum wage and to make a recommendation to the Minister for Labour Affairs concerning its adjustment. The Court subsequently invited submissions on the issue. Various submissions were received, including from IBEC, ICTU and the Department of Finance. The Labour Court also held discussions with these parties.
Under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, the Labour Court can seek to establish, in the context of such consultations, whether a general agreement can be reached between the parties. If, however, the Labour Court is satisfied that such a general agreement cannot be reached, it may still make a recommendation to me.
I have not yet received any recommendation from the Labour Court in relation to the application made under the National Minimum Wage, 2000. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further while the matter is still before the Court.
73 Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs in co-operation with the European Union; the bulbs that have been banned to date and the wattages that are due to be prohibited in the medium and long term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15958/10]
Under Commission Regulation (EC) 244/2009 on the ecodesign requirements for non-directional household lamps (lightbulbs), as amended by EU Regulation (EC) 859/2009, inefficient incandescent lightbulbs are being phased out throughout the EU on a staged basis from 1st September 2009. They are being replaced by more energy efficient alternatives such as new improved halogen lightbulbs, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and LEDs. The aim of the Regulation is to save energy, to reduce CO2 emissions and to help consumers save money in lower electricity bills without the loss of functionality.
The calendar of the phase-out in the Regulation has been developed in a way to ensure that lamp manufacturers have the time to convert their incandescent bulb production lines to alternative improved lamp technologies.
There are 6 stages in the Regulation.
Stage 1 — 1st September 2009
Under Stage 1, which was effective from the 1st September 2009, the following lightbulbs were prohibited from being placed on the market within the E.U.
All clear glass bulbs 100 watts or over (except for those with an energy rating of ‘C' or better)
All frosted bulbs (except CFLs and LEDs)
All clear bulbs in energy classes F & G.
Stage 2 — from 1st September 2010
Under Stage 2 of the Regulations, which commences on the 1st September 2010, all 75 W clear incandescent lamps will be phased out and there will be a requirement on manufacturers to provide certain product information to consumers.
Stage 3 — from 1st September 2011
Phase-out of 60 W clear incandescent lamps.
Stage 4 — from 1st September 2012
Phase-out of all remaining clear incandescent lamps (i.e. 40W and 25W).
Stage 5 — from 1st September 2013
Enhanced functionality requirements.
Stage 6 — from 1st September 2016
Raising the minimum level to B class for clear retrofit lamps.
Special cap halogens (R9 and G7) may remain at C class after 1 September 2016.
Further information on EU Regulation (EC) 244/ 2009 is available on the Department's website at http://www.entemp.ie/trade/environment/phasingoutofincandescentlightbulbs.htm and the website of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland at www.powerofone.ie
74 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of claims for redundancy payments waiting to be processed within his Department at the latest date for which figures are available; the average time taken to process a claim; the steps he will take to speed up this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19189/10]
88 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of redundancies notified in his Department from 2002 to date in 2010; the number of projected redundancies for 2010; the amount of money awarded in statutory redundancy payment from 2002 to 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19188/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 88 together.
My Department administers the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) in relation to redundancy matters on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. There are two types of payment made from the SIF — rebates to those employers who have paid statutory redundancy to eligible employees, and statutory lump sums to employees whose employers are insolvent and/or in receivership/liquidation.
Table 1 sets out the number of redundancy claims received in the years 2002 to 2009 and provisional figures up to end April 2010. These figures reflect the number of employees who actually qualified for statutory redundancy lump sum payments. They do not reflect those who lost their jobs with less than two years service in employment. It is not possible to project the number of redundancies which will arise in 2010 as this will depend on a number of factors, including economic factors and the rate of recovery in the economy. However, the figures available for the first four months of 2010 suggest that the pattern, at an average weekly intake of 1,400 new claims is down on the weekly average of 1,500 claims experienced in 2009.
Table 2 sets out the monies paid out of the Social Insurance Fund in respect of redundancy claims for the years 2002-2009 and provisional figures up to end April 2010. It is not possible to project the amount which will be paid out in 2010 as this will hinge on a number of variables including the number of claims received, the length of service of the claimants etc.
Figures available to the end of April 2010 indicate that the number of redundancy claims on hand and awaiting processing stands at 36,333.
The Redundancy Payments Section of my Department is currently processing rebate claims submitted from September so that the waiting time is approximately 7 months. In respect of lump sum payments paid directly to employees in instances where employers are unable to pay the statutory redundancy entitlements, the Section is, in general, processing claims dating also from September 2009.
Efforts continue to be made by my Department to deliver more acceptable turnaround processing times for Redundancy payments given the difficulties that this gives rise to for both individual employees and the business community. Measures already taken in the Department in 2009 to alleviate the pressures on the Payments area include: almost doubling the number of staff through reassignment to a current level of 52 full time equivalents; prioritisation of the Department's overtime budget towards staff in the Section to tackle the backlog outside normal hours; establishment of a special call handling facility in NERA to deal with the huge volume of telephone calls from people and businesses concerned about their payments; better quality information relating to current processing times on the Department’s website; engagement with the Revenue Commissioners to facilitate the offset of redundancy rebate payments by employers against existing outstanding tax liabilities which those employers owe to the Revenue Commissioners.
The backlog and waiting times remain at unacceptable levels. However, improvements are evident. I should point out that my Department has, in 2009, processed 50,664 claims, up 70% on 2008, and made corresponding payments totalling €336m which results in average weekly payments to the value of €6.5m being issued. In the period 2007 — 2009, the level of new claims lodged with my Department has increased cumulatively by 200%. This contrasts with the previous two-year period 2005 — 2007 in which period the increase in new claims lodged was just 10%. During the period 1 January 2010 to 30 April, 2010, 23,593 claims were received and 27,592 were processed to the value of €159m which is a weekly average of €9.4m.
Responsibility for the payment of redundancy and insolvency payments is due to be transferred to the Department of Social Protection. The intention is to transfer by Government order, the payment functions arising under the Redundancy Payment and Insolvency Payment schemes. In transferring the functions between Departments, it is the intention that this will operate seamlessly and without any adverse impact on the service levels being experienced by individuals or the business community awaiting payment of redundancy claims.
|
Year |
Number of Redundancy Claims |
|
2002 |
24,432 |
|
2003 |
25,769 |
|
2004 |
25,041 |
|
2005 |
23,156 |
|
2006 |
23,684 |
|
2007 |
25,459 |
|
2008 |
40,607 |
|
2009 |
77,001 |
|
2010 |
23,593* |
* Provisional figures.
|
Year |
Expenditure on Statutory Redundancy |
|
(€000) |
|
|
2002 |
53,978 |
|
2003 |
88,933 |
|
2004 |
152,162 |
|
2005 |
149,172 |
|
2006 |
166,483 |
|
2007 |
183,328 |
|
2008 |
193,711* |
|
2009 |
336,404* |
|
2010 |
159,002* |
*Provisional figures.
75 Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he is taking to combat the continuing high level of unemployment as indicated by the April 2010 live register figures and ongoing announcements of job losses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19172/10]
Jobs and economic growth are about direct and indirect measures. My Department and the state agencies have a role to play in both directly supporting business and ensuring that the policies pursued across Government are consistent and support our overall national objectives of reducing unemployment, regional development and building the smart economy.
My Department and its agencies, interact regularly and intensively via the Cabinet Committee on Economic Renewal and the Senior Officials Group that underpins it. The primary purpose of these interactions is to prepare and deliver the actions that have and will continue to drive recovery and growth, and they have a specific focus on employment creation and retention.
In addition, the wide range of direct enterprise agency supports are aimed at improving productivity, market knowledge, competitiveness, and leadership and management capabilities so that firms can compete successfully in international markets and grow their exports.
State supported indigenous companies currently employ 133,000 people. Enterprise Ireland's objective is to create a further 40,000 new jobs over the next five years. State supported foreign companies currently employ 124,000 people. IDA's objective is to create a further 62,000 new jobs over the next five years. The IDA and EI targets for job creation could lead to an additional 70,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy.
In addition, the County and City Enterprise Boards support micro-enterprises across the country. Companies supported under the Employment Subsidy Scheme and the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund have committed to maintaining over 100,000 jobs to the end of November 2010. We are also supporting companies with direct funding for R&D and through the recently enhanced R&D tax credit. Enterprise Ireland and IDA support companies ranging from Innovation Vouchers to large scale research programmes. We are funding collaborative research partnerships between companies and partnering companies with the strong science base we have built through PRTLI and Science Foundation Ireland. SFI funded researchers now work with over 300 companies.
However, the relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. We successfully manage this process, through our policies on enterprise and foreign direct investment. These policies have enabled us to win many prestigious and value added investments, and have enabled us to replace lost jobs with others of equal or higher value in the economy. New jobs created in the enterprise development agencies' client companies in the last number of years are heavily concentrated in high-value added, knowledge-based companies that offer higher salaries and greater security in the face of intense international competition.
Since the onset of the global downturn, Agencies and groups associated with my Department such as Forfás, EI, IDA, the National Competitiveness Council have examined the underlying factors affecting mobile international investment and Ireland's competitive position. Specific actions to both protect jobs and create opportunities for employment in the future are set out in the reports such as that on Green Enterprise and the Innovation Taskforce. My Department is driving the implementation of prioritised recommendations in conjunction with my Government colleagues.
76 Deputy Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when he expects to publish the legislation promised in a newspaper interview (details supplied) on 17 March 2009 to clamp down on crony capitalism, to restrict cross-directorships and to prevent one person fulfilling the dual role of chair and chief executive of any company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19185/10]
The remarks attributed to the Minister for Finance in the interview in question would, no doubt, have been made with the banking sector in particular in mind. Policy responsibility for the banking sector is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance. In this regard, the Deputy may be aware that the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator have launched a consultation paper recently on corporate governance standards for financial institutions and credit undertakings. The matters referred to by the Deputy are among the issues being addressed in the consultation paper. The Financial Regulator has invited interested parties to comment by 30 June 2010.
In the area of company law that falls within my responsibility, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is currently drafting the Company Law Consolidation and Reform Bill. It sets out the corporate duties of directors, company secretaries and auditors on a general basis across all sectors. The Bill will implement the recommendations of the Company Law Review Group in that the fiduciary duties owed by directors to the company will be stated in the new companies code.
At present company law does not prohibit cross directorships, whereby a person is a director of more than one company at the same time. The general position is that a person may not be a director of more than 25 companies subject to certain specific exceptions. Directorships of public limited companies (plcs) are not included in the limit of 25. Any consideration of a change in this position for the general cohort of companies operating in Ireland would need to take account of the contribution that non-executive directors make by imparting their mix of expertise and the cross fertilisation of ideas from other areas of the business community.
The Companies Acts do not prevent a person fulfilling the dual role of chair and chief executive of a company. This would in my opinion be unworkable for smaller companies. However, the Combined Code of Corporate Governance which applies to companies whose securities are listed and traded on the Irish Stock Exchange does provide that the roles of chairman and chief executive should not be exercised by the same individual. The "comply or explain" principle, which is now enshrined in law under Statutory Instrument 450 of 2009, requires companies to meet the best practice guidelines or explain publicly why not.
The Government is committed to ensuring that our corporate governance regime for the corporate sector generally, accords with best international practice. We will take account of the lessons which emerge from current enquiries and reviews arising from recent developments and we will address, as appropriate, any concerns in this area including by way of legislation if necessary.
77 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of companies who have benefited from the enterprise stabilisation fund; the amount which has been allocated to date from this fund; his plans to make additional funding available through the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19308/10]
The Enterprise Stabilisation Fund (ESF) was established by Government in 2009 as a 2 year scheme to support viable but vulnerable exporting companies experiencing difficulties because of the current economic climate. Some €78m is currently being provided under the ESF for 2009 and 2010. At the 30th April 2010, 197 projects from 193 companies had been approved €72m under the ESF, of which €64m has been paid out to date.
As with any budget process, the 2010 budget exercise necessitated taking account of emerging priorities as regards enterprise support. In this context, priority is being given to a wide range of financial supports for SMEs, including R&D grants, supporting companies, which are resuming a growth path, and providing assistance in developing lean manufacturing processes. Prioritisation is always necessary and in this instance it was clearly appropriate.
The Irish economy is now entering a recovery phase and we must take this into account in the allocation of funding across the range of Enterprise Ireland programmes. The companies that Enterprise Ireland is now assisting includes those that are still vulnerable but just as importantly, those that have shown their potential for high growth and increased export sales. This balance between supporting those companies which are still vulnerable and those, which are ready to grow, is the key to stabilising the position of some companies while facilitating others taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the recovery in global markets.
The overall funding allocated to Enterprise Ireland for company supports in 2010 amounts to €278m, which represents a 26% increase on the outturn for 2009. This increase is a reflection of the Government's commitment to supporting enterprise in whatever form is necessary as our priorities shift over the coming year. Allocations to particular schemes are kept under constant review and adjusted to meet our economic needs at any given point in time.
78 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of remaining EU directives for which his Department has responsibility to be implemented; if he will list the directives that are now overdue; if he will give the number of reasoned opinions received from the EU Commission since 2002 regarding delays or non-implementation of such directives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19193/10]
There are currently a total of 16 EU Directives due to be transposed by my Department up to 2012. Three of these Directives are currently overdue: (i) Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual and consolidated accounts (due to be transposed shortly); (ii) Directive 2008/112/EC on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures (due to be transposed shortly) and (iii) Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market (due to be transposed by mid June 2010).
I have emphasised to officials in my Department the necessity to transpose directives at the earliest opportunity. I have put additional measures in place to ensure that this happens and will be monitoring progress going forward.
Full details on the state of play of all current EU Directives due for transposition are maintained on the Department's website, www.entemp.ie
My Department has received 26 Reasoned Opinions from the European Commission relating to Directives since 2002. All but one of the outstanding issues has been settled satisfactorily. The remaining issues concern Directive 2006/43 as mentioned above.
The transposition of EU Directives is an ongoing priority in my Department and is reported to the Management Board on a regular basis.
79 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his most recent contacts with an airline (details supplied) regarding the possible location of up to 300 aircraft maintenance jobs at Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19176/10]
The Tánaiste and then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD, met with Ryanair CEO Mr. Michael O'Leary on Tuesday 16 February, followed by a letter she wrote to Mr. O'Leary on 18 February and letters she received from him on 19 February and 25 February.
Mr. O'Leary also responded on 19 February to a letter of 18 February from Shannon Development, one of the agencies under the aegis of my Department, which offered Ryanair the opportunity to consider locating aircraft maintenance operations in Shannon if it were not satisfied with the options on offer at Dublin Airport.
I and the State development agencies under my remit would want to engage constructively with any potential investor that has plans to provide high quality aircraft maintenance or other aviation related employment.
81 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he has any proposals to rationalise the offices and agencies operating under the aegis of his Department. [18787/10]
In relation to my Department, the main rationalisation relates to the decision to merge the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and the Competition Authority. At the time the merger of the two bodies was announced, work on the review of the operation and implementation of the 2002 Competition Act was well underway. The submissions received following a public consultation process were being considered as was the report and recommendations of the Advisory Group on Media Mergers. Rather than give effect to the amalgamation of the Authority and NCA in a stand-alone piece of legislation, to be followed in due course by legislation to amend, reform and update the 2002 Act, it was decided to introduce a single comprehensive Bill. This Bill will include provisions, not only to create the new consumer and competition body, but also to:
update the existing competition law;
strengthen the public interest test in respect of media mergers, in line with the report of the Advisory Group on Media Mergers;
make some minor amendments to the consumer protection legislation;
enable the drawing-up of a statutory code of conduct for the grocery goods sector; and
give effect to the Government commitment under "Towards 2016” regarding the exemption of certain specified categories of vulnerable workers from competition law.
I hope to publish this Bill later in 2010.
Separately, the Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) which was established in May 2002, as an independent, autonomous, non-statutory body, to consider the ethical issues in science and medicine raised by developments in biotechnology has until this year been funded by my Department. The future position of ICB was reviewed in the context of the general review of expenditure undertaken across all sectors in 2009 by the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (the McCarthy Report), and the outcome of this review was to the effect that "D/ET&E proposed a saving of €0.4m through discontinuing the funding of the Irish Council for Bioethics and this is accepted by the Special Group". The Report also indicated that the further issue of assigning some of the Council's functions to the health sector would have to be considered, if necessary, by the Department of Health & Children within existing expenditure and staff resources. Having regard to the recommendations in the McCarthy Report and in the light of other pending Government initiatives, the Tánaiste, in her then capacity as Minister responsible for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's vote, agreed with the Minister for Health and Children and the Minister for Finance earlier this year that the three staff in the secretariat to the ICB should be seconded to the Department of Health and Children, so that their expertise could be availed of appropriately. The funding allocation that had been made available to my Department for 2010 has accordingly been transferred to the Department of Health and Children of foot of this agreement.
I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to examine recommendations for the rationalization of other agencies as recommended in the McCarthy Report. Public Sector reform is a key competitiveness issue and I will be keeping this matter under constant review.
82 Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he will take to prevent the exploitation of domestic workers, particularly migrant workers in such positions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19195/10]
The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001 provides that all employee protection legislation applies to a person, irrespective of his or her nationality or place of residence, who has entered into a contract of employment that provides for his or her being employed in the State or who works in the State under a contract of employment.
In 2009, €2.5 million in unpaid wages was recovered by NERA for over 6,000 workers. This would have included both indigenous and migrant workers who were identified as having been paid less than their statutory minimum entitlement under both the Industrial Relations and Minimum Wage legislation. While the amount recovered for individual employees varied significantly, the average amount paid was approximately €410 per employee.
Code of Practice
A Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other People's Homes has also been prepared under the Industrials Relations Acts 1990. The code seeks to:
Set out certain employment rights and protections for persons employed in other people's homes;
Encourage good practice and compliance with the law concerning the employment of persons in other people's homes; and
Increase awareness of the application of relevant legislation and codes of practice with regard to the sector to which this code applies.
Provision of Information
NERA Inspectors play an important role in promoting employment rights in the course of their inspection activity. As part of that process, Inspectors, where appropriate, inform both employers and employees of their respective obligations and rights.
NERA provides this information through a variety of channels. The telephone information service provides a 24-hour a day service, offering callers the option to listen to recorded information on key employment rights topics at a time that suits them. NERA's website (www.employmentrights.ie) is a much-used information resource, recording over 1.5 million web page impressions during 2009.
NERA also provides a broad range of information through booklets and leaflets. These include ’Guide to Inspections’ and ’Guide to Employment Rights’ leaflets, a booklet entitled ’Employment Law Explained’ and a publication entitled ’Starting or Expanding a Business’. All of these booklets are available free of charge from NERA and may also be viewed and downloaded from the NERA website.
As part of NERA's continuing commitment to provide fully accessible information and services to all its customers, NERA proactively provides information by participating in events organised by trade unions, employer bodies, public bodies, educational institutions and civic society groups throughout the country. In 2010, NERA will provide workshops throughout the country where employers and employees can meet NERA staff in an informal setting with a view to getting information relevant to their particular circumstances.
NERA also liaises with a number of organisations, including the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI), which deal directly and closely with migrant workers. It has also appointed a member of its management team to liaise with the MRCI on matters of common interest and to maintain open communications between the organizations.
NERA is committed to ensuring that workers from overseas have access to Employment Rights information. Of the 69 NERA Inspectors currently employed, 9 have specific language skills in Polish, Slovakian, Lithuanian and Russian. NERA also draws on interpretative service providers for other languages as required. An information brochure is available in 12 different languages including Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Chinese and French.
Power to enter private dwellings
There are considerable protections in the constitution to protect the privacy of personal dwellings. However, NERA Inspectors can enter a private home with the consent of the occupier. It can also, apply to the District Court for a warrant to enter a private home to examine records. Such warrants may only be issued if a judge of the District Court is fully satisfied that the application is valid in all respects and is based on the sworn information of an Inspector that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that information required by an Inspector is held on any premises or any part of premises.
NERA uses information available from a number of sources, including the employment permits database, to identify potential employers of domestic employees. It will also investigate any complaints of suspected breaches of employment legislation received. I would encourage anyone who believes that their employment rights are being infringed to contact NERA as follows:
NERA Information Service
Telephone: (059) 917 8990
Lo-Call 1890 80 80 90
Fax: (059) 917 8909
NERA Inspection Service
Telephone: (059) 917 8900
Lo-Call 1890 220 100
Email: inspection@employmentrights.ie
83 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if his attention has been drawn to the significant number of closures of retail outlets and consequent job losses in this sector; if his attention has been further drawn to the problems created for many retail outlets by high levels of rent and the refusal of landlords to reduce rates to take account of the current economic climate; the steps he will take to address this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19175/10]
I am aware of the closures and significant job losses in the retail sector and my Department has taken such action as is open to it to alleviate the difficulties being experienced in the sector. The second call for the Employment Subsidy Scheme included the retail sector and I understand that subsidies were awarded to 178 retail companies. As a result of receiving 1,315 employment subsidies, these companies are committed to maintaining 12,891 jobs to 30 November 2010.
Regarding rent levels, my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has already banned "upward-only" rent reviews in new leases, which came into force on 28 February last.
In addition, Minister Ahern set up a new Working Group on Transparency in Commercial Rent Reviews earlier this year and my Department is represented on this Group. The Group brings all the relevant parties together to see how we can deal further with other aspects of concern in existing leases.
The Group is focusing in particular on the arbitration process and the adequacy of the information available to all parties in the context of commercial rent reviews. The Group has been asked to report to Minister Ahern by the end of June 2010.
84 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the action being taken to close Ireland’s gender pay gap, which currently stands at more than17%; the consultations he has had with employers groups in respect of gender pay gaps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19066/10]
The gender pay gap (defined as the difference between men's and women's average gross hourly earnings as a percentage of men's average gross hourly earnings) was estimated by EUROSTAT in 2007 at 17.6% on average in the EU. It exceeded 25% in two countries (Estonia and Austria) and 20% in seven countries (Slovakia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Germany, the United Kingdom and Greece). The gender pay gap in Ireland was estimated at 17.1%.
A significant body of legislation has been developed at national level to combat discrimination and guarantee equal treatment. In addition, a large number of non-legislative measures and initiatives have helped to promote equality between women and men in all areas. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is responsible for the provision of the legal framework that provides for equal treatment of women and men.
Addressing the factors behind the gender pay gap is a multi-faceted task involving a number of Government Departments and agencies as outlined in the National Women's Strategy, 2007-2016. The development and implementation of the gender equality focused initiatives identified in the National Women's Strategy envisages, inter alia, actions by the social partners to encourage greater numbers of women to advance to the higher levels within their chosen careers through training and cost effective reviews of equality policies within organisations; as well as continuing research and exploration of the causes of the gender pay gap in order to reduce it further. Overall coordination of the National Women's Strategy is led by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
86 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he is taking to streamline the issuing of work authorisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18784/10]
The introduction of the Employment Permits Act 2006 entailed a radical overhaul of the administrative arrangements and work practices of the Employment Permits Section. Employment permits are now issued on the basis of different permit types with dedicated staff trained in decision making on specific types. This system has streamlined the work of the section allowing faster times for issuing and maximising use of resources. During 2008, fully completed applications for all employment permit types were processed within our customer service target of 15 working days.
Due to the prioritisation of business needs of my Department, it was necessary to re-deploy a number of staff in the Employment Permits Section to the Redundancy Payments area in early 2009 where there is a strong need for additional resources to process payments to those who have lost their jobs. This has resulted in currently higher processing times for some of the permit types. In the priority high-skills area of green cards and intra-company transfers, applications are still being processed within 15 working days. In relation to Work Permits and Spousal applications, measures have been put in place to address the current waiting-time. I can report that significant progress has been made in reducing the backlog in these areas and we will continue to seek further improvements.
The Employment Permits Section is also currently developing a back office IT system to reduce the administrative burden on all applicants for Employment Permits and to further streamline the process. This system is forecast to go live in September 2010. As a result, a number of documents currently required with each application (as set down in the Employment Permits Act 2006) will be directly verified with the appropriate authority avoiding the need for paper submission.
In addition, the former Minister, An Tánaiste Mary Coughlan TD, in conjunction with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, announced on the 28th August 2009 that it will not be necessary for those who have been working lawfully and who have held an employment permit for 5 consecutive years to have an employment permit to remain in employment. On presentation of the relevant documentation to the Immigration Authorities they will now be facilitated with the appropriate endorsement. This has streamlined the process for all concerned.
87 Deputy Seymour Crawford asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he will take to ensure that inward investment will be provided for the Border counties such as Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan which have received no such investment since the Good Friday Agreement was signed; his views on whether these areas suffered significantly as a result of the previous 30 years of the Troubles and that they have suffered from a lack of high-quality employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18783/10]
One of the high level goals set out in the recently launched IDA strategy document, entitled "Horizon 2020", is that, in the period 2010 to 2014, 50% of FDI projects will be located outside of Dublin and Cork. Building on existing regional strengths to ensure Ireland's economic development and optimising regional spread in overseas investments is central to IDA's core activities.
This initiative supports national policy as outlined in the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), the aim of which is to achieve a balance of social and economic development across the country. In particular the NSS focuses on the presentation of areas of sufficient scale and critical mass as national regional gateways and hubs. In this context the Gateways of Sligo, Letterkenny and Dundalk will be the major targets for investment in the Border counties.
However, the challenge in achieving an even spread of investment across the country is intensified as the sophistication of investments increase. These investments require a concentration of highly qualified and educated workers, supporting infrastructure and high level business services. Frequently, competition for Foreign Direct Investment comes from city regions with populations in excess of one million people. Dublin is the only recognised city region of scale in Ireland. If FDI is to continue to contribute to balanced regional development the other regions of the country must be promoted as regions of scale with urban centres that provide the range of infrastructure and services that high value investment projects demand. IDA continues to vigorously promote such regions to potential investors. Meanwhile, we must not forget that there are 71 IDA supported companies employing a total of 7,887 people in the Border region.
The implementation of the Good Friday Agreement has resulted in the creation of opportunities for the attraction and development of foreign direct investment to the Border region and there is a wide range of cross-Border activities aimed at economic development. The development agencies, both north and south work together and co-operate with one another to support economic development and investment in the Border areas.
Question No. 88 answered with Question No. 74.
89 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his views on the recent number of cases highlighted by the National Consumer Agency in which some branches of the country’s four biggest retailers were charging customers more than the prices displayed; if he is satisfied that the law is adequate to deal with such practices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19180/10]
Consumer protection law obliges traders offering a product for sale to indicate the selling price and the unit price of that product and to ensure that the indication of the selling price and of the unit price is clearly visible. Complaints in relation to products being offered for sale where the price or unit price is not clearly visible should be brought to the attention of the National Consumer Agency who have responsibility for enforcing consumer law.
Insofar as instances where a wrong indication of price is concerned, traders who provide false information in relation to the price of a product may be engaging in a misleading commercial practice and may, therefore, be committing an offence under consumer law. Again instances of such practices should be referred to the National Consumer Agency in order that they can be investigated. I understand that the cases referred to by the Deputy follow on from concerted enforcement activity by the Agency in this area in the course of the latter half of 2009. Arising from this activity, the Agency took a total of 62 enforcement actions, including 19 compliance notices issued to traders who charged more for consumer goods than the price displayed.
I fully support the Agency's actions in ensuring that consumers are provided with accurate information regarding products and services and that they are not exposed to unfair or misleading commercial practices. I am satisfied that the law provides strong protections against traders who would seek to mislead consumers through the provision of false information, such as by the wrong indication of prices.
90 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his views on the consequences of job losses at a company (details supplied) in the Border region in terms of education and retraining opportunities and employment prospects; if unemployment, education and training services will be capable of dealing with an upsurge in unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19062/10]
Responsibility for education and training services rests with the Department of Education and Skills. In response to the announcement of redundancies in the company, I established an inter-agency team comprising Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the relevant County Enterprise Boards, FÁS, the Department of Social Protection together with my own Departmental officials.
The primary focus of the Inter Agency team will be to support the affected employees, to explore their options regarding employment, self employment through setting up a new business, skills development and to outline the supports available to them. Dedicated information centres staffed by the agencies are being established on site in Cavan, Navan and Blanchardstown to support the affected workers. Staff briefing sessions will also be held in these centres together with a series of business start-up workshops for those thinking of starting a business. Enterprise Ireland is in ongoing communication with the company concerned regarding the most appropriate and practical support measures that can be provided by the agencies concerned, while also ensuring continuation of normal business at the locations affected.
Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland will also assist in marketing the skills and capabilities of staff to potential investors in Ireland and overseas in the drive to replace jobs as soon as possible. The County and City Enterprise Boards in the Meath, Cavan and Fingal areas are working together to provide an appropriate co-ordinated response to the announcement of the job losses. The Boards will endeavour to provide every support possible for those directly affected who wish to establish a business or to explore the possibilities of self-employment. I consider that the inter-agency team is best placed to coordinate the activities of the relevant Government Departments, state development agencies and the County Enterprise Boards, to ensure support for employment opportunities in the region affected.
91 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his views on the consultation paper on corporate governance published by the Financial Regulator. [19186/10]
The consultation paper recently published by the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator relates specifically to financial institutions and insurance undertakings. Policy responsibility for the financial sector rests with my colleague the Minister for Finance. For my part, I welcome the publication of the consultation paper. I understand this initiative is part of a wider strategy to update the domestic regulatory framework applying to credit institutions and insurance undertakings and that the Regulator plans to develop corporate governance frameworks for other sectors of the financial services industry such as funds and credit unions.
The Financial Regulator envisages that while the new rules should apply to all credit institutions and insurance undertakings, he has not adopted a one-size-fits-all approach. I welcome the Regulator's openness to implementing the rules proportionately, where appropriate, and to recognise institutions with a lesser economic significance and lower risk activities. Interested parties are asked to comment on the proposals by end June 2010 and I look forward to seeing the new corporate governance standards published by the Regulator in due course.
92 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if, in view of the recent reports that suppliers are paying retailers up to €500,000 in hello money, he will bring forward the introduction of a statutory code; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11930/10]
The Competition (Amendment) Act 2006 prohibits grocery goods undertakings from engaging in anti-competitive conduct. Specifically undertakings are prohibited from compelling another undertaking to make any payment or grant any allowance for the advertising or display of goods. The Act also places specific prohibitions on retailers from compelling suppliers to make payments for providing space for grocery goods within a newly opened premises/part of a premises within the first 60 days of opening of the new premises. The Act requires that in order for these practices to be considered as prohibited practices they must have as their object the prevention/restriction/distortion of competition. The Act provides that persons aggrieved by prohibited practices have a right of action before the Circuit or High Court. A similar right of action is granted to the Competition Authority.
Deputies and any other parties who have evidence of retailers demanding "hello money", "pay to play money" or other like practices should bring such evidence to the attention of the Competition Authority in order that it can be investigated. The Competition Authority is committed to investigating any anti-competitive practices as thoroughly and as expeditiously as possible.
With regards to the relationship between retailers and suppliers, the Deputy will be aware that the Renewed Programme for Government contains a specific commitment to "implement a Code of Practice for doing business in the Grocery Goods sector to develop a fair trading relationship between retailers and their suppliers" and "to review progress of the Code and if necessary to put in place a mandatory code". The Government will give effect to this commitment by including a specific provision in the legislation, currently being prepared to merge the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority, which will allow for the introduction of statutory Codes of Conduct in the grocery goods sector. I expect to publish this legislation later this year.
In the interim period, until the legislation is enacted, the opportunity will be taken to explore with all the relevant stakeholders the possibilities of agreeing a Voluntary Code, which would respect the interests of all parties. A Voluntary Code offers stakeholders the opportunity to develop a Code most suited to the dynamics of the Irish grocery goods sector and which could also form the basis of any subsequent statutory Code. I have appointed John Travers as facilitator, to engage with stakeholders in relation to the drawing up of a voluntary code.
93 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Taoiseach the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19525/10]
The following tables show amounts paid for each of the past five years for IT Services supplied to my Department:
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
EuroKom Limited |
IT Network / Security Review |
9,281.61 |
y |
|
NCC |
Escrow agreement for eCabinet |
15,001.03 |
n |
|
Fujitsu Services |
eCabinet security features and review |
48,641.94 |
y |
|
In.Vision Research Limited |
Development of e-cabinet application |
526,328.51 |
y |
|
IQ Content |
Website Accessibility and Usability Review Project |
19,239.00 |
y |
|
IT Force |
IT Helpdesk |
95,854.99 |
y |
|
Oracle |
Oracle Support |
4,840.00 |
y |
|
Prose |
Financial Management Application |
7,318.08 |
y |
|
Parallel InformationTechnology (pTools) |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
7,574.60 |
y |
|
Sirsi |
Library Management System |
4,976.94 |
y |
|
SureSkills Limited |
Windows support Contract |
18,876.00 |
y |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes Support and development |
12,890.26 |
y |
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
Bearing Point |
HRMS + Corepay Support |
9,188.26 |
|
|
Sirsi |
Library Management System |
2,063.30 |
y |
|
Fujitsu Services |
E-Cabinet Security Review |
12,620.37 |
y |
|
In.Vision Research Limited |
Development of e-cabinet application |
609,414.94 |
y |
|
IT Force |
E-Cabinet helpdesk |
1,845.88 |
y |
|
Parallel Information Technology (pTools) |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
36,421.00 |
y |
|
SureSkills Limited |
It Helpdesk Contract |
114,144.94 |
y |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
85,680.40 |
y |
|
Version 1 |
Financial Management Application |
7,537.09 |
y |
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
Parallel Information Technology |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
57,233.00 |
y |
|
SureSkills Limited |
Windows Support Contract |
10,436.25 |
y |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes support and development |
74,675.15 |
y |
|
SureSkills Limited |
It Helpdesk Contract |
56,359.29 |
y |
|
In.Vision Research Limited |
eCabinet support and development |
248,760.22 |
y |
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
Parallel Information Technology |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
59,326.30 |
y |
|
Sogeti Ireland Ltd |
Delivered Knowledge Mgt Vision Document |
2,268.75 |
y |
|
MJ Flood Ireland Ltd |
Windows Support Contract |
3,932.50 |
y |
|
Sureskills Limited |
It Helpdesk Contract |
43,388.48 |
y |
|
IT Force |
E-Cabinet helpdesk |
148,150.02 |
y |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
18,304.09 |
y |
|
Bluewave Technology |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
21,313.99 |
y |
|
In.Vision Research Limited* |
eCabinet support and development |
171,618.68 |
y |
|
PA Consulting |
Development and subsequent enhancement of an Evidence Collection System |
46,775.00 |
y |
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
Ashville Media |
Design of OneGov website |
7,897.50 |
y |
|
Parallel Information Technology |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
25,879.51 |
y |
|
SureSkills Limited |
It Helpdesk Contract |
13,041.83 |
y |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
10,752.75 |
y |
|
IT Force |
E-Cabinet helpdesk |
136,702.18 |
y |
|
Quark |
eCabinet support and development |
256,695.64 |
y |
|
MJ Flood Ireland Ltd |
Windows Support Contract |
3,632.85 |
y |
|
Bluewave Technology |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
35,917.83 |
y |
|
Bearing Point Ireland Ltd |
CMOD PeopleSft HRMS managed Service |
5,438.92 |
|
Vendor Name |
Description |
Total for Supplier |
Tender |
|
€ |
|||
|
Arekibo |
Development of Government News Website |
6,352.50 |
y |
|
Bluewave Technology |
Lotus Notes Support and Development |
2,003.76 |
y |
|
IT Force |
E-Cabinet helpdesk |
43,540.36 |
y |
|
Parallel Information Technology (Ptools) |
Maintenance & Development of Department’s suite of websites |
18,150.00 |
y |
|
Bearing Point Ireland Ltd |
CMOD PeopleSft HRMS managed Service |
2,541.52 |
*In.Vision Research Limited was bought over by Quark in 2008.
The IT Unit is staffed by 10 Civil Servants (who equate to 9.6 realtime equivalents) and 1 Contractor.
94 Deputy James Reilly asked the Taoiseach the details of the quarterly national household survey in quarter three 2007 and quarter four 2009 broken down by gender and all statistically significant age categories for each region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19628/10]
The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates relating to the labour force. The CSO advises that the most detailed age groups for which estimates can be provided at NUTS 3 regional level are ten-year age groupings. Estimates of the number of persons broken down by labour force status along with unemployment and participation rates are presented by gender, ten-year age group and NUTS 3 Region for quarter 3 2007 and quarter 4 2009 in the tables following.
|
In employment |
Unemployed |
In labour force |
Unemployment rate |
Participation rate |
||||||||||||
|
Age |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
|
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
Border |
15-24 |
9.2 |
8.3 |
17.5 |
4.9 |
2.8 |
7.7 |
14.1 |
11.1 |
25.2 |
34.7 |
25.0 |
30.4 |
40.7 |
34.8 |
37.9 |
|
25-34 |
24.4 |
26.9 |
51.2 |
6.6 |
1.8 |
8.4 |
30.9 |
28.7 |
59.6 |
21.3 |
6.3 |
14.0 |
84.3 |
75.1 |
79.6 |
|
|
35-44 |
26.9 |
22.9 |
49.8 |
4.8 |
1.1 |
6.0 |
31.8 |
24.1 |
55.8 |
15.2 |
4.8 |
10.7 |
86.2 |
65.4 |
75.8 |
|
|
45-54 |
24.3 |
18.6 |
42.9 |
3.3 |
1.5 |
4.7 |
27.6 |
20.1 |
47.7 |
11.8 |
7.3 |
9.9 |
85.2 |
63.8 |
74.6 |
|
|
55-64 |
13.7 |
9.3 |
23.0 |
1.7 |
* |
2.1 |
15.4 |
9.7 |
25.1 |
11.2 |
3.6 |
8.2 |
56.7 |
37.4 |
47.3 |
|
|
65 + |
3.4 |
* |
4.2 |
* |
* |
* |
3.4 |
* |
4.3 |
2.1 |
* |
1.7 |
12.0 |
2.4 |
6.8 |
|
|
Total |
101.9 |
86.9 |
188.8 |
21.4 |
7.5 |
28.9 |
123.3 |
94.4 |
217.7 |
17.3 |
8.0 |
13.3 |
62.7 |
47.8 |
55.2 |
|
|
Midlands |
15-24 |
4.8 |
5.6 |
10.3 |
3.0 |
* |
3.8 |
7.8 |
6.3 |
14.1 |
38.9 |
12.3 |
27.0 |
45.2 |
37.5 |
41.4 |
|
25-34 |
15.5 |
13.3 |
28.8 |
4.0 |
1.9 |
5.9 |
19.5 |
15.2 |
34.7 |
20.3 |
12.7 |
17.0 |
90.5 |
70.9 |
80.7 |
|
|
35-44 |
15.7 |
12.9 |
28.5 |
3.2 |
1.0 |
4.2 |
18.8 |
13.9 |
32.7 |
16.9 |
7.2 |
12.8 |
92.7 |
67.6 |
80.0 |
|
|
45-54 |
13.6 |
10.9 |
24.5 |
2.3 |
* |
2.8 |
15.9 |
11.4 |
27.3 |
14.6 |
4.3 |
10.3 |
88.2 |
68.2 |
78.6 |
|
|
55-64 |
7.9 |
4.9 |
12.8 |
1.1 |
* |
1.5 |
9.0 |
5.3 |
14.3 |
12.5 |
7.1 |
10.5 |
65.0 |
40.3 |
52.9 |
|
|
65 + |
2.8 |
* |
3.3 |
* |
* |
* |
2.9 |
* |
3.4 |
2.3 |
* |
2.0 |
20.1 |
2.8 |
10.9 |
|
|
Total |
60.2 |
48 |
108.2 |
13.7 |
4.6 |
18.3 |
73.9 |
52.6 |
126.5 |
18.5 |
8.7 |
14.4 |
70.1 |
50.0 |
60.1 |
|
|
West |
15-24 |
8.2 |
11.6 |
19.8 |
4.2 |
3.4 |
7.5 |
12.4 |
15.0 |
27.3 |
33.9 |
22.4 |
27.6 |
47.2 |
52.5 |
50.0 |
|
25-34 |
25.4 |
26.5 |
51.8 |
5.8 |
2.0 |
7.9 |
31.2 |
28.5 |
59.7 |
18.7 |
7.1 |
13.2 |
89.1 |
78.1 |
83.5 |
|
|
35-44 |
24.1 |
18.9 |
43.0 |
3.8 |
1.5 |
5.3 |
27.9 |
20.4 |
48.3 |
13.6 |
7.5 |
11.0 |
90.7 |
67.3 |
79.1 |
|
|
45-54 |
21.6 |
19.1 |
40.7 |
2.8 |
1.1 |
3.9 |
24.4 |
20.1 |
44.6 |
11.4 |
5.4 |
8.7 |
86.7 |
72.0 |
79.4 |
|
|
55-64 |
14.5 |
9.1 |
23.6 |
1.4 |
* |
1.8 |
15.9 |
9.5 |
25.4 |
8.6 |
4.8 |
7.2 |
67.5 |
42.8 |
55.5 |
|
|
65 + |
5.4 |
1.2 |
6.6 |
* |
* |
* |
5.5 |
1.2 |
6.7 |
1.4 |
* |
1.2 |
21.7 |
4.0 |
12.3 |
|
|
Total |
99.3 |
86.3 |
185.5 |
18.1 |
8.4 |
26.5 |
117.3 |
94.7 |
212.0 |
15.4 |
8.9 |
12.5 |
69.3 |
54.2 |
61.7 |
|
In employment |
Unemployed |
In labour force |
Unemployment rate |
Participation rate |
||||||||||||
|
Age |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
|
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
Dublin |
15-24 |
25.7 |
32.4 |
58.1 |
10.1 |
6.6 |
16.7 |
35.8 |
39.0 |
74.8 |
28.3 |
16.8 |
22.3 |
48.3 |
48.6 |
48.5 |
|
25-34 |
97.7 |
90.8 |
188.5 |
17.6 |
8.5 |
26.1 |
115.3 |
99.3 |
214.6 |
15.3 |
8.6 |
12.2 |
90.5 |
78.7 |
84.6 |
|
|
35-44 |
71.1 |
57.4 |
128.5 |
8.8 |
4.2 |
13.0 |
80.0 |
61.6 |
141.5 |
11.0 |
6.8 |
9.2 |
89.4 |
70.0 |
79.8 |
|
|
45-54 |
57.4 |
49.6 |
107.0 |
5.2 |
2.2 |
7.4 |
62.6 |
51.8 |
114.4 |
8.3 |
4.2 |
6.4 |
88.1 |
69.6 |
78.6 |
|
|
55-64 |
33.0 |
25.6 |
58.7 |
2.7 |
1.0 |
3.6 |
35.7 |
26.6 |
62.3 |
7.4 |
3.6 |
5.8 |
64.7 |
45.6 |
54.9 |
|
|
65 + |
6.1 |
3.6 |
9.7 |
* |
* |
* |
6.2 |
3.6 |
9.8 |
2.0 |
* |
1.3 |
11.4 |
4.8 |
7.6 |
|
|
Total |
291.1 |
259.4 |
550.4 |
44.6 |
22.4 |
66.9 |
335.6 |
281.8 |
617.4 |
13.3 |
7.9 |
10.8 |
71.1 |
56.3 |
63.5 |
|
|
Mid-East |
15-24 |
9.3 |
11.7 |
21.1 |
5.0 |
1.6 |
6.6 |
14.4 |
13.3 |
27.7 |
35.0 |
11.8 |
23.9 |
44.7 |
41.7 |
43.2 |
|
25-34 |
35.6 |
35.2 |
70.8 |
7.3 |
2.3 |
9.6 |
42.9 |
37.5 |
80.4 |
17.1 |
6.1 |
12.0 |
93.5 |
79.4 |
86.3 |
|
|
35-44 |
36.7 |
28.3 |
65.0 |
4.9 |
2.2 |
7.1 |
41.6 |
30.6 |
72.1 |
11.7 |
7.3 |
9.8 |
94.7 |
70.9 |
82.9 |
|
|
45-54 |
26.7 |
21.5 |
48.2 |
2.9 |
1.6 |
4.5 |
29.6 |
23.0 |
52.6 |
9.7 |
6.8 |
8.5 |
89.6 |
70.9 |
80.3 |
|
|
55-64 |
15.4 |
9.8 |
25.3 |
1.7 |
* |
2.5 |
17.2 |
10.6 |
27.8 |
10.1 |
7.3 |
9.1 |
71.0 |
43.8 |
57.4 |
|
|
65 + |
3.7 |
1.0 |
4.7 |
* |
* |
* |
3.7 |
1.0 |
4.7 |
* |
* |
** |
18.0 |
4.1 |
10.4 |
|
|
Total |
127.5 |
107.5 |
235 |
21.8 |
8.5 |
30.3 |
149.4 |
116.0 |
265.4 |
14.6 |
7.3 |
11.4 |
74.8 |
57.0 |
65.8 |
|
|
Mid-West |
15-24 |
7.4 |
8.0 |
15.4 |
4.8 |
1.8 |
6.6 |
12.1 |
9.8 |
21.9 |
39.4 |
18.3 |
30.0 |
48.1 |
43.1 |
45.7 |
|
25-34 |
20.1 |
20.6 |
40.8 |
5.6 |
2.1 |
7.6 |
25.7 |
22.7 |
48.4 |
21.6 |
9.1 |
15.7 |
90.8 |
77.7 |
84.1 |
|
|
35-44 |
21.2 |
16.9 |
38.1 |
3.8 |
1.5 |
5.3 |
25.0 |
18.5 |
43.4 |
15.3 |
8.2 |
12.3 |
90.9 |
68.6 |
79.9 |
|
|
45-54 |
18.0 |
15.4 |
33.4 |
3.4 |
1.1 |
4.5 |
21.4 |
16.5 |
37.9 |
15.7 |
6.8 |
11.8 |
86.9 |
69.7 |
78.5 |
|
|
55-64 |
12.0 |
8.8 |
20.8 |
* |
* |
1.2 |
12.9 |
9.2 |
22.0 |
6.8 |
3.5 |
5.4 |
62.6 |
46.1 |
54.5 |
|
|
65 + |
3.2 |
* |
4.1 |
* |
* |
* |
3.2 |
* |
4.1 |
* |
* |
* |
16.3 |
3.5 |
9.3 |
|
|
Total |
81.9 |
70.6 |
152.5 |
18.4 |
6.8 |
25.2 |
100.3 |
77.4 |
177.7 |
18.3 |
8.8 |
14.2 |
68.7 |
53.0 |
60.9 |
|
In employment |
Unemployed |
In labour force |
Unemployment rate |
Participation rate |
||||||||||||
|
Age |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
|
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
Thou |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
South-East |
15-24 |
9.4 |
11.4 |
20.9 |
6.7 |
2.7 |
9.4 |
16.1 |
14.2 |
30.3 |
41.6 |
19.2 |
31.1 |
49.8 |
43.5 |
46.7 |
|
25-34 |
26.9 |
26.6 |
53.5 |
8.3 |
3.0 |
11.3 |
35.2 |
29.6 |
64.8 |
23.5 |
10.2 |
17.4 |
92.1 |
77.7 |
84.9 |
|
|
35-44 |
27.9 |
21.7 |
49.6 |
5.6 |
2.5 |
8.1 |
33.5 |
24.2 |
57.7 |
16.7 |
10.4 |
14.1 |
90.5 |
67.6 |
79.2 |
|
|
45-54 |
23.3 |
18.2 |
41.5 |
3.8 |
1.6 |
5.4 |
27.1 |
19.8 |
46.9 |
14.1 |
7.9 |
11.5 |
84.8 |
61.6 |
73.2 |
|
|
55-64 |
15.2 |
9.2 |
24.4 |
1.6 |
* |
1.9 |
16.8 |
9.5 |
26.3 |
9.7 |
3.1 |
7.3 |
64.4 |
37.2 |
50.9 |
|
|
65 + |
2.9 |
1.2 |
4.1 |
* |
* |
* |
3.0 |
1.2 |
4.2 |
1.9 |
* |
1.4 |
10.7 |
3.7 |
6.9 |
|
|
Total |
105.6 |
88.4 |
194 |
26.1 |
10.1 |
36.2 |
131.7 |
98.5 |
230.2 |
19.8 |
10.3 |
15.7 |
68.0 |
50.1 |
59.0 |
|
|
South-West |
15-24 |
12.6 |
15.1 |
27.7 |
5.7 |
2.8 |
8.4 |
18.3 |
17.9 |
36.2 |
31.0 |
15.4 |
23.3 |
43.7 |
40.6 |
42.1 |
|
25-34 |
39.6 |
38.3 |
77.9 |
8.0 |
2.6 |
10.6 |
47.6 |
40.9 |
88.6 |
16.8 |
6.4 |
12.0 |
91.4 |
76.2 |
83.7 |
|
|
35-44 |
38.7 |
29.8 |
68.5 |
5.7 |
2.5 |
8.1 |
44.4 |
32.3 |
76.6 |
12.8 |
7.6 |
10.6 |
94.2 |
68.4 |
81.3 |
|
|
45-54 |
32.5 |
25.5 |
58.0 |
3.8 |
1.5 |
5.4 |
36.3 |
27.1 |
63.4 |
10.5 |
5.7 |
8.5 |
86.5 |
65.8 |
76.3 |
|
|
55-64 |
21.6 |
13.8 |
35.4 |
1.9 |
* |
2.6 |
23.5 |
14.5 |
37.9 |
8.1 |
4.6 |
6.8 |
67.9 |
42.7 |
55.4 |
|
|
65 + |
3.8 |
2.0 |
5.7 |
* |
* |
* |
3.8 |
2.0 |
5.8 |
1.6 |
* |
1.0 |
11.2 |
4.6 |
7.5 |
|
|
Total |
148.7 |
124.6 |
273.3 |
25.1 |
10.0 |
35.1 |
173.8 |
134.6 |
308.5 |
14.4 |
7.5 |
11.4 |
69.1 |
51.2 |
59.9 |
|
|
State |
15-24 |
86.5 |
104.2 |
190.8 |
44.4 |
22.3 |
66.8 |
131.0 |
126.5 |
257.5 |
33.9 |
17.6 |
25.9 |
46.2 |
43.8 |
45.0 |
|
25-34 |
285.2 |
278.1 |
563.3 |
63.2 |
24.2 |
87.4 |
348.4 |
302.4 |
650.7 |
18.1 |
8.0 |
13.4 |
90.4 |
77.4 |
83.9 |
|
|
35-44 |
262.4 |
208.9 |
471.2 |
40.5 |
16.6 |
57.1 |
302.9 |
225.5 |
528.4 |
13.4 |
7.4 |
10.8 |
91.0 |
68.6 |
79.9 |
|
|
45-54 |
217.5 |
178.8 |
396.2 |
27.4 |
11.0 |
38.4 |
244.9 |
189.8 |
434.7 |
11.2 |
5.8 |
8.8 |
87.1 |
67.8 |
77.5 |
|
|
55-64 |
133.3 |
90.6 |
223.9 |
13.0 |
4.2 |
17.2 |
146.3 |
94.8 |
241.1 |
8.9 |
4.4 |
7.1 |
65.0 |
42.5 |
53.8 |
|
|
65 + |
31.4 |
11.0 |
42.3 |
* |
* |
* |
31.8 |
11.0 |
42.8 |
1.5 |
* |
1.1 |
14.1 |
4.0 |
8.5 |
|
|
Total |
1,016.2 |
871.6 |
1,887.7 |
189.1 |
78.4 |
267.4 |
1,205.3 |
949.9 |
2,155.2 |
15.7 |
8.3 |
12.4 |
69.5 |
53.2 |
61.2 |
Figures marked with a * refer to estimates of below 1,000 persons. Such estimates are considered to be unreliable and as such are not presented.
Data may be subject to future revision.
Data may be subject to sampling or other survey errors, which are greater in respect of smaller values or estimates of change.
Reference period: q1=Jan-Mar, q2=Apr-Jun, q3=Jul-Sep, q4=Oct-Dec.
Source: Quarterly National Household Survey, Central Statistics Office.
95 Deputy James Reilly asked the Taoiseach the number of persons aged between 15 years to 25 years on the live register in September 2007 and December 2007 broken down by gender on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19629/10]
96 Deputy James Reilly asked the Taoiseach the numbers of persons on the live register in September 2007 and December 2007 broken down by gender on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19630/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 96 together.
The Live Register series gives a monthly breakdown of the number of people claiming Jobseekers Benefit, Jobseekers Allowance and other registrants as registered with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Figures are published for each county and local social welfare office. The following table contains monthly Live Register information for persons aged under 25, 25 years and over and total persons in each county in September 2007 and December 2007. It should be noted that the Live Register is not a definitive measure of unemployment as it includes part-time workers, and seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance. It should also be noted that the Live Register includes only those aged 17 years and over.
|
Male |
Female |
All Persons |
|||||||
|
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total Males |
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total Females |
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total All Persons |
|
|
Cavan County |
303 |
1,176 |
1,479 |
239 |
801 |
1,040 |
542 |
1,977 |
2,519 |
|
Donegal County |
1,018 |
3,913 |
4,931 |
795 |
2,644 |
3,439 |
1,813 |
6,557 |
8,370 |
|
Leitrim County |
121 |
624 |
745 |
100 |
464 |
564 |
221 |
1,088 |
1,309 |
|
Louth County |
881 |
3,192 |
4,073 |
521 |
2,044 |
2,565 |
1,402 |
5,236 |
6,638 |
|
Monaghan County |
235 |
1,013 |
1,248 |
194 |
706 |
900 |
429 |
1,719 |
2,148 |
|
Sligo County |
275 |
950 |
1,225 |
172 |
518 |
690 |
447 |
1,468 |
1,915 |
|
Laoighis County |
315 |
1,102 |
1,417 |
244 |
768 |
1,012 |
559 |
1,870 |
2,429 |
|
Longford County |
303 |
1,100 |
1,403 |
202 |
662 |
864 |
505 |
1,762 |
2,267 |
|
Offaly County |
376 |
1,414 |
1,790 |
310 |
966 |
1,276 |
686 |
2,380 |
3,066 |
|
Westmeath County |
533 |
1,751 |
2,284 |
394 |
1,323 |
1,717 |
927 |
3,074 |
4,001 |
|
Galway County |
1,126 |
4,409 |
5,535 |
861 |
3,003 |
3,864 |
1,987 |
7,412 |
9,399 |
|
Mayo County |
542 |
2,356 |
2,898 |
386 |
1,554 |
1,940 |
928 |
3,910 |
4,838 |
|
Roscommon County |
185 |
667 |
852 |
100 |
458 |
558 |
285 |
1,125 |
1,410 |
|
Dublin County |
5,278 |
20,858 |
26,136 |
3,065 |
11,321 |
14,386 |
8,343 |
32,179 |
40,522 |
|
Kildare County |
687 |
2,637 |
3,324 |
460 |
1,951 |
2,411 |
1,147 |
4,588 |
5,735 |
|
Meath County |
328 |
1,492 |
1,820 |
249 |
1,112 |
1,361 |
577 |
2,604 |
3,181 |
|
Wicklow County |
549 |
2,177 |
2,726 |
299 |
1,354 |
1,653 |
848 |
3,531 |
4,379 |
|
Clare County |
461 |
1,868 |
2,329 |
301 |
1,444 |
1,745 |
762 |
3,312 |
4,074 |
|
Limerick County |
1,002 |
3,660 |
4,662 |
744 |
1,989 |
2,733 |
1,746 |
5,649 |
7,395 |
|
North Tipperary |
257 |
998 |
1,255 |
199 |
797 |
996 |
456 |
1,795 |
2,251 |
|
Carlow County |
292 |
1,044 |
1,336 |
246 |
691 |
937 |
538 |
1,735 |
2,273 |
|
Kilkenny County |
311 |
1,209 |
1,520 |
229 |
730 |
959 |
540 |
1,939 |
2,479 |
|
South Tipperary |
404 |
1,417 |
1,821 |
293 |
849 |
1,142 |
697 |
2,266 |
2,963 |
|
Waterford County |
792 |
3,046 |
3,838 |
498 |
1,865 |
2,363 |
1,290 |
4,911 |
6,201 |
|
Wexford County |
793 |
3,029 |
3,822 |
644 |
2,239 |
2,883 |
1,437 |
5,268 |
6,705 |
|
Cork County |
1,867 |
8,162 |
10,029 |
1,207 |
4,991 |
6,198 |
3,074 |
13,153 |
16,227 |
|
Kerry County |
616 |
2,901 |
3,517 |
438 |
2,003 |
2,441 |
1,054 |
4,904 |
5,958 |
|
State |
19,850 |
78,165 |
98,015 |
13,390 |
49,247 |
62,637 |
33,240 |
127,412 |
160,652 |
|
Male |
Female |
All Persons |
|||||||
|
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total Males |
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total Females |
Under 25 years |
25 years & over |
Total All Persons |
|
|
Cavan County |
329 |
1,267 |
1,596 |
212 |
820 |
1,032 |
541 |
2,087 |
2,628 |
|
Donegal County |
1,161 |
4,353 |
5,514 |
788 |
2,805 |
3,593 |
1,949 |
7,158 |
9,107 |
|
Leitrim County |
148 |
723 |
871 |
91 |
480 |
571 |
239 |
1,203 |
1,442 |
|
Louth County |
891 |
3,491 |
4,382 |
468 |
2,042 |
2,510 |
1,359 |
5,533 |
6,892 |
|
Monaghan County |
230 |
1,133 |
1,363 |
155 |
739 |
894 |
385 |
1,872 |
2,257 |
|
Sligo County |
287 |
1,121 |
1,408 |
145 |
583 |
728 |
432 |
1,704 |
2,136 |
|
Laoighis County |
400 |
1,320 |
1,720 |
236 |
831 |
1,067 |
636 |
2,151 |
2,787 |
|
Longford County |
328 |
1,228 |
1,556 |
173 |
649 |
822 |
501 |
1,877 |
2,378 |
|
Offaly County |
430 |
1,608 |
2,038 |
288 |
956 |
1,244 |
718 |
2,564 |
3,282 |
|
Westmeath County |
529 |
1,899 |
2,428 |
334 |
1,340 |
1,674 |
863 |
3,239 |
4,102 |
|
Galway County |
1,182 |
4,792 |
5,974 |
741 |
3,040 |
3,781 |
1,923 |
7,832 |
9,755 |
|
Mayo County |
589 |
2,569 |
3,158 |
340 |
1,591 |
1,931 |
929 |
4,160 |
5,089 |
|
Roscommon County |
199 |
746 |
945 |
94 |
473 |
567 |
293 |
1,219 |
1,512 |
|
Dublin County |
5,326 |
21,578 |
26,904 |
2,685 |
11,243 |
13,928 |
8,011 |
32,821 |
40,832 |
|
Kildare County |
724 |
2,894 |
3,618 |
411 |
2,032 |
2,443 |
1,135 |
4,926 |
6,061 |
|
Meath County |
380 |
1,698 |
2,078 |
225 |
1,254 |
1,479 |
605 |
2,952 |
3,557 |
|
Wicklow County |
572 |
2,356 |
2,928 |
276 |
1,407 |
1,683 |
848 |
3,763 |
4,611 |
|
Clare County |
523 |
2,186 |
2,709 |
313 |
1,674 |
1,987 |
836 |
3,860 |
4,696 |
|
Limerick County |
1,060 |
4,238 |
5,298 |
680 |
2,258 |
2,938 |
1,740 |
6,496 |
8,236 |
|
North Tipperary |
282 |
1,121 |
1,403 |
186 |
879 |
1,065 |
468 |
2,000 |
2,468 |
|
Carlow County |
330 |
1,203 |
1,533 |
177 |
738 |
915 |
507 |
1,941 |
2,448 |
|
Kilkenny County |
332 |
1,402 |
1,734 |
189 |
769 |
958 |
521 |
2,171 |
2,692 |
|
South Tipperary |
505 |
1,619 |
2,124 |
275 |
889 |
1,164 |
780 |
2,508 |
3,288 |
|
Waterford County |
860 |
3,269 |
4,129 |
488 |
2,008 |
2,496 |
1,348 |
5,277 |
6,625 |
|
Wexford County |
948 |
3,467 |
4,415 |
638 |
2,458 |
3,096 |
1,586 |
5,925 |
7,511 |
|
Cork County |
1,911 |
8,698 |
10,609 |
1,037 |
5,050 |
6,087 |
2,948 |
13,748 |
16,696 |
|
Kerry County |
712 |
3,551 |
4,263 |
476 |
2,549 |
3,025 |
1,188 |
6,100 |
7,288 |
|
State |
21,168 |
85,530 |
106,698 |
12,121 |
51,557 |
63,678 |
33,289 |
137,087 |
170,376 |
97 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the general level of compliance with the 15-day payment rule throughout Departments; the amount of late payment interest that has been incurred across all Departments in respect of non-payment within these 15 days since it came into effect in June 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17097/10]
In accordance with the Government Decision of 19 May 2009 all central Government Departments are required to pay their business suppliers within 15 days of receipt of a valid invoice.
Departments are also required to report quarterly to my Department on their performance in meeting this target. The first returns by Departments covered the period 15 June to 30 September 2009 and were published on 30 December 2009. The second set of returns for the last quarter of 2009, was published on 5 March 2010. The third set of returns for the first quarter of 2010, is available from today on my Department's website under the "Small and Medium Enterprises Publications" link.
The ongoing publication of these composite returns by my Department provides clarity in relation to the performance of individual Departments in meeting the terms of the Government Decision. While there is some variation between the performance of individual Departments and fluctuations within Departments across the three quarters, overall performance has been positive.
In relation to the first quarter of 2010, the returns show that:
In value terms, Departments paid 96.7% of invoices within 15 days compared with 97.9% for Q4 figures and 97.8% for Q3.
10 Departments were paying in excess of 90% of invoices by value within 15 days;
4 Departments were paying in excess of 80% of invoices by value within 15 days and
1 Department had paid 79% of their invoices by value within 15 days.
Departments are playing their respective parts in assisting the cash flow of their suppliers, many of whom are Small and Medium Enterprises. The new procedures and processes introduced are having an impact in assisting Irish SMEs cash flow in the current difficult economic environment and this development must be welcomed.
It is the responsibility of each Department to meet its obligations under the terms of the Government Decision. Any businesses that experience difficulties in receiving payment on foot of valid invoices within 15 days should contact the contracting Department to resolve their difficulties.
The above arrangements operate on an administrative basis and do not alter the contractual relationship between Government Departments and their suppliers or the current late payments legislation. Therefore, no penalty interest applies in cases where payments are made outside the 15 day administrative period but within the normal 30 day period.
98 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of staff that are assigned from all Departments to the high-level group on business regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19359/10]
Membership of the High Level Group comprises eight senior public servants, representatives from business organisations (IBEC, ISME, SFA, IBF), a representative from ICTU, and an academic representative. Details of the membership of the Group is as follows.
In addition my Department provides Secretarial support to the Group and supports and coordinates the cross-Government drive to reduce administrative burdens by 25% by 2012.
The Group's membership is as follows:
|
Name |
Title |
|
|
Sean Gorman (Chairman) |
Secretary General |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation |
|
Liam Berney |
Union Services Officer |
Irish Congress of Trade Unions |
|
Patricia Callan |
Director |
Small Firms Association |
|
Marie Daly |
Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs |
Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation |
|
Pat Delaney |
Director of Business Sectors |
Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation |
|
Gearoid Doyle |
Founder |
Kinsale Capital |
|
Pat Farrell |
Chief Executive Officer |
Irish Banking Federation |
|
Mark Fielding |
Chief Executive Officer |
Irish Small and Medium Enterprises |
|
Norman Gillanders |
Assistant Secretary |
Revenue Commissioners |
|
Declan Hughes |
Manager, Competitiveness Division |
Forfás |
|
Philip Kelly |
Assistant Secretary |
Department of the Taoiseach |
|
John McCarthy |
Assistant Secretary |
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government |
|
Irene Lynch Fannon |
Professor of Law |
Faculty and Department of Law, UCC |
|
Steve MacFeely |
Director, Business Statistics |
Central Statistics Office |
|
David Moloney |
Assistant Secretary |
Department of Finance |
|
Breda Power |
Assistant Secretary |
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation |
99 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the high-level group on business regulation will complete its consultation and report on its findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19360/10]
100 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the high-level group on business regulation will deliberate on the regulatory burden faced by the small and medium enterprise sector; when it will report its findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19361/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 100 together.
The High Level Group on Business Regulation was set up in 2007 to provide a forum for dialogue between business and Government. Its objective is to find ways to reduce administrative burdens on business arising from regulation.
The Group acts as a clearing house for specific red tape issues raised by business, and engages with the relevant Government Departments and Agencies in seeking solutions.
I am well aware that the burden of regulation falls disproportionately on SMEs. Even though they may have small numbers of staff, they have to comply with much of the same regulation as larger firms, and deal with much the same level of paperwork. It is for this reason that the work of the High Level Group is essential to improving the cost base of SMEs in Ireland. I would like to assure the Deputy that the interests of SMEs are to the forefront of the High Level Group's agenda.
On 11 May 2010 my colleague Minister Kelleher launched a series of workshops which are aimed at finding ways to reduce burdens on business including SMEs. These workshops will look at simplifying the burden on business in the area of Company Law, Employment Law and Health and Safety Law.
I would encourage businesses and their representative organisations to participate as fully as possible in these events so that we can work together to drive down the cost of red tape by the targeted 25%.
The High Level Group reported to Government on its first year's work in July 2008. Its report is available on the Department's website. I propose to submit the second report of the Group to Government shortly.
101 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of breaches of employment legislation recorded by the National Employment Rights Authority in the accommodation sector in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19471/10]
Hotels in the Dublin, Cork and Dun Laoghaire municipal areas are subject to the National Minimum Wage Act. In the rest of the country accommodation providers are covered by the rates of pay and terms and conditions set out in the Hotels Employment Regulation Order which provides for minimum rates of pay that are normally in excess of the national minimum hourly wage.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) carried out a total of 131 inspections in the hotels sector under the Hotels Employment Regulation Order during 2009 and found 96 to be non-compliant, a breach rate of 73%.
In 2009 NERA made a total of 2,981 inspections under National Minimum Wage Act and 200 breaches or a 7% breach rate was discovered. NERA's existing management information system does not allow this global National Minimum Wage figure to be further broken down on a sectoral basis. It is not possible, therefore, to identify the number of breaches of the National Minimum Wage Act that specifically relate to the providers of accommodation.
102 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the amount paid for each of the past five years for IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19518/10]
I understand that the Deputy is amenable to limiting his question to IT services suppliers in respect of whom expenditure in excess of €25,000 was made in any of the years in question. My Department's records indicate that, where the amount of expenditure exceeded €25,000 in respect of any one supplier and year, the amounts detailed in the following table were expended in respect of those services by that supplier in that year.
|
Company |
Nature of Service Provided |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
|
Advance Systems Ireland |
Support for staff attendance management system |
36,272.21 |
||||
|
Arekibo |
Website development, hosting & support |
49,790.70 |
34,332.27 |
167,237.26 |
47,059.49 |
85,661.95 |
|
Baker Consultants |
Network support |
96,399.27 |
149,687.95 |
91,793.23 |
130,721.75 |
115,544.12 |
|
Bearingpoint Ireland Ltd |
Support for Peoplesoft system |
26,671.60 |
31,176.72 |
40,335.73 |
46,234.35 |
|
|
Bizquip |
Scanning hardware & support |
30,213.70 |
||||
|
BT Clonshaugh |
Managed Helpdesk Service |
323,637.60 |
34,825.95 |
|||
|
BT Ireland |
Web Service Hosting |
29,839.19 |
31,023.80 |
29,620.80 |
26,176.91 |
|
|
Calyx |
Printer support & internet management |
86,390.25 |
98,901.23 |
50,358.39 |
48,398.91 |
|
|
Cara\BT |
Helpdesk management and delivery |
266,072.09 |
272,089.34 |
311,367.43 |
80,828.00 |
|
|
Client Solutions |
Basis website support & maintenance |
31,446.63 |
58,080.00 |
|||
|
Computer Associates Ltd |
Backup software and support |
53,885.25 |
41,473.60 |
36,298.78 |
||
|
Core International |
Salaries system support, maintenance & development |
32,799.54 |
47,835.36 |
33,585.07 |
25,299.47 |
|
|
CTI Partners Ltd. |
Database development services for ODCE |
28,715.57 |
||||
|
Curach Technologies Ltd. |
Oracle support, maintenance & development for Labour Inspectorate/NERA case management systems |
67,248.80 |
46,070.75 |
25,470.50 |
||
|
Deloitte & Touche |
Support & development of Redundancy/ Insolvency systems |
135,052.60 |
||||
|
Eircom Ltd |
Unix/Linux support |
39,550.98 |
51,493.37 |
64,247.37 |
68,443.94 |
551,954.49 |
|
Enterprise Registry Solutions Limited |
Oracle systems maintenance, support and development |
1,174,156.18 |
969,915.00 |
1,081,762.00 |
1,323,007.00 |
1,237,866.29 |
|
Eurokom |
Email content filtering |
32,194.17 |
27,673.91 |
|||
|
Fujitsu |
Financial system maintenance, development & support |
192,704.42 |
454,019.32 |
113,276.47 |
42,723.41 |
192,439.43 |
|
Company |
Nature of Service Provided |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
|
Gartner Ireland Ltd |
Technology forecasting & intelligence |
71,685.02 |
41,352.05 |
|||
|
HP |
Network, Communications & Database Systems Support |
441,416.39 |
227,500.23 |
591,053.94 |
111,443.92 |
79,781.49 |
|
Intertech Solutions |
Citrix systems (remote access) support |
56,704.23 |
||||
|
IQ Content |
Intranet development |
29,252.25 |
49,111.63 |
|||
|
Maule Systems |
Novell network systems support |
167,876.04 |
275,961.72 |
83,036.25 |
85,173.23 |
90,810.50 |
|
Maxima Ireland |
Citrix systems (remote access) support |
57,893.86 |
49,687.06 |
26,121.48 |
||
|
Microsoft Ireland Research |
Systems support |
62,314.80 |
32,805.00 |
|||
|
Progressive Systems |
Financial systems maintenance & support |
30,953.07 |
34,588.80 |
|||
|
Quest Computing Ltd. |
Oracle systems support, maintenance & development for Employment Appeals Tribunal |
42,165.73 |
||||
|
Rits |
Security support |
76,064.76 |
182,817.16 |
111,911.72 |
122,921.25 |
|
|
Sabeo |
Linux system support |
25,535.25 |
41,853.09 |
|||
|
Sword |
Patents Office system maintenance, development & support |
509,149.98 |
447,638.15 |
475,356.02 |
471,652.01 |
233,218.31 |
|
System Dynamics |
Lotus Notes systems maintenance, support and development |
253,137.40 |
312,422.84 |
342,170.78 |
260,896.02 |
211,421.78 |
|
Techniche Limited |
Citrix systems (remote access) support |
27,192.50 |
76,836.48 |
|||
|
Terminal Four |
NERA website development, maintenance & support |
46,886.45 |
52,281.10 |
|||
|
Trigraph Professional Services |
Project management, training and support |
49,296.14 |
82,426.84 |
|||
|
User Friendly Computer Training |
Provision of ICT user training |
95,452.41 |
88,318.20 |
66,965.60 |
95,601.45 |
118,656.82 |
|
Version 1 Software |
Systems Maintenance, Support and Development — principally Redundancy Payments System |
282,182.69 |
213,110.87 |
243,674.77 |
249,188.02 |
375,317.39 |
The number of staff currently employed in my Department's IT sections is 34.
My Department complies with public procurement guidelines which require that, save in exceptional circumstances, tenders should be sought for the provision of such services. Department of Finance Circular 40/02 sets out strict guidelines for dealing with all contracts over €25,000 where it is not possible to have a competitive process for the provision of such work, including reporting such expenditure to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
103 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of site visits made by agencies under the aegis of his Department with a view to creating employment in County Clare in the years 2007 to date in 2010; the location of these visits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19541/10]
I have been informed by IDA Ireland and Shannon Development that since 2007, a total of 57 site visits were made by potential investors to County Clare and the Shannon Free Zone. A breakdown of these visits, by year and location is set out in the following tabular statement.
|
Year |
Number of site visits |
|
2007 |
8 |
|
2008 |
10 |
|
2009 |
12 |
|
2010 (end April) |
5 |
|
Year |
Number of site visits |
Location |
|
2007 |
6 |
All to Shannon Free Zone |
|
2008 |
4 |
All to Shannon Free Zone |
|
2009 |
10 |
6 to Shannon Free Zone 4 to Ennis |
|
2010 (end April) |
2 |
All to Shannon Free Zone |
104 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if an independent work permit will be granted on humanitarian grounds to a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19623/10]
I understand that the employment permit in respect of the above named expired on the 9/9/2009 and my Department has no record of a renewal application being submitted. The scheme provides that a renewal application must be submitted 8-12 weeks prior to the expiry of the existing permit.
However, if the prospective employer or employee wishes to submit a new application it will be considered on its merits.
105 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the extent to which he has identified energy, transport or other costs as a deterrent to economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19669/10]
106 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the extent to which he or his Department have over the past ten years monitored the cause or causes of a growing lack of competitiveness in the economy; the conclusions; the action taken arising therefrom; the result of the action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19671/10]
114 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the action that he has taken or proposes to take to improve the competitiveness of the economy with particular reference to competing with other EU member states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19687/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 106 and 114 together.
The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) monitors our competitiveness and publishes an annual report "Benchmarking Ireland's Progress". Many of the issues which have been identified by the NCC have been addressed, such as improving productivity, action on energy prices and increasing competition in the economy.
Since January 2008, Ireland has regained competitiveness as domestic inflation remains below that of our main trading partners and the euro weakened — in February 2010, Ireland's real harmonised competitiveness indicator (HCI) was back to its January 2005 position.
Improving our relative cost competitiveness requires the cost of doing business in Ireland to fall relative to that of our trading partners. Data which will be published shortly by the NCC will show that prices in Ireland have moderated in the past year, particularly property and energy prices. In addition, at an economy wide level, Irish labour wage rates — when adjusted for productivity — are becoming more cost competitive.
In parallel to the fundamental steps taken over the past 18 months to stabilise the public finances and restore the banking system, the necessary price adjustment to restore competitiveness is underway. Business costs have fallen: wage bills, asset prices, energy and prices in general have responded to the effects of recession and corrective government action.
Further strengthening Ireland's competitive position will foster economic growth. I am working with my colleagues in Government to further embed the improvements already achieved and to strengthen Ireland's relative international competitiveness position.
107 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when he expects to be in a position to account specifically to the Houses of the Oireachtas for day to day expenditure by groups, bodies, or entities under his aegis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19672/10]
As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, I am directly accountable to the Oireachtas for the activities of my Department and my Department's own expenditure decisions. In that regard, together with the Ministers of State assigned to the Department, I answer Parliamentary Questions, Adjournment Debates, etc, on our Departmental policies and strategies. I also present my Department's Annual Output Statement to the relevant Joint Committee each year.
Consistent with the duties and responsibilities assigned under the Ministers and Secretaries Acts, the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts and the Public Service Management Act, the Secretary General of the Department is the Accounting Officer and appears before the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions on the detail of the Department's expenditures. Furthermore, those expenditures are examined each year by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who publishes his findings, and whose report informs the annual PAC consideration of the Department's Appropriation Account. In addition, a number of Agencies operate under the aegis of my Department in supporting the development and delivery of our policy interventions and supports. The roles and responsibilities of these Agencies are set out in their establishment legislation, as amended from time to time. The chief officer of each Agency, and the chairman of each Agency Board, is directly accountable to the Oireachtas through our Committee system where they can be called to account for individual elements of Agency expenditures. It would, therefore, be inappropriate for me to answer for the day-to-day decisions and expenditures of the individual Agencies when Oireachtas members have such a direct facility to call to account the Heads of each Agency in relation to their stewardship of the Agency and the day-to-day expenditure decisions they take.
I believe that these systems, which are well-established over a long period of time, operate in an manner that strikes the appropriate balance between the principle of democratic accountability by me as Minister and the demands on the Agencies to perform efficiently and effectively the functions for which they were established in their own right. They ensure that the Oireachtas can accesses all pertinent information on "day to day expenditure" directly from those who are immediately responsible for taking such decisions, while also holding Ministers directly accountable for overall policy decision or directions.
108 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the steps he has taken or will take to ensure balanced economic development with the retention of the maximum number of manufacturing and or services jobs and the utilisation of the knowledge based economic sector to maximise employment prospects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19674/10]
Future sustainable economic growth will be based on a thriving Irish export sector characterised by innovative companies. Exports are critical both to maintaining current jobs and driving future job creation. The Government, with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland, has worked hard, not just to ensure companies survive the recession, but also to position them so they can seize the export opportunities that the tentative recovery in major economies will present.
To this end, the Enterprise Stabilisation Fund was announced by Government in April 2009. By the end of April this year, 197 projects from 193 companies had been approved a total of €72m. 1,696 companies were supported under the Government's Employment Subsidy Scheme and a total of €133.5 million towards 15,272 subsidies has been approved to these companies. The companies in turn have committed to maintain 103,977 jobs to the end of November this year.
Enterprise Ireland continues to work with companies in overseas markets both to consolidate their business and help them seize new opportunities in the Eurozone and growth markets such as China. In addition, the agency is driving in-company R&D projects, typically focused on near-to-market development. Such innovation will focus on driving "new to firm" and "new to market" products and services which will drive the attainment of exports as global markets recover. This in turn will lead to job growth.
Manufacturing is the bedrock on which the growth in Ireland's FDI was founded. Historically, it has been a significant segment of investment and it will continue to remain so into the future. The Hi-Tech manufacturing sector will be characterised by increased international competition and enhanced output volumes due to investments in technology and automation. Globally, manufacturing jobs, as a percentage of total employment, will continue to decrease even in lower cost locations. Mirroring the rest of our economy, manufacturing is also in transition. Higher technological investment and higher value products will be the hallmark of future manufacturing operations in Ireland. These operations will be knowledge, capital and skills intensive characterised by a participative innovative culture where management and staff continuously collaborate to drive innovation, productivity, agility, learning and adaptability.
In order to accelerate these changes, IDA Ireland, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, is supporting an industry consortium approach on a range of applied research initiatives under the new Competence Centre programme envisaged in the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation (SSTI). A broad range of topics is being evaluated for potential funding.
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology continue to offer the best opportunities for new name and existing manufacturing investments because of the need to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), meet regulatory requirements, the capital intensity of facilities, the relative high value and profitability of products, and high level skill sets. This when combined with Ireland's tax regime, track record in large scale facility construction and operation and the relevant skill base makes for a competitive value proposition.
Despite difficult economic times, it is important to recognise that Ireland continues to develop into a "Smart Economy”. Within this ambition, foreign owned companies play a hugely significant role. They remain a critical element in portraying Ireland as a leading international location for innovation and investment and this is endorsed by their continuing commitment to invest in Ireland during the economic downturn. While it is clear that we are operating in a very difficult economic environment, there are still investment opportunities in global markets and IDA will continue to compete vigorously for projects for Ireland. To date in 2010 there have been 29 IDA Announcements with the potential to create in excess of 1,600 jobs.
109 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of jobs in the manufacturing or services sectors lost in County Kildare in each of the past ten years to date in 2010; the number relocated to other jurisdictions; the reason given for the relocation; the action or actions taken to address these issues; the net effect of such measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19675/10]
Details of jobs, including jobs lost, in agency-assisted companies in Co. Kildare between 2000 and 2009, are set out in the table. As this data is compiled on an annualised basis, figures in respect of 2010 will not be available until early in 2011. It is not possible to audit the extent to which job losses in the economy arise due to firms relocating abroad. Information received by the enterprise development agencies from client companies which have closed plants or downsized their workforces suggests that job losses have been attributable to a range of factors including loss of contracts or a drop in demand for products, restructuring and rationalisation within companies and relocation of operations abroad. For those firms who relocate activities abroad, there are many factors that can influence this decision. For example, firms adjust their plant location and utilisation strategies to address matters such as accessing new markets, moving production nearer to customers, meeting firm or market specific customer relationship issues, accessing technology, business takeovers and consolidations. The result is flows of investment and employment across borders.
The relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. We successfully manage this process, through our policies on enterprise and foreign direct investment. These policies have enabled us to win many prestigious and value added investments. New jobs created in the enterprise development agencies' client companies in the last number of years are heavily concentrated in high-value added, knowledge-based companies that offer greater security in the face of intense international competition. To support this strategy, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are working closely with educational institutions in the County, to foster links with industry and in developing the skill sets necessary to attract high value added employment to Kildare. The agencies are also working with FÁS to provide guidance in developing the skill sets needed by those already in the workforce who are interested in upskilling.
Since the beginning of 2007, Enterprise Ireland has approved over €20m in support to companies in Kildare to help them grow their sales and exports and improve innovation and new product development in order that they can compete on world markets.
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
|
Job Change (Full Time) |
||||||||||
|
Manufacturing |
1,662 |
-300 |
359 |
72 |
294 |
474 |
120 |
-620 |
-930 |
-1,637 |
|
International Services |
553 |
19 |
-408 |
6 |
121 |
119 |
122 |
-29 |
60 |
-95 |
|
Total |
2,215 |
-281 |
-49 |
78 |
415 |
593 |
242 |
-649 |
-870 |
-1732 |
|
Job Gains (Full Time) |
||||||||||
|
Manufacturing |
2,105 |
641 |
882 |
845 |
914 |
805 |
799 |
591 |
246 |
251 |
|
International Services |
584 |
261 |
68 |
127 |
204 |
228 |
157 |
87 |
217 |
131 |
|
Total |
2,689 |
902 |
950 |
972 |
1,118 |
1,033 |
956 |
678 |
463 |
382 |
|
Job Loss (Full Time) |
||||||||||
|
Manufacturing |
-443 |
-941 |
-523 |
-773 |
-620 |
-331 |
-679 |
-1,211 |
-1,176 |
-1,888 |
|
International Services |
-31 |
-242 |
-476 |
-121 |
-83 |
-109 |
-35 |
-116 |
-157 |
-226 |
|
Total |
-474 |
-1,183 |
-999 |
-894 |
-703 |
-440 |
-714 |
-1,327 |
-1,333 |
-2,114 |
110 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if he has carried out an assessment into the possible impact of the carbon tax on the cost base of the industrial, manufacturing, commercial and retail sectors; if he has taken or contemplates taking any action to address the issues arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19676/10]
As the Deputy may be aware a number of reports, including those of the Commission on Taxation and from the ESRI, supported the introduction of a carbon tax. In introducing the carbon tax, account was taken of the existing EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), consequently those firms that participate in the ETS are relieved from the carbon tax.
I understand that the carbon tax may cause some pressures for certain sectors. In the context of an overall cost base, for most firms, these should be minimal. However, it is expected that this move to price carbon will encourage innovation by incentivising companies to bring low carbon products and services to the market.
111 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his innovation proposals for job creation throughout the country with particular reference to competitiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19677/10]
The core policies and measures which underpin the Government's drive to grow exports and create sustainable jobs are outlined in the Government's "Jobs and Growth 2010" Statement, which was published in March. It is clear from this Policy Statement that the delivery of jobs and economic growth requires both direct and indirect measures. We have made sure, first of all, that the business and employment environment is favourable and is conducive to growth. Secondly, we have taken steps in the last 12-18 months to safeguard business and jobs through the difficult period of adjustment.
The Government has implemented a comprehensive economic strategy that includes prudent and controlled levels of taxation, spending and borrowing. It also has at its heart policies targeted at new, sustained growth in business, exports and jobs, based on increasing levels of productivity, competitiveness and innovation. These are the policies that are firmly at the top of my agenda as the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Innovation, and I believe that these policies will continue to show results.
Competitiveness is complex and involves many factors. As well as consumer prices, labour and other business costs, productivity-enhancing investment in key areas such as infrastructure is vital. In Government, we are conscious that further improvement in Ireland's competitive position will support business and foster economic growth. By maximising our resources, our job is to provide a suitable framework that will encourage enterprise development and opportunities, including job creation throughout the country.
Since January 2008, Ireland has regained competitiveness as domestic inflation remains below that of our main trading partners and the euro weakened — in February 2010, Ireland's real harmonised competitiveness indicator (HCI) was back to its January 2005 position.
Improving our relative cost competitiveness requires the cost of doing business in Ireland to fall relative to that of our trading partners. Data which will be published shortly by the NCC will show that prices in Ireland have moderated in the past year, particularly property and energy prices. In addition, at an economy wide level, Irish labour wage rates — when adjusted for productivity — are becoming more cost competitive.
In parallel to the fundamental steps taken over the past 18 months to stabilise the public finances and restore the banking system, the necessary price adjustment to restore competitiveness is underway. Business costs have fallen: wage bills, asset prices, energy and prices in general have responded to the effects of recession and corrective Government action. We are targeting R&D and Innovation to drive productivity and ensure that we have the skills and technologies available in Ireland that will give us a competitive advantage.
Recent changes in Departmental structures have brought innovation to the fore in my new Department. I am pleased to advise the House that the Government has agreed that I personally chair a High Level Implementation Committee to oversee implementation of the Report of the Innovation Taskforce, which was also published in March. This reflects the highest political priority that is being afforded to the implementation of this report.
Further strengthening Ireland's competitive position will foster economic growth and bring an increase in job creation throughout the country. I am working with my colleagues in Government to further embed the improvements already achieved and to strengthen Ireland's relative international competitiveness position.
112 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of manufacturing jobs relocated to areas outside this jurisdiction in the past ten years; the degree to which an assessment was done to ascertain the reason for such closures and relocations; the action taken to address the issues arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19678/10]
It is not possible to audit the extent to which job losses in the economy arise due to firms relocating abroad. Information received by the enterprise development agencies from client companies which have closed plants or downsized their workforces suggests that job losses have been attributable to a range of factors including loss of contracts or a drop in demand for products, restructuring and rationalisation within companies and relocation of operations abroad. For those firms which relocate activities abroad, there are many factors that can influence this decision. For example, firms adjust their plant location and utilisation strategies to address matters such as accessing new markets, moving production nearer to customers, meeting firm or market specific customer relationship issues, accessing technology, business takeovers and consolidations. The result is flows of investment and employment across borders.
The relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. We successfully manage this process, through our policies on enterprise and foreign direct investment. These policies have enabled us to win many prestigious and value added investments, and have enabled us to replace lost jobs with others of equal or higher value in the economy. New jobs created in the enterprise development agencies' client companies in the last number of years are heavily concentrated in high-value added, knowledge-based companies that offer greater security in the face of intense international competition. In addition we continue to focus on strengthening our international competitiveness. Price competitiveness is also a factor in investment decisions and we have made progress in ensuring that the necessary price adjustments are underway. Unit labour costs, energy costs and prices in general are falling.
113 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary may expect to receive their statutory redundancy payment. [19681/10]
My Department administers the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) in relation to redundancy matters on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. There are two types of payment made from the SIF — rebates to those employers who have paid statutory redundancy to eligible employees, and statutory lump sums to employees whose employers are insolvent and/or in receivership/liquidation.
I wish to advise the Deputy that while a lump sum claim was submitted to the Department in this instance, the claim is being returned as the required supporting documentation has not been lodged. It is my Department's practice not to enter incomplete claims on the system as these claims cannot be processed until the necessary documentation is submitted. The documentation required in support of lump sum claims, such as in this instance, is set out on my Department's website www.deti.ie. Submission of correctly completed Redundancy claim forms (RP50’s) with all of the required documentation greatly facilitates the processing of claims.
The documentation required in support of lump sum claims is evidence of the employer's inability to pay the redundancy entitlements to the employees. This involves requesting a statement from the company's Accountant or Solicitor attesting to the inadequacy of assets to make the redundancy payments and, the latest set of financial accounts for the company. The employer is also asked to admit liability for the 40% liability attaching to the company arising from the redundancy payments. If this information is provided to the Department, the employees are paid their redundancy entitlement from the Social Insurance Fund. Upon payment, the Department pursues the company for the 40% share that the company would ordinarily have been expected to pay to the employees.
If the necessary supporting documentation required from the employer is not provided to my Department, the employee will be advised by my Department to take a case to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) against the employer to seek a determination establishing the employee's right and entitlement to redundancy. Once such a determination is available, the Department is then in a position to make the payment to the employee concerned. Should the outstanding documentation be provided by the employer during the period while the case is pending a hearing before the EAT, this would allow the claim to be processed by my Department in the usual way.
115 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding sufficient funding for flood mitigation works in counties Longford and Westmeath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19573/10]
Longford and Westmeath County Councils submitted a number of applications for funding under the minor flood mitigation works scheme administered by the Office of Public Works. Sums totalling €201,936 and €520,071 respectively have been allocated to the Councils in 2010 on foot of applications that meet the eligibility criteria of the scheme.
It will be open to the Councils to submit further applications during the remainder of the year. All applications will be considered in conjunction with applications received from other Local Authorities having regard to the overall availability of resources.
116 Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Finance his plans to abolish vehicle registration tax changes in the future; if so, the timescale of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19462/10]
I have no plans to abolish VRT. In that regard it must be recognised that in Ireland VRT is an important source of revenue for the Exchequer; for example yielding around €1.3bn in 2006, €1.4bn in 2007 and €1.1bn in 2008. The receipts for 2009 at €375 million reflected the contraction in economic activity.
As the Deputy will be aware, it would not be possible to abolish VRT without raising the equivalent amount of money from other sources. The possibility of introducing widespread road pricing has at times been mentioned; however, any such measure is realistically still some way off. Increasing excise on petrol and auto-diesel has also been put forward. Abolishing VRT and collecting the same amount of revenue, that would have been raised in a normal year, from another source would, for example, require an excise, inclusive of VAT, increase on both petrol and auto-diesel of 25 to 30 cent per litre. There is no evidence that such measures would be any more agreeable to the public than VRT is, and indeed each bring their own, if different, set of problems and difficulties.
117 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Finance the way he proposes to implement the European banknote recycling framework; and if this will give rise to the necessity for transposing legislation. [19466/10]
The Banknote Recycling Framework (BRF) was adopted by the ECB in 2005, with a deadline of end 2007 for full implementation. It laid down a standard for the authenticity and quality of banknotes to be issued to the public and rules for the sorting of banknotes to be issued via ATMs and over the counter by credit institutions and professional cash handlers. Ireland and several other Eurozone countries applied for and were granted an extension of the implementation deadline until end 2010.
The Central Bank of Ireland has been working with the commercial banks and with other professional cash handlers since 2006 to implement the BRF by the deadline of end 2010. The BRF did not require transposing legislation in Ireland and is being implemented by means of formal written agreements between the Central Bank, the commercial banks and other stakeholders including Credit Unions, an Post, Bureaux de Change and Cash in Transit Companies.
EU legislative provisions requiring credit institutions and other professional cash handlers to authenticate euro banknotes which they put into circulation are contained in Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2009.
EU Member States are obliged to transpose this Regulation into domestic law by 31 December 2011. In Ireland, this will require the amendment of Section 39 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 which imposes certain requirements on credit institutions in respect of the detection of counterfeit notes and coins.
118 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Finance when he plans to expand the Freedom of Information Act to include the Railway Safety Commission, the advisory council to the Commission for Taxi Regulation and the Railway Safety Advisory Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19467/10]
My officials are currently working on an extension to the FOI Act and it is intended that the Railway Safety Commission, the Advisory Council to the Commission for Taxi Regulation and the Railway Safety Advisory Council will be considered along with a number of other public bodies for inclusion under the FOI Act.
119 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Finance the number of hotel and accommodation businesses that have been transferred to the National Asset Management Agency; the number of these which are still trading; if a plan has been developed regarding these hotels; if his and the agency’s attention have been drawn to the distorting effect these hotels are having on the wider market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19470/10]
NAMA purchases eligible loans from participating institutions and manages these loans with the intention of generating the best possible return. NAMA does not directly purchase property, including hotels.
The loans to be purchased are land and development loans and certain associated loans. Loans secured on hotels will be eligible only if they fall within these categories. NAMA has the power to enforce security where a borrower whose loan has been transferred is in default. I am advised that to date there has not been enforcement of security by NAMA in respect of any loan.
NAMA will be seeking over time to maximise the return to the taxpayer on all loans transferred to it. The Supplementary Material to my statement on banking of 30 March 2010 shows a sectorial breakdown of the first tranche of loans then to be transferred to NAMA. Of the estimated €8.51bn total consideration in tranche 1, hotels accounted for €0.77bn.
NAMA has already sought business plans from the developers whose loans have transferred to it in tranche 1. These business plans will deal with the commercial prospects of any underlying securities, including hotels. NAMA will assess these plans on an individual basis and decide on the appropriate action.
120 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Finance the amount paid for each of the past five years for IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if tenders were sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19520/10]
The following table sets out details of all amounts spent by my Department in respect of IT services in the last five years (2005 to 2009). The table also contains the additional details requested by the Deputy with regard to the nature of services provided and details of the successful tenders. The full-time equivalent number of staff employed within my Department's IT section during those years ranged from 22.5 in 2005 to 15.5 at the end of 2009.
|
Year |
Nature of IT Service Provided |
Amount |
Tendering Yes/No |
Name of Service Provider |
|
2005 |
IT Training |
4,860 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2005 |
Support and maintenance — payroll/pensions/expense |
90,374 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2005 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
68,883 |
Yes* |
Oracle |
|
2005 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
259,099 |
Yes* |
Software Resources |
|
2005 |
Database administration — payroll/pensions |
89,205 |
Yes* |
Version 1 |
|
2005 |
Support and maintenance — cheque scanning system |
149,180 |
Yes* |
Cognitronics |
|
2005 |
Support and maintenance — PMG banking system |
99,937 |
Yes* |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2005 |
Systems Development Contractor |
46,567 |
Yes |
Brightwater Recruitment |
|
2005 |
eEstimates system development |
206,734 |
Yes |
Codec Ltd |
|
2005 |
IT Helpdesk Contractor |
46,365 |
Yes |
Computer People |
|
2005 |
IT Infrastructure Contractor |
118,928 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2005 |
JD Edwards Support & Maintenance |
14,520 |
Yes |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2005 |
Numbers Extraction Programme — Maintenance and Support |
11,858 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2005 |
Maintenance of Time & Attendance system |
20,995 |
Yes |
Softworks Computing Ltd |
|
2005 |
CMOD Forms Project |
15,254 |
NO1 |
Amas Ltd |
|
2005 |
Shared Irish Government Web Search Facility |
14,475 |
Yes |
Open Objects Software Ltd. |
|
2005 |
Shared CorePay Payroll Development, Maintenance & Support |
86,807 |
Yes |
Core International |
|
2005 |
Hosting, Maintenance and development of NDP/CSF website |
25,719 |
Yes |
Fluid Rock (was Windmill Lane) |
|
2005 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
3,838 |
Yes |
Webfactory |
|
2005 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
45,030 |
Yes |
Fusio |
|
2005 |
Renewal of Toad SQL developer tool kit |
1,263 |
Yes |
Quest |
|
2005 |
Managed services NDP website |
2,468 |
Yes |
Dataway |
|
2005 |
Firewall Managed Services for CSF |
1,059 |
Baker Consultants |
|
Year |
Nature of IT Service Provided |
Amount |
Tendering Yes/No |
Name of Service Provider |
|
2006 |
IT Training |
972 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2006 |
Support and maintenance — payroll/pensions/expense |
147,618 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2006 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
228,092 |
Yes* |
Software Resources (now System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd.) |
|
2006 |
Support and maintenance — cheque scanning system |
279,417 |
Yes* |
Cognitronics |
|
2006 |
Database administration — payroll/pensions |
73,543 |
Yes* |
Version 1 |
|
2006 |
Support and maintenance — PMG banking system |
55,997 |
Yes* |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2006 |
Support and maintenance — Business Objects reports |
18,303 |
Yes* |
Business Objects |
|
2006 |
Maintenance of Time & Attendance system |
21,860 |
Yes |
Softworks Computing Ltd |
|
2006 |
Rack Hosting |
14,423 |
Yes |
D.E.G. Ltd |
|
2006 |
GovNet Support |
45,000 |
Yes |
eircom |
|
2006 |
Shared CorePay Payroll Development, Maintenance & Support |
181,186 |
Yes |
Core International |
|
2006 |
Shared Irish Government Web Search Facility |
14,475 |
Yes |
Open Objects Software Ltd. |
|
2006 |
Licence Fee & Full Verification of CorePay Source Code Held in Escrow by NCC |
12,289 |
NO2 |
NCC Services Limited |
|
2006 |
Implementation of a Human Resource Management System for the Civil Service |
84,101 |
Yes |
BearingPoint |
|
2006 |
Numbers Extraction Programme — Maintenance and Support |
15,701 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2006 |
Systems Development Contractors (2) |
156,213 |
Yes |
Brightwater Recruitment |
|
2006 |
IT Helpdesk Contractors (2) |
90,996 |
Yes |
Computer People |
|
2006 |
IT Infrastructure Contractor |
115,391 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2006 |
IT Helpdesk Contractor |
22,541 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2006 |
Device Backup Maintenance |
14,305 |
Yes |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2006 |
Lotus Notes Support |
14,066 |
Yes |
Key Engineering Services |
|
2006 |
JD Edwards Support & Maintenance |
14,520 |
Yes |
System Dynamics |
|
2006 |
Hosting, Maintenance and development of NDP/CSF website |
20,003 |
Yes |
Fluid Rock was Windmill Lane |
|
2006 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
7,066 |
Yes |
Webfactory |
|
2006 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
13,068 |
Yes |
Fusio |
|
2006 |
Renewal of Toad SQL developer tool kit |
1,326 |
Yes |
Quest |
|
2006 |
Managed services NDP website |
2,178 |
Yes |
Dataway |
|
Year |
Nature of IT Service Provided |
Amount |
Tendering Yes/No |
Name of Service Provider |
|
2007 |
Computer Maintenance & Support |
1,306 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
IT Training |
2,317 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
IT Training |
201 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
IT Training |
2,256 |
No |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
Support and maintenance — payroll/pensions/expense |
196,855 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2007 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
110,286 |
Yes* |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
Support and maintenance — cheque scanning system |
120,312 |
Yes* |
Cognitronics |
|
2007 |
Database administration — payroll/pensions |
75,842 |
Yes* |
Version 1 |
|
2007 |
Support and maintenance — PMG banking system |
185,583 |
Yes* |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2007 |
Support and maintenance — Business Objects reports |
128,890 |
Yes* |
Business Objects |
|
2007 |
Maintenance of Time & Attendance system |
22,637 |
Yes |
Softworks Computing Ltd |
|
2007 |
Rack Hosting |
14,883 |
Yes |
D.E.G. Ltd |
|
2007 |
GovNet Support |
45,000 |
Yes |
eircom |
|
2007 |
Shared CorePay Payroll Development, Maintenance & Support |
182,007 |
Yes |
Core International |
|
2007 |
Implementation of a Human Resource Management System for the Civil Service |
151,308 |
Yes |
BearingPoint |
|
2007 |
Numbers Extraction Programme — Maintenance and Support |
12,272 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2007 |
Systems Development Contractor |
125,567 |
Yes |
Brightwater Recruitment |
|
2007 |
IT Infrastructure Contractor |
129,088 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2007 |
JD Edwards Support & Maintenance |
14,520 |
Yes |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2007 |
Device Backup Maintenance |
14,078 |
Yes |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2007 |
IT Helpdesk Contractors (2) |
101,770 |
Yes |
Computer People |
|
2007 |
IT Helpdesk Contractors (2) |
26,086 |
Yes |
Realtime Recruitment |
|
2007 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
6,298 |
Yes |
Fusio |
|
2007 |
Renewal of Toad SQL developer tool kit |
1,209 |
Yes |
Quest |
|
Year |
Nature of IT Service Provided |
Amount |
Tendering Yes/No |
Name of Service Provider |
|
2008 |
Support and maintenance — payroll/pensions/expense |
183,733 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2008 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
160,134 |
Yes* |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2008 |
Support and maintenance — cheque scanning system |
242,847 |
Yes* |
Cognitronics |
|
2008 |
Database administration — payroll/pensions |
64,103 |
Yes* |
Version 1 |
|
2008 |
Support and maintenance — PMG banking system |
75,546 |
Yes* |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2008 |
Maintenance of Time & Attendance system |
23,203 |
Yes |
Softworks Computing Ltd |
|
2008 |
Rack Hosting |
14,030 |
Yes |
D.E.G. Ltd |
|
2008 |
GovNet Support |
45,000 |
Yes |
eircom |
|
2008 |
Managed hosting service |
55,406 |
Yes3 |
BT |
|
2008 |
Managed service provision |
1,810,643 |
Yes3 |
BearingPoint |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
12,989 |
Yes3 |
Celtic Careers |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
117,885 |
Yes3 |
CPL |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
25,797 |
Yes3 |
Enovation Solutions |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
251,368 |
Yes3 |
IT Alliance |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
15,125 |
Yes3 |
Path Pacific |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
15,125 |
Yes3 |
QED Contracts |
|
2008 |
IT Contractors |
21,175 |
Yes3 |
Setright Consulting |
|
2008 |
Managed service provision |
22,216 |
Yes3 |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2008 |
Shared CorePay Payroll Development, Maintenance & Support |
252,547 |
Yes |
Core International |
|
2008 |
Systems Development Contractor |
124,987 |
Yes |
Brightwater Recruitment |
|
2008 |
IT Infrastructure Contractor |
121,887 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2008 |
JD Edwards Support & Maintenance |
14,520 |
Yes |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2008 |
Device Backup Maintenance |
12,180 |
Yes |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2008 |
IT Helpdesk Contractor |
57,277 |
Yes |
Computer People |
|
2008 |
IT Helpdesk Contractor |
30,129 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2008 |
IT Helpdesk Contractor |
17,932 |
Yes |
Realtime Recruitment |
|
2008 |
Web Hosting |
17,309 |
No |
Local Government Computer Services Board |
|
Year |
Nature of IT Service Provided |
Amount |
Tendering Yes/No |
Name of Service Provider |
|
2008 |
Lotus Notes Support |
16,456 |
Yes |
Key Engineering Services |
|
2008 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
8,137 |
Yes |
Fusio |
|
2008 |
Software Development |
165,999 |
Yes |
Version 1 |
|
2008 |
Toner |
206 |
Yes |
Memorex |
|
2009 |
Support and maintenance — payroll/pensions/expense |
122,933 |
Yes* |
Core |
|
2009 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
76,315 |
Yes* |
Oracle |
|
2009 |
Support and maintenance — financial management system |
13,064 |
Yes* |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2009 |
Support and maintenance — cheque scanning system |
100,962 |
Yes* |
Cognitronics |
|
2009 |
Database administration — payroll/pensions |
70,712 |
Yes* |
Version 1 |
|
2009 |
Support and maintenance — PMG banking system |
105,347 |
Yes* |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2009 |
Maintenance of Time & Attendance system |
22,730 |
Yes |
Softworks Computing Ltd |
|
2009 |
Rack Hosting |
16,585 |
Yes |
D.E.G. Ltd |
|
2009 |
GovNet Support |
200,010 |
Yes |
DQ Networks |
|
2009 |
Configuration of Trillium data matching software |
22,925 |
Yes |
Trillium Software |
|
2009 |
Configuration of Visionware data matching software |
30,600 |
Yes |
Visionware |
|
2009 |
2010 Maintenance & Support for CorePay Modifications |
81,853 |
Yes |
Core International |
|
2009 |
Systems Development Contractor |
122,826 |
Yes |
Brightwater Recruitment |
|
2009 |
IT Infrastructure Contractor |
120,042 |
Yes |
Eolas |
|
2009 |
JD Edwards Support & Maintenance |
14,580 |
Yes |
System Dynamics Enterprise Applications Ltd. |
|
2009 |
Device Backup Maintenance |
10,109 |
Yes |
Hewlett Packard |
|
2009 |
Design/development and maintenance of EU Structural Funds website |
2,600 |
Yes |
Fusio |
|
2009 |
Software Amendments |
15,677 |
Yes |
Version 1 |
|
2009 |
Https secure socket licence |
80 |
Yes |
Version 2 |
|
2009 |
Hosting, maintenance & support 2009 |
30,145 |
Yes |
Version 3 |
|
2009 |
Licence renewal — 1 year |
998 |
Sole supplier of licence |
Oracle |
121 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Finance the number of new posts established in his Department or agencies under the aegis of his Department; the number of staff in his Department that have been promoted or awarded allowances of any description since the introduction by him of the moratorium on public service numbers; the objective justification for each of these new posts; the promotions and a list of the duties covered by the posts and promotions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19558/10]
The following is the information requested in relation to my Department and information supplied by the Offices under the aegis of my Department.
|
Dept/Office |
Finance |
Revenue |
OPW |
State Lab |
CPSA |
PAS |
Omb |
C&AG |
Appeal Comms |
Val.Off |
|
1. No of Staff (wte) at 27/3/09 |
608.61 |
6,552.00 |
2,003.23 |
95.95 |
11.80 |
141.51 |
92.62 |
157.20 |
4.00 |
154.43 |
|
2. Current Staff Nos (wte) |
551.88 |
6,089.00 |
1,896.43 |
95.40 |
7.80 |
106.16 |
89.26 |
145.10 |
4.00 |
148.04 |
|
3. Reduction in Staff Nos i.e. (1 – 2) |
56.73 |
463.00 |
106.80 |
0.55 |
4.00 |
35.35 |
3.36 |
12.10 |
0.00 |
6.39 |
|
4. No of New Posts created since Moratorium |
0.00 |
0.00 |
10.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
1 – Student Placement (6 months) |
|
5(i). No of New Posts filled via Internal Redeployment |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
5(ii). No of New Posts filled via Redeployment from another Org |
0.00 |
0.00 |
9.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
5(iii). No of New Posts filled via Promotion |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
5(iv). No of New Posts filled via Recruitment |
0.00 |
0.00 |
1.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
1.00 |
|
6. No of Promotions |
6.00 |
50.00 |
2.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
6.00 |
0.00 |
23.00 |
|
7. No of allowances awarded (e.g. HDAs) |
1.00 |
1.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
In all cases duties are as determined by the Head of Department/Office.
Finance
As a result of a re-organisation at Principal level in my Department in November last year, following a number of retirements from key posts in the Department, I sanctioned the filling of 4 Principal level posts through internal promotion, as we had a number of unsuccessful attempts to have them filled through redeployment from elsewhere in the civil service. The number of agreed Principal level posts has been reduced to 52, and the number currently serving is below that. Overall, numbers across all grades within my Department have fallen from 608.61 at the date the moratorium was announced (27 March 2009), to 551.88 today.
Revenue
Last December I sanctioned the filling of up to 200 posts across all grade levels in the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in recognition of the importance of the Office's role and the significant reduction in its staff numbers during 2009. The filling of these posts is within the numbers ceiling set for the Revenue Commissioners under the Employment Control Framework and salary costs will be met from within the agreed administrative budget. These posts are being filled through a combination of redeployment, promotion and open recruitment. To-date 24 staff have being redeployed from other Departments, 8 internal promotions have taken place and a total of 15 staff has been recruited by way of open competitions. One higher duty allowance was awarded to cover the vacant position of Head Service Officer and 77 enforcement allowance posts have been filled to maintain the complement of staff in this critical area of Revenue's business.
In addition, as part of the final phases of agreements with staff unions in the context of the restructuring of Revenue and the restructuring of Information and Communications Technology over the period 2003 to 2007, Revenue made a further 42 internal promotions since the introduction of the moratorium.
Valuation Office
Four of the promotions were for Technical staff involved in GIS work and had been negotiated prior to the Moratorium. They formed part of an agreed package for modernisation and change in the organisation which includes staffing cuts. The cost benefit to the organisation is substantial over the next ten years. One promotion was a replacement for a retiree to a position, the filling of which was vital to ensuring that statutory deadlines were met.
18 Higher Duty Allowance posts were converted to substantive posts in October 2009 to reflect the ongoing nature of the Revaluation project. These conversions related to posts which had been filled on an allowance basis for up to five years and the promotions were cost neutral to the exchequer.
C&AG
Six promotions to Auditor were awarded to trainee auditors who are qualified accountants after 4 years satisfactory service as per the terms on their contract of employment.
Office of Public Works
To fill a vacancy at Chairman (Secretary General level) and consequential Commissioner (Assistant Secretary level) to enable OPW to effectively deliver on the current demands for its services made by Government, other Departments and their agencies and the public.
122 Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the steps he will take to ensure the Irish Nationwide Building Society complies with the recommendations made by the covered institutions remuneration oversight committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19567/10]
I am advised by Irish Nationwide Building Society that the remuneration of Directors and senior staff at the Society is in compliance with the recommendations of the Covered Institutions Remuneration Oversight Committee.
123 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons in the tax net each year since 2000 distinguishing between those who are in the tax net as a result of the income levy and those who are PAYE taxpayers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19625/10]
124 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Finance the percentage of employees that are in the tax net each year since the year 2000 distinguishing between those who are in the tax net as a result of the income levy and those who are PAYE taxpayers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19626/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant available information relates to the numbers of all income earners, both employees taxed under PAYE and self-employed taxed under Schedule D, and the corresponding numbers of these groups who are actually liable to income tax and income levy. The figures relating to income tax for tax years 2000/01 to 2009 inclusive and to income levy for 2009, the year of introduction of the levy, are as follows.
|
Tax Year |
All Earners |
Paying Tax at the standard or higher rate |
PAYE |
PAYE |
||
|
PAYE & Schedule D |
PAYE & Schedule D |
Earners |
Paying tax at the standard or higher rate |
|||
|
Numbers |
Numbers |
% of Total |
Numbers |
Numbers |
% of Total |
|
|
2000 |
1,765,000 |
1,262,600 |
72% |
1,556,000 |
1,120,000 |
72% |
|
2001 |
1,790,000 |
1,262,000 |
71% |
1,581,900 |
1,117,700 |
71% |
|
2002 |
1,885,000 |
1,252,300 |
66% |
1,678,000 |
1,112,100 |
66% |
|
2003 |
1,927,200 |
1,277,900 |
66% |
1,724,600 |
1,136,800 |
66% |
|
2004 |
2,013,700 |
1,332,900 |
66% |
1,797,500 |
1,178,000 |
66% |
|
2005 |
2,175,000 |
1,398,700 |
64% |
1,958,000 |
1,238,100 |
63% |
|
2006 |
2,370,700 |
1,445,200 |
61% |
2,136,400 |
1,269,100 |
59% |
|
2007 |
2,489,100 |
1,457,300 |
59% |
2,252,900 |
1,277,000 |
57% |
|
2008* |
2,461,400 |
1,396,200 |
57% |
2,221,400 |
1,236,200 |
56% |
|
2009* |
2,292,900 |
1,244,100 |
54% |
2,047,900 |
1,106,600 |
54% |
|
Tax Year |
All Earners |
All Liable to Income Levy |
PAYE |
PAYE |
||
|
PAYE & Schedule D |
PAYE & Schedule D |
Earners |
Liable to Income Levy |
|||
|
Numbers |
Numbers |
% of Total |
Numbers |
Numbers |
% of Total |
|
|
2009* |
2,277,500 |
1,507,800 |
66% |
2,033,900 |
1,346,100 |
66% |
*Provisional and likely to be revised.
It should be noted that details of income tax and income levy liability are not directly comparable. This is because the income levy has a different base to income tax. For example, social welfare income is excluded from the income levy base but generally included in the income tax base.
The figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
The figures for the years 2000 to 2007 inclusive are based on incomes data derived from income tax returns held on Revenue records and have been grossed-up to an overall expected level to adjust for incompleteness in the numbers of returns on record at the time the data were extracted for analytical purposes. For the years 2008 and 2009 they are estimates from the Revenue tax-forecasting model using actual data for the year 2007, adjusted as necessary for income and employment trends in the interim. These are, therefore, provisional and likely to be revised.
A married couple which has elected or has been deemed to have elected for joint assessment is counted as one tax unit.
125 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Finance if he received any representations from a Commissioner (details supplied) in August 2008, 1 to 19 September 2008 or October 2008 regarding the bank guarantee of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide; the details of those representations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19634/10]
I received no representations from the Commissioner referred to during the periods specified in the Deputy's question concerning the bank guarantee of Anglo Irish Bank or Irish Nationwide Building Society.
126 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance when a tax refund will be awarded in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19659/10]
I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the person in question is currently under audit by them. Agreement has not yet been reached with the person's agent on the liability arising from the audit. Correspondence detailing settlement liabilities and requesting agreement issued to the agent on 8 March 2010, but as yet, no reply has been received. Once agreement is reached any refund that may be due will be made.
127 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the measures he plans to take to reduce the impact of the carbon tax on domestic, household, farming, transport, tourism, industrial and commercial sectors, having regard to the current economic climate and those on lower income after the harsh winter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19660/10]
I announced in the Budget that a carbon tax at a rate of €15 per tonne would be introduced on fossil fuels. The tax was applied to petrol and auto-diesel with effect from midnight, 9 December 2009; and applied from 1 May 2010 to kerosene, marked gas oil (also known as ‘green diesel' or ‘agricultural diesel'), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil and natural gas. The application of the tax to coal and commercial peat is subject to a Commencement Order. The only reliefs from the carbon tax are for those companies that participate in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
A number of Government Departments, including my Department are exploring options for how best to offset the impact of the carbon tax on low-income households. A number of options are being explored including improving the energy efficiency of low-income households which will help offset increases in fuel prices arising from carbon taxation.
128 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Health and Children if a person (details supplied) in County Cork is entitled to a medical card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19363/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
129 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children the scale of and the reasons for different interpretations employed by community welfare officers here in terms of whether they consider the amount of interest to be reasonable when using their discretionary power to award mortgage interest supplement. [19367/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
130 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 cannot receive a surgical procedure for another nine months. [19368/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
131 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 has a debt of €9,000 for funeral expenses in respect of the burial of a family member. [19369/10]
I regret that due to industrial action I am not in a position to provide a substantive response to your Parliamentary Question. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
132 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 was refused a full medical card in view of the fact that both of them are in need of regular medication and both are on social welfare payments. [19370/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
133 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children further to Parliamentary Question No. 44 of 1 April 2010, the moneys that will be made available for the national campaign on legal highs and if this campaign will involve television, radio and billboards. [19371/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
134 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children if the Health Service Executive will make provision for the reopening and maintenance of the swimming pool at a premises (details supplied) in Dublin 7 which caters for persons with special needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19372/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
135 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon will be called for an appointment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19377/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. However, I would like to advise the Deputy that the scheduling of patients for hospital treatment is a matter for the consultant concerned in each case and is determined on the basis of clinical need. Should the patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he/she would be in the best position to take the matter up with the consultant involved.
136 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Health and Children if there is evidence of a reduction in the exposure of young persons to alcohol marketing and promotions since she agreed to self-regulation by the industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19380/10]
The current Code of Practice on Alcohol Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship is due for review this year. As part of that review the Department is carrying out an assessment of the available evidence to establish the effectiveness of the Codes in achieving their objective to reduce the exposure of young people to alcohol advertising and marketing. The results of this review will inform the Department's policy on the controls needed on alcohol marketing in the coming years.
137 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount of money spent on health promotion regarding alcohol each year from 2005 to 2009, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19381/10]
I presume that the Deputy is referring to health promotion awareness and campaigns relating to alcohol in the years 2005 to 2009. Responsibility for health promotion campaigns transferred to the Health Service Executive during 2006. I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information with regard to 2006 to 2009. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
Based on the records available in the Department the amount spent on alcohol awareness and campaigns in 2005 was approximately €1,050,000. Expenditure of approximately €210,000 was incurred in 2006 on alcohol awareness and campaigns during the transition phase of responsibility moving to the HSE.
138 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Health and Children if the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has a responsibility to inform the consumer regarding best practice labelling for chicken fillets in view of the food safety risk of imported chicken fillets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19385/10]
All chicken fillets sold in Ireland must comply with the European Community's stringent food safety and labelling requirements. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) does not have any evidence to support the claim that imported chicken fillets present a greater food safety risk than domestically produced chicken fillets. Food Business Operators are responsible for producing safe food and labelling safe food in compliance with food safety legislation. The FSAI in conjunction with its official agencies carries out official controls in retail butcher shops and supermarkets to ensure chicken fillets are labelled in accordance with the law and to ensure the consumer is fully informed about the product they are buying and are not misled.
The FSAI has produced guidance for industry, enforcement officers and the public regarding food labelling requirements. This information is available on the Authority's website. In addition, the Authority has advice available to consumers about safe handling practices for raw meat and poultry.
139 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 was refused payment by the community welfare office. [19478/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
140 Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for Health and Children the changes that have been made to the dental treatment service scheme in relation to adults and children in recent months; the services that are now available under this scheme for adults and children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19484/10]
The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental treatment to medical cardholders over the age of 16. In line with the decision taken in Budget 2010, the HSE has introduced measures to contain DTSS expenditure at the 2008 level of approximately €63 million. This reflects the imperative to achieve overall reductions in public expenditure while providing essential health services to patients.
Under the new measures, some dental treatments will be limited and some will no longer be available. Other existing dental treatments will continue to be provided in circumstances where the dentist is satisfied of the patients' emergency clinical need. The HSE will monitor the ongoing effect of these changes from a clinical and budgetary perspective. The HSE will also be providing ongoing clinical guidance and advice to individual dentists in relation to the changes to the scheme.
These changes do not affect the Public Dental Service, which provides dental treatment to children and special needs patients.
141 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children when the 2009 report of the Alcohol Marketing Communications Monitoring Body will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19490/10]
142 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of times the Consultative Panel on the Codes of Alcohol Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship has met in both 2009 and 2010; the issues discussed at these meetings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19491/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together.
I expect to receive the 2009 Report of the Alcohol Marketing Communications Monitoring Body in early June. I intend to make it available on the Department of Health and Children website soon thereafter. The Consultative Panel first met in May 2009 and has not met to date in 2010. The first meeting discussed the membership of the Group, the operation of the Group, and the Codes on Alcohol, Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship.
The Department is currently carrying out a review of the Codes. The results of this review will inform the Department's policy on the controls and structures required for the monitoring of alcohol marketing in the coming years.
143 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children if she has received the final report of the working group on sports sponsorship by the alcohol industry; if so, when she plans to publish the report and act on its recommendations on the phasing out of alcohol sponsorship of sporting events; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19492/10]
The Report of the Working Group on Sport Sponsorship by the Alcohol Industry has been finalised and is currently being considered by my Department. The Report will be published on the Department's website shortly. The issue of sport sponsorship by the alcohol industry is also likely to be considered by the Steering Group developing the National Substance Misuse Strategy. My Department will await the views of that Steering Group on the issue of sport sponsorship before deciding on the next course of action.
144 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children if the €1.5 million announced for the new and existing youth cafes on 12 April 2010 is once off funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund; if so, if she will ensure that there is ongoing and long term funding for youth cafes in 2011 and beyond; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19493/10]
145 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the funding for youth cafes announced on 12 April 2010 is only available to city and county development boards; if city and council development boards will be required to engage in consultation with young people and youth organisations in their areas concerning applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19494/10]
146 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the location of all the youth cafes in receipt of funding; the amount of funding provided to each youth cafe in 2007, 2008 and 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19495/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 to 146, inclusive, together.
On 12 April last I was pleased to announce details of a dedicated youth café funding scheme of €1.5m from dormant accounts funds. This is the first dedicated youth café funding scheme in Ireland and was launched along with the publication of two relevant associated publications: ‘‘Youth Cafés in Ireland: A best practice guide" and Youth Café Toolkit: how to set up and run a youth Café in Ireland". These developments respond to the repeated emphasis young people have placed on the need for such recreational spaces. They recognise the achievements already made by many groups in establishing youth cafés around the country and ensure a solid policy foundation for youth café development and the expansion of safe quality recreational spaces for young people. I wish to confirm to the deputy that the funding is once off in nature and that the drawdown of funds from this scheme will take place over the present and next year (2011).
The youth café funding scheme is being administered by POBAL on behalf of my office through a closed call via the nationwide network of city and county development boards (CDBs). The Youth Café model is based on a multi-agency approach and the County Development Board structure provides the natural fit for the assessment of local need, priorities and sustainability from multi agency perspectives. The use of the CDB network in the application process will also enable direct local involvement in the initial prioritisation of applications. This will ensure that detailed local knowledge is taken into account in the shortlisting of applications for further consideration by POBAL.
The Scheme (based on the key principles contained in the youth café guide and toolkit) is designed to ensure that in the course of this process County Development Boards will be engaging with young people through the submission and selection process via the various consortia who may be applying. The Applicants rather than the County/City Development Boards are required to demonstrate that their organisations are engaging with young people and that their current operation is youth led. The Deputy will be aware that this scheme and the policy itself evolved from previous consultations and research with young people in preparing the national recreation policy where the need for such spaces was felt to be of vital importance by young people themselves.
While the objective of the young people's facilities and services fund (YPFSF), also administered by my office is to attract "at risk" young people in disadvantaged areas into facilities and activities that divert them away from the dangers of substance abuse, a number of facilities have been funded under the YPFSF which include a youth café element. In 2009, the YPFSF Capital funding was given to the following projects:
The Apple Tree Foundation, Dundalk, Co Louth, €100,000 capital, €56,500 current;
The Gateway Project, Athlone, Co Westmeath, €85,045 capital, €20,000 current;
Francis Street Youth Café, Wexford Town, €85,000 capital, €50,000 current.
In 2009, the YPFSF also funded a youth centre in Arklow, Co Wicklow, that will have a Youth Café element: €270,000 capital and €59,000 current. In 2009 once-off current funding of €80,500 was also allocated to the Northside Youth Café, Moyross, Limerick under this programme.
As the Deputy will be aware there are already a number of youth cafés in operation around the country. Funding for these existing initiatives has often been provided through the local City/County Council and/or the Health Service Executive or other sources. In addition the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs operates a number of relevant funding programmes aimed at supporting community development, locally based community and voluntary groups as well as programmes aimed specifically at supporting projects for disadvantaged youth.
The Scheme and its impact will be reviewed in due course. I will be examining opportunities for further support in the context of the fiscal situation in 2011 and thereafter.
147 Deputy Seán Power asked the Minister for Health and Children if she is satisfied with the procedure in place dealing with crime and trauma scene clean-up; her views on the introduction of guidelines in relation to crime and trauma scene clean-up; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19502/10]
As this is a service matter, I have referred your query to the HSE for direct reply.
148 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will address the specific concerns of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin in relation to accessing the fair deal nursing home scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19505/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
149 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the Health Service Executive deducted the ECCE grant for preschool children from a child care centre (details supplied) in Dublin 11 particularly in view of the fact that no additional funding, such as parent’s fees, was received by the centre; the further reason deductions were also made to the projected budget thereby reducing grant assistance twice; if the matter will be investigated and the grant assistance restored to this service. [19511/10]
I have responsibility for implementing the free Preschool Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which was introduced in January of this year.
I understand that the childcare facility referred to by the Deputy is participating in the new ECCE scheme and that to date capitation funding in the region of €95,000 has been allocated by my Office to the facility to enable it to provide the free pre-school year. As the query relates to the withdrawal of funding previously received by the service from the Health Service Executive (HSE), I asked for enquiries to be made in this matter. However, I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the HSE it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
150 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT Services supplied to her Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in her Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19522/10]
The information in respect of my Department is set out in the following table showing the estimated spend inclusive of VAT in relation to the provision of information technology services by a range of external providers. In relation to the services contracted for relevant procurements guidelines were followed in all cases. The complement of staff currently in the internal ICT Unit stands at 8.6 staff.
|
Vendor |
Service* |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
||
|
Abacus Systems & Networks Ltd |
Network services |
19,899 |
15,344 |
14,941 |
13,695 |
13,454 |
|
4Point Solution, Dublin |
Software development and maintenance |
— |
— |
— |
19,102 |
12,666 |
|
B2E, Dublin |
Data cleaning and validation |
38,720 |
43,560 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Bluewave Technology, Dublin |
Software development and maintenance |
98,566 |
125,310 |
218,616 |
175,172 |
139,940 |
|
Core Software, Kilkenny |
Payroll software |
25,267 |
81,715 |
27,330 |
39,805 |
55,303 |
|
Datapac, Dublin |
Network services |
57,943 |
46,682 |
91,797 |
77,366 |
67,682 |
|
Digiscan, Dublin |
Scanning services |
— |
— |
— |
— |
89,070 |
|
Espion, Dublin |
Security services |
— |
— |
— |
— |
20,315 |
|
Eircom |
Wide area network services |
— |
— |
13,994 |
12,608 |
25,647 |
|
Filestores, Dublin |
Data indexing |
— |
— |
— |
106,570 |
— |
|
ICON Systems Dublin |
Imaging software services |
— |
— |
— |
11,555 |
— |
|
Intertech/Maxima, Dublin |
Remote access and replication software |
32,740 |
52,284 |
42,269 |
43,415 |
28,552 |
|
LAN Communications, Dublin |
Security and network management |
59,219 |
58,336 |
16,617 |
70,537 |
45,166 |
|
Progressive Systems, Dublin |
Financial management software development and maintenance |
66,814 |
28,814 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Renaissance Contingency Services |
Contingency services |
31,702 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Tibus, Belfast |
Web hosting |
11,050 |
8,512 |
10,110 |
9,566 |
7,602 |
|
Tomorrows World, Dublin |
Helpdesk and maintenance services |
221,063 |
209,403 |
236,462 |
215,866 |
208,202 |
|
Version1 Software Dublin |
Software maintenance and database administration services |
45,922 |
34,887 |
79,158 |
94,776 |
144,967 |
*ICT services excludes costs below 10k. It also excludes identifiable software, licensing, hardware and consumables costs
151 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will ensure that a person (details supplied) in County Dublin can get an earlier appointment for an MRI brain scan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19531/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
152 Deputy Eamon Gilmore asked the Minister for Health and Children if a company (details supplied) is contracted by the National Treatment Purchase Fund to carry out scans on patients on the waiting list for the Eye and Ear Hospital; if the CTs are actually completed in St. Vincent’s using St. Vincent’s equipment, and the private company concerned pays St. Vincent’s for the work; the reason the involvement of a private company is necessary in this process; if it would not be more efficient and economical for the NTPF to deal directly with St. Vincent’s; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19557/10]
The NTPF's primary remit is to facilitate patients who have been waiting longest for treatment on hospital waiting lists.
The Fund is obliged as a matter of policy, to source at least 90% of treatment from the private hospital system. The purchase of capacity from the public hospital system is to allow for activity in areas, such as paediatric surgery, which cannot be carried out in private hospitals, but this activity must not adversely affect core services. In 2009, the NTPF sourced 6% of its activity from the public hospital system.
In addition to arranging inpatient care, the NTPF has conducted a number of out-patient initiatives including arranging diagnostic procedures. The NTPF has such an arrangement in place with St Vincent's University Hospital for the referral of some public patients for radiology investigations. These services are provided in a private clinic, in line with the Fund's general approach to the purchase of services for public patients.
153 Deputy Charlie O’Connor asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will seek an explanation from the Health Service Executive for the reason patients at Tallaght hospital are waiting up to three years for an appointment with a consultant in the urology department of that hospital; if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of the local community in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19566/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
154 Deputy Seán Sherlock asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will allow a child (details supplied) in County Cork, enroll under the early childhood care and education scheme for September 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19578/10]
I have responsibility for implementing the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme, which was introduced in January of this year.
Children qualify for the scheme where they are aged more than 3 years and 2 months and less than 4 years and 7 months at 1 September each year. This means that children born between 2 February 2005 and 30 June 2006 qualified for the scheme in January 2010 and children born between 2 February 2006 and 30 June 2007 will qualify in September 2010. From the information provided by the Deputy, I understand that the child in question qualified for the scheme in January of this year but will be over the upper age limit for eligibility in September 2010.
The scheme allows for exceptions to the upper age limit in situations where a child cannot start primary school until s/he is more than 5 years 6 months of age, due to either the enrolment policy of the local schools or having been assessed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) as being developmentally delayed or having a physical or sensory disability which prevents the child from availing of age-appropriate education.
155 Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the proposed new development of maternity services at Portlaoise regional hospital, County Laois; the terms of the nature of the project; the time frame; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19584/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
156 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Health and Children if the drugs payment scheme considers there to be 28 days in a month and therefore 13 months in a year forcing patients to pay for their drugs 13 times a year instead of 12. [19643/10]
The position in relation to the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) is that no more than 12 payments should be made by a family or individual in a full year on medication for use in any calendar month.
157 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Health and Children when a report will be carried out in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19646/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
158 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children if a carer will be arranged in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19664/10]
I regret that due to industrial action I am not in a position to provide a substantive response to your Parliamentary Question. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
159 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children when surgery will be offered in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24; the length of time before purchase scheme is an option in this case; the reason this procedure cannot be undertaken in Naas hospital, County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19665/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund arranges treatment for patients who have been on a surgical waiting list for more than three months. It is open to the person in question or anyone acting on their behalf to contact the Fund directly in relation to their case.
160 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children when a review appointment will be offered in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19666/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that due to industrial action affecting the Health Service Executive it is not possible for the Executive to supply the information requested. If this matter remains of continuing concern to you, however, I would invite you to raise it with me again in due course.
161 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport if he will reply as per a commitment given to the Houses of the Oireachtas by his predecessor to the effect that Oireachtas Members would continue to receive replies to parliamentary questions whether specific commencement notice has issued to Kildare County Council or the National Roads Authority in respect of the road realignment at Carbury, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19661/10]
The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads, in its area, is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants.
The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded is also a matter for the relevant local authority. With regard to answering Parliamentary Questions, I assume the Deputy is referring to the agreement between my Department and the National Roads Authority. From 1st September 2009, the National Roads Authority was tasked with undertaking the administration of the regional and local road grants on behalf of my Department. This was done on foot of an agreement negotiated by officials of my Department and the NRA and approved by me and the Board of the Authority.
The new arrangement was concluded on an administrative basis so as not to affect my statutory role or that of the local authorities in any way. The NRA is not being given any new statutory powers similar to those it has in relation to national roads.
As a consequence, I indicated at that time, that because there is no change in my statutory role I would continue to reply to Parliamentary Questions on regional and local road grants.
On 22 April 2010, my Department wrote to Kildare County Council conveying approval to serve all outstanding "notices to treat" in respect of the R402 Edenderry to Enfield Road Improvement Scheme. Progression of this project is a matter for Kildare County Council.
162 Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Transport if he will make available a copy of the capital appraisal of the proposed Navan rail route to this Deputy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19388/10]
Since 1st December 2009, this is a matter which comes under the remit of the National Transport Authority (NTA). The Oireachtas Liaison Officer for the NTA is Mr. Matt Benville, The National Transport Authority, 59 Dawson St., Dublin 2.
163 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Transport if a Draft Protected Area Order was prepared in the 1950s by his Department regarding Dublin Airport; if so, the reason such an order was not promulgated in accordance with the wishes of the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19392/10]
The only Protected Area Order made under Section 14 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1950 in respect of Dublin Airport was the Air Navigation (Protection Area) Order 1988 (S.I. No. 284 of 1988). This Order created a protected area of 300 metres radius around the Doppler Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Radio Range and Distance Measuring Equipment sited at Rowlestown West in Co. Dublin.
The Order was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in November 1988 as required under Section 14(4) of the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1950. The Act does not provide for the promulgation of such an Order in draft form.
The Deputy has enquired about the possible drafting of a Protected Area Order at some time in the 1950s. As the bulk of the records from this period are no longer in the custody of the Department of Transport I am not in a position to confirm if this matter was considered in the 1950s.
164 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport his views on the recent press statement by Irish Rail, which was made without any contact with his Department, that there would be a three year delay in the programme agreed by him to build the Dart underground interconnector; the discussion he has had with Irish Rail on this matter; if the interconnector will now be delayed by the three years, if this decision has implications for metro north; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19469/10]
Statutory responsibility for securing the delivery of public transport infrastructure projects, such as the DART Underground and Metro North, is now a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA), pursuant to section 11 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. The Dart Underground and Metro North continue to be the Government's top public transport investment priorities.
I understand the changes to the timetable for DART Underground mentioned by the Deputy relate to the finishing date for the project which will be later than anticipated as CIE have now been informed that the construction phase will take two years longer than originally estimated.
A second key consideration was that, based on experience with Metro North, it may take longer to complete the planning and statutory approval process.
In the light of these developments, my officials have asked the NTA for a full update on the project.
The Government remains committed to the earliest possible start up date and the speediest possible delivery of this project and will continue to pursue all available opportunities to shorten the delivery timescale. The most accurate forecast for a completion date is five and a half years from the commencement of construction.
The longer construction period for DART Underground has no implications for Metro North. The oral hearing before An Bord Pleanala on the railway order application for Metro North concluded in March this year. A decision on the application is anticipated over the Summer. In addition, two PPP consortia have been shortlisted under the PPP procurement process. The next phase of procurement must await the outcome of the statutory approval process.
The European Investment Bank announced its approval to provide a loan of up to €500 million for Metro North. This decision is an important signal of confidence in this priority public transport project for Dublin.
165 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19526/10]
I understand that the Deputy has agreed to limit his question to those suppliers of services where expenditure exceeded €25,000 in any of the years in question. I refer to the table, which indicates the relevant suppliers, including the amount spent and the nature of the service procured. My Department complies with public procurement guidelines, and all of the services listed in the table would have been procured as a result of the relevant tendering procedures.
|
Supplier Name |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
Description of Service |
|
€ 000’s |
||||||
|
Click It Solutions |
31 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Windows 2003/XP Migration and Support |
|
Computer People (CPL) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
47 |
30 |
Provision of service desk personnel |
|
Core International |
0 |
124 |
0 |
163 |
81 |
Maintenance/support of salaries system |
|
Dept Communications Energy & Natural Resources |
0 |
65 |
169 |
235 |
0 |
Support/development and hosting of Safe Seas Ireland |
|
Eircom |
175 |
708 |
Online Service Hosting/Support and migration to Government networks |
|||
|
Fujitsu |
3,740 |
3,710 |
National Vehicle Driver File (NVDF) Managed Service and Maintenance |
|||
|
Gatehouse |
24 |
79 |
Maintenance/support of Automatic Identification System (for maritime vessels) |
|||
|
IBM ( Ireland ) Ltd |
0 |
79 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Compilation of IT strategy |
|
IBM ( Ireland ) Ltd |
2,087 |
1,527 |
NVDF/Online Service Software Support and development of online change of ownership service |
|||
|
IT Force Ltd. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
200 |
243 |
Provision of service desk and network support personnel |
|
Premier Recruitment Intl |
0 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
127 |
Provision of project management resources |
|
Progressive Systems Enterprise Ltd |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Maintenance/development of electronic Travel and Subsistence (eT&S) |
|
Qualcom Systems Ltd |
0 |
31 |
61 |
0 |
39 |
Hardware maintenance and support |
|
Rational Commerce Ltd |
118 |
57 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Development/migration of Driver Testing system |
|
RealTime Recruitment Ltd |
0 |
25 |
109 |
43 |
0 |
Provision of service desk personnel |
|
Sabeo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
121 |
Provision of network support personnel |
|
Vantage Resources Ltd |
0 |
37 |
32 |
0 |
0 |
Provision of service desk personnel |
|
Version 1 Software |
0 |
0 |
63 |
105 |
194 |
Support/development of Safe Seas Ireland and eT&S |
166 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Transport the proposals he has to dramatically reduce the waiting time for the national car test in Dungarvan, County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19530/10]
Under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006 (Conferral of Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 477 of 2006) this is a matter for the Road Safety Authority.
167 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Transport his views on changes to legislation or regulations determining road and or footpath usage; if so, if he will first conduct a public consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19560/10]
I have no proposals to amend the statutory prohibition on parking on a footway, the provisions for which are outlined in Article 36 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997 as amended. (S.I. No. 182 of 1997).
168 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Transport if funding will be provided for a traffic project (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19576/10]
Since 1st December 2009, funding for traffic management projects in the Greater Dublin Area is a matter which comes under the remit of the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the NTA Traffic Management Grants Scheme. The Oireachtas Liaison Officer for the NTA is Mr. Matt Benville, The National Transport Authority, 59 Dawson St., Dublin 2.
169 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Transport the progress made to date in acting upon the recommendations of the report Getting There — Transport and Access to Social Services. [19579/10]
The Citizens Information Board's Report "Getting There — Transport and Access to Social Services" explores a range of issues relating to the availability of transport services and the supporting measures and schemes to enable people access transport appropriate to their needs. The matters raised in the report fall within the competence of a number of Departments and public bodies, including my Department, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Education and Skills, the Revenue Commissioners and the Health Services Executive.
The report raises issues which my Department had recognised as important in developing rural transport and in making transport accessible, and these are already being progressed. The Transport Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005, Transport for All, provides for the delivery of an accessible public transport system by 2015. In addition, a number of initiatives are currently underway in the country exploring the potential for better integration of services between existing transport providers, which include Bus Éireann, Rural Transport Programme groups, the HSE, and the Irish Wheelchair Association.
170 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the importance of having a strong and independent Human Rights Commission; and if he will ensure the necessary resources are made available to achieve that objective. [14060/10]
I refer the Deputy to my reply to his Question No. 102 of 1 April 2010. I have nothing further to add to the details of that reply.
171 Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the rent review working group is also considering the possibility of reviewing rents paid by Government Department tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19364/10]
The terms of reference of the Working Group to which the Deputy refers are as follows — "To consider the operation of the current system for determining the rent payable on foot of a rent review clause, with particular emphasis on the arbitration process and the adequacy of the information available to all parties and, if necessary, to make such recommendations for change as may seem appropriate." The matter raised by the Deputy does not come within the Group's terms of reference.
172 Deputy Seán Power asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for a certification of naturalisation in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19383/10]
A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's Question was received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in November 2007.
All valid applications are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants.The average processing time from application to decision is now at 26 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average, while an element of straight forward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale. Officials in the Citizenship Division inform me that processing of the application is at an advanced stage and the file will be submitted to me for a decision in due course.
The length of time taken to process each application should not be classified as a delay, as the length of time taken for any application to be decided is purely a function of the time taken to carry out necessary checks. There is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved as applications for naturalisation must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.
173 Deputy Seán Power asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an application for residency in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19387/10]
I wish to advise the Deputy that the permission to remain in the State originally granted to the person concerned under the IBC/05 scheme was renewed until 9 February 2013. The person in question was informed of this decision by letter dated 11 February 2010.
174 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a deportation order against persons (details supplied) in Dublin 8 will be reviewed sympathetically; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19389/10]
I am satisfied that the applications made by the persons concerned for asylum, for subsidiary protection, for temporary leave to remain in the State and for revocation of their Deportation Orders, together with all refoulement issues, were fairly and comprehensively examined and, as such, the decision to deport them is justified.
However, if new information or circumstances have come to light, which have a direct bearing on their case and which have arisen since the original decision to affirm the Deportation Orders was made, there remains the option of applying to me for revocation of the Deportation Orders pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(11) of the Immigration Act, 1999, as amended. However I wish to make clear that such an application would require substantial grounds to be successful. The enforcement of the Deportation Order is an operational matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
175 Deputy Emmet Stagg asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will ensure redundancy payments will be awarded to former employees of an agency (details supplied) in County Dublin. [19483/10]
I have been informed by the Irish Youth Justice Service that the Labour Court Recommendation in this regard was referred to the Department of Finance for their approval to implement it. I understand that the Department is currently examining the Recommendation and has sought some clarification from the Labour Court on issues arising from it. A final decision on the matter will be taken in light of that clarification.
176 Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding an applications for naturalisation in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Dublin; when a decision will be made on these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19485/10]
Valid applications for certificates of naturalisation from the persons referred to in the Deputy's Question were received in the Citizenship Division of my Department in March 2006 & May 2006.
All valid applications are dealt with in chronological order as this is deemed to be the fairest to all applicants. The average processing time from application to decision is now at 26 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average, while an element of straight forward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale. Officials in the Citizenship Division inform me that processing of both applications is at an advanced stage and the files will be submitted to me for a decision in due course.
The length of time taken to process each application should not be classified as a delay, as the length of time taken for any application to be decided is purely a function of the time taken to carry out necessary checks. There is a limit to the reduction in the processing time that can be achieved as applications for naturalisation must be processed in a way which preserves the necessary checks and balances to ensure that it is not undervalued and is only given to persons who genuinely satisfy the necessary qualifying criteria.
177 Deputy Seán Power asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the current strength of the Garda; his plans on recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19487/10]
179 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when recruitment will begin for the Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19532/10]
180 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if persons already on the panel for recruitment for the Garda Síochána will be called when recruitment commences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19533/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 177, 179 and 180 together.
I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Questions 209, 219, 221 and 225 of 11 May 2010. The information is contained therein.
178 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if tenders were sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19523/10]
My Department has two IT sections, one in Dublin, providing IT services to the central Department and associated agencies under the Justice Sector IT Shared Service, and a second in Killarney supporting the financial operations of the Department's Financial Shared Services.
Regarding the Departmental IT Division, Dublin, the main suppliers of IT services to the Department over the last five years have been:
PricewaterhouseCoopers Consortium (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Intertech, Connect Solutions/System Dynamics and Bluewave) (to end 2006);
IBM Consortium (IBM, Maxima, Bluewave, System Dynamics, Naked Objects Group, SirsiDynix and Sharptext).
Hewlett Packard (to end 2008);
Siemens;
Sogeti;
Microsoft (to end 2009).
Expenditure on IT services has been:
|
Year |
€ million |
|
2006 |
4.6 |
|
2007 |
10.0 |
|
2008 |
9.9 |
|
2009 |
8.7 |
|
2010 |
2.0 (to date) |
Staffing in the Department's Dublin IT Division averaged 25 during the period 2005-2008 but has fallen to an average of 18 since 2008. The number of staff of the Department and its agencies who have had their IT services provided and supported by the HQ IT Division has increased from 700 to 2200 over the period 2006-2010.
The Department's Financial Shared Services centre in Killarney provides a range of financial services to nine client organisations, including three Government Departments and six State Agencies. There are 8 staff in the IT Section. The main suppliers of IT services to Financial Shared Services have been: Accenture and Core International
Expenditure on IT services has been:
|
Year |
€ million |
|
2006 |
0.9 |
|
2007 |
1.3 |
|
2008 |
1.8 |
|
2009 |
1.2 |
|
2010 |
0.4 (to date) |
The services provided by all these companies to both IT functions have been procured in accordance with the normal procurement rules applicable to the public service.
181 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if information will be forwarded to the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee on a person (details supplied) in Dublin 6W to enable them to access an education grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19645/10]
The position is that responsibility for the allocation of education grants rests with the Department of Education and Skills and educational bodies operating under that Department's aegis and not with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department. However, the INIS is happy to provide the Department of Education and Skills, or any statutory educational authority, with any clarification needed on a non-EU national person's position in the State so that such information can be used to support the educational authority's decision making process.
In relation to the case of the person concerned, I understand that he raised a query with the INIS in October 2009 in relation to his possible entitlement to an education grant and, in a response dated 29 October 2009, a representative of the INIS advised him that his query should be addressed to the relevant educational authority who could, if necessary, contact the INIS for clarification on his immigration status.
I am informed that there is no outstanding query with the INIS from the educational authority referred to, however, in light of the Deputy's Question, I have asked that a representative of the INIS might contact the relevant educational authority in the coming days so that the matter can be progressed.
182 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will rescind the decision to deport in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19667/10]
I refer the Deputy to the Reply given to his Parliamentary Question No. 164 on Tuesday 14 October 2008. The status of the persons concerned remains largely as set out in that Reply. However, in the interim, an application for Subsidiary Protection was made on behalf of the second named person by her legal representative and lodged under cover letter dated 23 March 2009. In response to this application, a letter issued on 9 June 2009 advising that the person concerned was not automatically entitled to apply for Subsidiary Protection. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the applicant was advised that she could seek the exercise of Ministerial discretion pursuant to Regulation 4(2) of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations, 2006 by making further representations identifying any new facts or circumstances which demonstrated a change of position from that at the time the Deportation Order was made on 5 August 2004. Representations were received on 23 July 2009 and are currently being considered.
The enforcement of the Deportation Orders remains an operational matter for the GNIB.
183 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he or his Department still maintains contact with Justice for the Forgotten; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14695/10]
From 2003-2008 the Remembrance Commission operated a Scheme of Acknowledgement, Remembrance and Assistance for Victims in this Jurisdiction of the Conflict in Northern Ireland.
Under the Scheme, payments could be made to individuals under various categories such as acknowledgement payments, economic hardship payments and medical expenses payments. The Scheme also contained a provision to enable payments to be paid to groups offering support services to victims of the conflict. Under this element of the Scheme payments were made to Justice for the Forgotten for the purpose of meeting the counselling and other needs of victims or their family members. During the period of operation of the Scheme Justice for the Forgotten received a total of €1.2m of the €1.5m allocated for victim support services and was the only recipient of money under this heading. In addition the organisation had received over €890,000 from the Department of the Taoiseach in the period 2000-2003.
The term of appointment of the Remembrance Commission came to an end on 31 October 2008 and funding under the Scheme ended at that stage. Nevertheless, I took a decision at that time to grant further funding to Justice for the Forgotten totalling €190,300 to enable them to continue to operate while seeking to put alternative funding options in place.
Officials from my Department met with Justice for the Forgotten on a number of occassions and met with them again last June to apprise them of the situation and to confirm that my first priority, as I have stated, is to ensure that those victims who require ongoing medical treatment for injuries sustained in bombings and other incidents arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland will continue to be provided for. I have made special arrangements to have these costs provided by my Department through the Victims of Crime Office.
184 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the amount of funding provided to the National Disability Authority in the past three years; the plans he has to expand such funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14272/10]
The funding provided to the National Disability Authority in the past three years was as follows: €4.791m in 2008 (outturn); €4.357m in 2009 (outturn); and €5.617m in 2010 (allocation).
The allocation of funding to the N.D.A. in 2010 is reasonable in circumstances where both my Department and other agencies under my remit have seen significant reductions in their allocations.
185 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the national speed camera network will be fully rolled out in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17868/10]
Following a tender and evaluation process in accordance with relevant EU and national legislation and national procurement procedures, the Garda Commissioner and I signed the contract with the preferred bidder for an outsourced safety camera network in November, 2009.
The service provider will be paid according to the level of service provided. The number of speeding drivers detected by the service provider will have no effect on the level of payment. The purpose of the contract is to reduce speed, and so increase road safety, not to generate revenue either for the State or the service provider.
Work on implementation of the project is underway. As provided for in the contract, service provision will commence in autumn 2010. It is expected that service rollout will be substantially complete by the end of the year and fully complete early in 2011.
186 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide funding to a community graffiti reduction programme in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19007/10]
As outlined to the Deputy in my reply to the Deputy's question on 3rd February 2010, my Department due to budgetary constraints will not be providing any funding to the Community Graffiti Reduction Programme in 2010.
187 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of applications under the Freedom of Information Act received under the equality section of his Department in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19010/10]
The total number of Freedom of Information Requests received and answered by the Equality Division of my Department for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 0, 3 and 5 respectively.
188 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the proposed legislation in relation to head shops; if the heads of the legislation have been brought to Cabinet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18994/10]
The Government yesterday gave approval for priority drafting of my proposals for a Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances) Bill which will make it an offence to supply unregulated psychoactive substances for human consumption. The proposed Bill will also give the Gardaí and the courts the power to prevent the sale of such substances for human consumption by specified persons or from specified places.
My proposals are part of a Government multi-pronged approach to dealing with head shops and are in addition to the orders expanding the list of controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Acts to include the mainstream of products being sold in head shops announced by the Minister for Health and Children yesterday.
189 Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on amending the Bankruptcy Act, 1988 and, in particular to amend the provisions having regard to the current economic climate; if due cognisance will be taken of the provisions introduced in the UK to address hardship, particularly in the context of home repossessions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19173/10]
I intend to give early attention to the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission when it finalises its report on Personal Debt Management and Debt Enforcement later this year. And, insofar as they come within the area of responsibility of my Department, I shall also consider as quickly as possible the recommendations of the Commission in its Interim Report that will be published shortly on some early initiatives that it has developed with the assistance of a Working Group.
It is a priority of the Government to ensure, as far as possible, that difficulties in relation to mortgage arrears do not result in legal proceedings for home repossession. The Government is satisfied that mainstream mortgage lenders have adopted a responsible position towards their customers. For the year 2009, total repossessions of home owners by legal process for those institutions covered under the Bank Guarantee Scheme was 28.
In February of this year, the Minister for Finance established the Interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Group, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Hugh Cooney to examine and report on issues of mortgage arrears and personal debt.
The Group has commenced its work and is meeting on a regular basis. I understand that the emphasis is initially on exploring the feasibility of a range of possible options for improving the level of mortgage support to homeowners who are in difficulty.
190 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether, in the context of the transfer of responsibility for equality and human rights to his Department, the cut in funding to the Equality Authority and Human Rights Commissioner dealt those organisations and the human rights and equality infrastructure in general a major blow; and if he will reverse the cuts. [14062/10]
The context in which financial provisions have been made by the Government for the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission has been with regard to the extremely difficult Exchequer position and the need for substantial savings. I am satisfied that in all the circumstances the funding made available is adequate to meet the needs of both organisations.
191 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in the context of the transfer of responsibility for equality and human rights to his Department, he will make additional funding available to the Equality Authority and the Free Legal Advice Centres in response to the evidence that an increasing number of employers are using the recession as an excuse to discriminate against women who are pregnant, on maternity leave or returning to work after having a baby. [14064/10]
The Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2004 provide protection from discrimination for women who are pregnant, on maternity leave or returning to work after having a child. The Equality Authority has an important role to play in providing information to the public regarding allegations of pregnancy-related discrimination. The grant in aid provision of €3.2m for the Equality Authority for 2010, has been maintained close to the 2009 level of €3.329m. In addition, the State has successfully obtained EU funding of €266,000 for 2010, through the Progress programme, towards a multi-agency project led by the Equality Authority entitled "Promoting equality for all in a time of change: addressing the new challenges of an economic downturn" and which includes a strong focus on public education initiatives on employment rights.
The amount which I have made available in funding to FLAC in 2010 is €98,000, the same amount made available in 2009. It is a reasonable allocation in circumstances where both my Department and other agencies under my remit have seen significant reductions in their allocations.
192 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in the context of the transfer of responsibility for equality and human rights to his Department, he will take steps to address the fear shared by many in the gay and lesbian community that being open as to their sexual orientation could damage their career and promotion prospects as highlighted recently by an organisation (details supplied). [14066/10]
Ireland has already extensively legislated to promote and protect the principles of equality and freedom from discrimination in employment, in the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2008. This legislation prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the area of employment on nine grounds, including that of sexual orientation.
Institutional structures, in the shape of the Equality Tribunal and the Equality Authority, are also in place to ensure effective implementation of these statutes. The Equality Tribunal is the main body for investigating and mediating on cases of discrimination and harassment. At a general level within society, it is the role of the Equality Authority to promote the awareness of the overall equality framework, of which anti-discriminatory measures are a constituent part. The Authority works at many levels and with many bodies towards the elimination of discrimination within society, including organisations representative of the gay and lesbian community and employer organisations.
Furthermore, in 2006 the Government initiated a programme of engagement by policy makers with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network in relation to areas of concern for the gay and lesbian community. My Department is continuing this engagement which to date has produced significant benefits, particularly in the area of education.
193 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of funding granted to an organisation (details supplied) in each of the past five years; if, as a major funding contributor to this organisation he will intervene to resolve an ongoing dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19475/10]
As part of the Government's support for Irish communities abroad, funding has been provided, under the Emigrant Support Programme, for a number of Comhaltas led projects in Britain and the United States. The following table summarises the funding over the past five years.
|
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
|
Britain (£) |
55,000 |
99,500 |
134,518 |
172,201 |
157,501 |
|
USA ($) |
— |
— |
— |
— |
20,000 |
As no Emigrant Support Programme funding is provided to Comhaltas projects in Ireland, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the matter referred to by the Deputy.
194 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT Services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19521/10]
The table below sets out details of expenditure on IT services supplied to my Department over the period requested by the Deputy. In the time available it is not possible to break this down by year between companies. However, also included below is a table of the main companies who have provided the Department with IT services from 2006 to date.
|
Year |
Amount Spent on IT Services |
No of Staff Employed in the Department’s ICT Unit (includes technical and administrative support staff) |
|
€ |
||
|
2006 |
11,564,979 |
25.0 |
|
2007 |
11,750,508 |
26.0 |
|
2008 |
10,390,477 |
24.5 |
|
2009 |
8,087,074 |
17.5 |
|
2010 to date |
1,293,577 |
17.75 |
The IT Services included in the above relate to new systems and application development projects, website related services, systems support and maintenance, consultancy services, outsourcing, and, managed and external service provision. In the case of some of the services provided, expenditure will also have related to additional items, such as software licensing, which it is not possible to separate from the overall total. My Department complies with appropriate national and EU procurement regulations and requirements for the provision of such services.
|
Company |
Nature of Service(s) Provided |
|
Arekibo |
Website development, support & maintenance |
|
Bianconi Research Limited (trading as RITS) |
ICT security advice and technical services |
|
Cara/B T Ireland |
Help Desk managed service & on-site skilled resources |
|
Bearing Point Consulting Ltd |
Automated Passport System development, support and maintenance |
|
BlueWave Technology |
ICT application support (Lotus Notes) |
|
Brandon Consulting |
Database infrastructure development and support |
|
Calyx Ireland Ltd |
Security systems support & maintenance |
|
Central Solutions Ltd |
Intranet development & support |
|
Clear Ocean Internet Solutions |
Website support |
|
Core Financial Systems Ltd |
Support, maintenance & development of Financial Management System |
|
Core International |
Support, maintenance & development of Payroll System |
|
Cornwell Management Consultants Ireland Limited |
Procurement & technical advice relating to Automated Passport System |
|
Deft Technologies Ltd |
ICT application support (Wansync) |
|
Dell |
ICT infrastructure support, maintenance & development |
|
DSS |
Skilled on-site resources |
|
Entropy Ltd |
Security systems support & maintenance |
|
Equiniti ICS Limited |
Implementation, support & maintenance Civil Society Grant Application Management system |
|
Fujitsu Ireland |
Help Desk Customer Service Agent Resources |
|
Hewlett Packard |
Skilled on-site resources |
|
IT Alliance Outsourcing Ltd |
Skilled on-site resources |
|
JK Network Architecture Design Ltd |
Telecommunications infrastructure support and development resources |
|
LAN Communications Ltd |
Telecommunications equipment support & maintenance |
|
Local Government Computer Services Board |
Hosting services supporting websites & remote access |
|
Maxima Managed Services Ireland |
ICT application support (Citrix) |
|
Microsoft |
Systems & applications support |
|
Network Recovery |
ICT application support (Wansync) |
|
PA Consulting Group |
Procurement advice for Civil Society Grant Application Management System |
|
Sagem Identification |
Support & maintenance Automated Passport System production infrastructure |
|
Softworks Computing Ltd |
Implementation, support & maintenance Time & Attendance system |
|
Sysnet ltd |
ICT Security review & testing |
|
System Video |
Support & maintenance video conferencing infrastructure |
|
TOPSEC Technology |
Support & maintenance for anti-virus solutions |
|
Unit 4 Agresso |
Support & maintenance for anti-virus solutions |
|
Version 1 Software Limited |
ICT application support & maintenance (Travel & Subsistence); skilled on-site resources |
|
Worldreach Software Corporation |
Implementation, support & maintenance Consular case management system |
|
Zero Downtime Ltd |
ICT architecture development & support |
195 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the amount of funding granted to an organisation (details supplied) in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19476/10]
The table below sets out the grants paid by my Department on each project under the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Capital Development Programme in each of the last five years.
|
Project |
County |
Paid in 2005 |
Paid in 2006 |
Paid in 2007 |
Paid in 2008 |
Paid in 2009 |
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
||
|
Cois na hAbhna, Ennis |
Clare |
86,701 |
509,167 |
1,140,440 |
162,588 |
|
|
St Senan’s, Kilrush |
Clare |
34,248 |
156,673 |
578,951 |
46,332 |
|
|
Ennistymon |
Clare |
18,494 |
||||
|
Brú na Sí, Youghal |
Cork |
28,772 |
||||
|
Clasac, Clontarf |
Dublin |
1,922,382 |
4,385,238 |
2,951,559 |
||
|
Cultúrlann, Monkstown |
Dublin |
265,631 |
2,031 |
|||
|
Ceolann, Lixnaw |
Kerry |
8,600 |
||||
|
Dundalk Gaol |
Louth |
65,737 |
195,111 |
406,239 |
691,255 |
|
|
Coleman Centre, Gurteen |
Sligo |
45,089 |
304,940 |
588,800 |
274,325 |
|
|
Morrison Cottage |
Sligo |
75,000 |
65,000 |
7,500 |
||
|
Brú Ború, Cashel |
Tipperary |
2,595 |
289,224 |
80,193 |
||
|
Dún Uladh, Omagh |
Tyrone |
99,155 |
253,849 |
|||
|
Dun na Sí, Moate |
Westmeath |
8,800 |
||||
|
Total |
500,001 |
3,300,000 |
7,099,668 |
4,744,763 |
106,187 |
196 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT Services supplied to her Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in her Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19527/10]
The information requested by the Deputy is as follows:
|
Year |
Nature of service |
Cost (ex VAT) |
Tenders sought |
Company contracted |
NA Staff IT numbers |
|
€ |
|||||
|
2007 |
Census Project — Search application development |
12,500.00 |
Yes |
AIS.PL, Torun, Poland |
2 |
|
2007 |
Census Project — Web application server hosting |
24,000.00 |
Yes |
Eircom |
2 |
|
2008 |
Census Project — Web application server hosting |
24,000.00 |
Yes |
Eircom |
2 |
|
2009 |
Census Project — Web application server hosting |
24,000.00 |
Yes |
Eircom |
2 |
|
Year |
Nature of service |
Cost (ex VAT) |
Tenders sought |
Company contracted |
Dept Staff IT numbers |
|
€ |
|||||
|
2006 |
Set up and delivery of Culture Ireland website |
18,700.00 |
Yes |
TPG (Europe ltd) |
4 |
|
2006 |
Health Check & Lotus Notes 7 Project |
15,350.00 |
Yes |
System Dynamics |
4 |
|
2007/2008 |
Church Records Project- Service contract for 35 Family History/Genealogy Centre |
37,112.40 |
No |
Tierney’s Office Automation Ltd |
7/5 |
|
2008 |
Hardware Maintenance |
10,000.00 |
Yes |
Calyx |
5 |
|
2008 |
Windows Upgrade Project |
23,450.00 |
Yes |
System Dynamics |
5 |
|
2009 |
Hardware Maintenance |
10,000.00 |
Yes |
Calyx |
4 |
|
2009 |
Finance Unit — Reporting, Monitoring & Capital Inspections |
10,285.92 |
Yes |
Accountant Dept. of Justice |
4 |
|
2009 |
Church Records Project-Development of website |
17,676.10 |
Yes |
TPG (Europe Ltd) |
4 |
|
2009 |
Church Records Project-Development of search facility |
10,450.75 |
No |
AIS |
4 |
|
2009/2010 |
Church Records Project-Imaging and Computerisation of Church Genealogy records |
177,921.00 |
Yes |
Eneclann Ltd. |
4/3.5 |
197 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if, as a major funding contributor to an organisation (details supplied) he will intervene to resolve an ongoing dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19476/10]
198 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the amount of funding granted to an organisation (details supplied) in each of the past five years; if, as a major funding contributor to this organisation he will intervene to resolve an ongoing dispute which was the subject of a review by his Department in 2009; the progress that has been made by him in resolving this serious issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19474/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos 197 and 198 together.
The following table outlines the payments made by my Department to the organisation referred to by the Deputy in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as the approved allocation for 2010.
|
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
|
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
|
|
Core funding |
575,000 |
600,000 |
630,000 |
607,200* |
596,000** |
|
Regional Development Programme |
865,000 |
950,000 |
1,249,928 |
1,343,200 |
1,500,000 |
|
A regional centre |
30,000 |
30,000 |
30,000 |
— |
— |
|
Another regional centre |
— |
— |
— |
55,200 |
— |
|
Total |
1,470,000 |
1,580,000 |
1,909,928 |
2,180,000 |
2,096,000 |
*This figure includes an additional €27,600 in respect of the first regional centre.
**This figure includes funding in respect of the two regional centres, which was subsumed into the core funding in 2010.
With regard to the dispute referred to, the Deputy will be aware that my Department has been engaged in discussions with those involved in this issue to explore the scope for engagement by them, under the auspices of an agreed independent person, in relation to the matters involved, with a view to resolution of the dispute. These discussions are continuing but remain at a sensitive stage.
199 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19515/10]
My Department's records indicate that the amounts paid for IT services in each of the past five years are as shown in the table below. These relate to IT maintenance, support, development and associated services. My Department follows the normal public procurement procedures in all such cases, including the seeking of tenders where applicable.
There are currently 10 staff employed in the IT section of my Department across 3 locations — Tubbercurry, Dublin and na Forbacha.
|
Company |
Payment to date in 2010 |
Payment in 2009 |
Payment in 2008 |
Payment in 2007 |
Payment in 2006 |
|
System Dynamics |
4,537.50 |
58,112.42 |
78,159.47 |
37,643.10 |
104,144.22 |
|
System Dynamics / Oracle |
0 |
0 |
53,139.25 |
51,378.97 |
49,882.49 |
|
Core Computers Ltd |
0 |
92,939.57 |
75,477.68 |
45,972.58 |
63,868.02 |
|
Insight Software |
54,840.00 |
36,173.11 |
101,228.00 |
24,623.26 |
7,320.00 |
|
Terminal 4 Site Manager |
4,029.30 |
11,568.47 |
13,456.41 |
14,065.82 |
8,830.58 |
|
pTools Software |
0 |
12,146.96 |
12,096.98 |
34,179.48 |
15,121.22 |
|
Sureskills Ltd |
6,897.00 |
81,485.41 |
31,131.93 |
24,543.50 |
10,890.00 |
|
Flextime Ltd |
0 |
6,543.28 |
11,928.86 |
2,279.08 |
8,733.30 |
|
Bearing Point |
3,244.09 |
6,275.66 |
7,437.36 |
10,149.48 |
9,978.88 |
|
Oracle (via CMOD) |
0 |
56,018.25 |
3,848.49 |
3,914.75 |
0 |
|
Version1 |
19,239.00 |
125,411.72 |
548,143.25 |
34,624.15 |
25,954.50 |
|
Dell |
0 |
22,003.65 |
55,509.96 |
36,300.00 |
53,298.08 |
|
Quest |
26,493.12 |
0 |
105,972.50 |
0 |
35,251.23 |
|
Euro Software Conversions |
0 |
0 |
423.50 |
493.05 |
955.90 |
|
Cable & Wireless |
9,735.38 |
29,382.19 |
46,382.98 |
23,262.13 |
30,122.46 |
|
Maxima Ireland |
0 |
19,391.40 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
LGCSB |
0 |
12,508.00 |
16,674.00 |
12,943.70 |
10,042.88 |
|
BT |
15,246.00 |
81,317.67 |
76,464.48 |
63,604.91 |
11,522.88 |
|
Bakers |
7,865.00 |
39,187.07 |
6,568.81 |
10,238.72 |
2,825.16 |
|
Camara |
1,152.50 |
500.00 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
CDC |
209.98 |
1,583.32 |
727.00 |
867.06 |
204.30 |
|
Certification Europe |
0 |
0 |
4,235.00 |
4,500.00 |
0 |
|
DQ Networks |
0 |
789.75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Eircom |
0 |
73,663.94 |
63,814.00 |
0 |
59,295.00 |
|
IT Force |
0 |
23,297.52 |
59,918.15 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kerry Broadband |
74.97 |
249.97 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Morrisons |
0 |
0 |
37,260.30 |
0 |
0 |
|
OKI |
4,256.25 |
12,768.75 |
18,443.75 |
17,025.00 |
17,025.00 |
|
Sigma |
0 |
1,585.50 |
1,585.00 |
0 |
0 |
|
Smart Telecom |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
60,920.27 |
|
Supernet Software Solutions Ltd |
0 |
0 |
0 |
51,388.82 |
109,860.50 |
|
UPC |
17,242.50 |
85,961.25 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
200 Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection if supplementary welfare allowance allocation for funding to meet furnishing costs will be provided in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [19559/10]
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which the applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is determined by the Executive based on the particular circumstances of the case. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare or health service executive payment. The person concerned should contact the community welfare officer at her local health centre in order that she can have her claim for entitlements examined.
201 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister Social Protection the number of persons on the live register in each area throughout Co. Kildare at present; the extent to which this has fluctuated over the past five years; the measures he has taken or proposes to take to address the issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19670/10]
The table at Appendix A sets out the number of persons on the Live Register in each local Department of Social Protection office in Co. Kildare at the end of April for each of the years 2005 to 2010. Year on year fluctuation by office at the end of April for each year during that period is also shown.
Income support for those who have lost their jobs is provided by my Department through Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance. While the primary responsibility for job creation rests with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, my Department has a role in supporting people from welfare to work.
Apart from providing people with access to financial support after losing their jobs, it is important that as many people as possible are kept in work and that support is available to help people move from welfare back into employment.
The National Employment Action Plan (NEAP), operated jointly with FÁS, is the main activation measure. Under the NEAP, everyone who is approaching three months on the live register is identified by the Department of Social Protection and referred to FÁS for interview with a view to assisting them enter/re-enter the labour market. In the period January to end of December 2009, a total of 86,782 persons were referred to FÁS under NEAP, an increase of 26,522 (44%) over the same period in 2008.
The Department also provides jobseekers with one-to-one assistance through its facilitator service. Facilitators work closely with FÁS and other agencies at a local level and help jobseekers develop individual progression plans to enhance their skills and ultimately improve their employment chances. From September 2008 to end of April 2010, facilitators dealt with over 32,000 cases under the Activation programme.
The Department operates a range of activation programmes and second chance education opportunities which assist unemployed people, and other social welfare recipients to improve their employability and personal and family situations.
My Department will also, under the new role it has been given, including responsibility for the employment services of FÁS and schemes such as the Community Employment and Rural Social Schemes, be much more directly involved in providing new opportunities to those who do not get full time employment.
The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance is designed to allow the unemployed to develop a business while allowing them to retain a reducing proportion of their qualifying social welfare payment, plus secondary benefits, over two years. At the end of March 2010, there were 5,137 people availing of the scheme. The Short Time Enterprise Allowance is payable to a person who qualifies for Jobseeker's Benefit and wishes to commence in self employment. This allowance is payable for the duration of their Jobseeker's Benefit entitlement. At the end of March 2010, there were 1,393 participants in the scheme.
The back to education allowance (BTEA) aims to give welfare recipients who left school early and those without third level qualifications a second chance to attain educational qualifications so as to reduce their risk of long term unemployment. The allowance is paid at a standard weekly rate equivalent to the maximum personal rate of the relevant social welfare payment that qualifies the application for participation in the scheme. 20, 808 people were in receipt of BTEA at the end of December 2009.
In addition, my Department, together with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, the Department of Education and Skills and FÁS supports the unemployed under a number of new measures. These include the Work Placement programme, the Short Time Work Training programme, the Back to College Initiative and the redundant apprentice programme.
The Government is providing, through FÁS, a total of 147,000 training and activation places for jobseekers. In addition, there were 166,000 places available, including additional provision, education programmes in 2009, while the number of third level places has also increased drastically over the past ten years.
The nature and structure of the supports provided by my Department to the people on the Live Register will continue to be monitored in the context of changes in the economic environment.
|
Office |
Apr 05 |
Inc 05-06 |
Apr 06 |
Inc 06-07 |
Apr 07 |
Inc 07-08 |
Apr 08 |
Inc 08-09 |
Apr 09 |
Inc 09-10 |
Apr 10 |
|
Athy |
834 |
+30 |
864 |
+58 |
922 |
+312 |
1,234 |
+991 |
2,225 |
+455 |
2,680 |
|
Maynooth |
1,300 |
+123 |
1,423 |
+153 |
1,576 |
+501 |
2,077 |
+3191 |
5,268 |
+492 |
5,760 |
|
Newbridge |
2,231 |
+322 |
2,553 |
+383 |
2,936 |
+1,083 |
4,019 |
+4534 |
8,553 |
+829 |
9,382 |
202 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8 can only be considered for rent allowance for a bedsit single person unit. [19366/10]
Due to staff action currently being taken in the HSE, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
203 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (detail supplied) in County Kildare is on a reduced basic supplementary welfare allowance from the community welfare officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19378/10]
Due to staff action currently being taken in the HSE, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
204 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for rent allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19379/10]
Due to staff action currently being taken in the HSE, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
205 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo be approved and awarded farm assist. [19498/10]
The person concerned applied for farm assist on 23 March, 2010. His claim is currently with a Social Welfare Inspector for investigation. On completion of enquiries a decision will be made and he will be notified of the outcome.
206 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount paid for each of the past five years for IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19524/10]
The establishment of the information in the format requested by the Deputy would involve significant time and effort and would necessitate the diversion of staff from other work.
The Department of Social Protection has over 200 regional, local and branch offices throughout the country and processes over 1.3 million weekly payments to social welfare customers across all schemes, including jobseekers, one parent family payments, widows and pensioners.
The following table sets out the total ICT-related expenditures over the last 5 years, including the expenditure on the use of external resources, e.g. outsourced and contracted out services and on managed services provision. This table also sets out the number of full-time staff serving in the IT Division in each of these years.
|
Year |
Total ICT-related Expenditure (including Telecommunications) |
Total ICT Expenditure on the use of external resources |
Number of Staff serving in IT Division (full-time equivalents) |
|
€ |
€ |
||
|
2005 |
36,301,312 |
19,605,384 |
255.43 |
|
2006 |
47,828,808 |
26,234,759 |
245.68 |
|
2007 |
46,211,058 |
17,086,592 |
243.08 |
|
2008 |
49,209,509 |
25,931,237 |
235.58 |
|
2009 |
34,802,391* |
14,544,524* |
233.0 |
*Provisional.
In addition, the table below provides details of IT expenditures during 2009 on the use of external resources such as outsourced and contracted out services, as well as on managed services provision, where the value of those services exceeded €10,000.
All procurements undertaken by the Department, including those outlined in the following table, comply with the terms of EU and national legislation and with the procedures set down by the Department of Finance. For instance, all procurements in excess of €125,000 are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). In accordance with Department of Finance rules, all IT related procurements valued in excess of €10,000 are advertised on the eTenders website. For smaller procurements, the practice is to obtain at least 3 quotations. The award of contracts without competitive tendering is only permitted in very exceptional circumstances (as defined in EU Directive 18/2004) and any such procurements that are in excess of €25,000 must be reviewed in advance by the Department's Internal Audit Unit and annual returns must be provided to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Department also participates in a range of joint initiatives of the National Procurement Service (OPW), including frameworks established for the purchase of IT equipment, such as PCs, printers etc. and central arrangements for the provision of human resource management and payroll management.
|
Company/Supplier |
Nature of Service provided |
Amount* |
|
€ |
||
|
Bearing Point |
Support, maintenance and enhancement of new production system under Dept’s Service Delivery Modernisation programme |
4,857,016 |
|
Bearing Point |
Development of Medical Referral Case Management system under Dept’s Service Delivery Modernisation programme |
1,713,129 |
|
Fujitsu Ireland Ltd |
Development of Payment and Agency Reconciliation system (PARP) |
1,612,214 |
|
Hewlett Packard Ireland |
Support for migration from existing Office systems to Microsoft Exchange |
1,268,170 |
|
Bearing Point |
Development of new production system for Widows and Widowers (Contributory) Pension schemes under Dept’s Service Delivery Modernisation programme |
1,265,948 |
|
Hewlett Packard Ireland |
Hosting of the Civil Registration Computer System for the General Registry Office |
909,394 |
|
Accenture |
Support, maintenance and development of the Civil Registration Computer System for the General Registry Office |
757,875 |
|
Bayberry Consulting Ltd |
Support for Business and organisational changes required as part of development of PARP |
502,458 |
|
Mallon Technologies |
Capture of pre-1979 PRSI Contribution Data |
313,257 |
|
Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd |
Support for migration from existing Office systems to Microsoft Exchange |
241,347 |
|
Naked Objects Group Ltd |
Technical development advice provided for Dept’s Service Delivery Modernisation programme |
216,906 |
|
Naked Objects Group Ltd |
Advice and expertise provided for Business Objects Modelling implementation |
169,857 |
|
Bearing Point |
Maintenance and upgrade of Human Resources Management System |
163,491 |
|
Document Management Group |
Capture in electronic form of customer claims and administrative papers |
148,878 |
|
Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd |
Advice provided in relation to security of Department’s ICT services |
138,310 |
|
Inpute Technology |
Development of electronic file management system |
101,187 |
|
Advanced Telephone Systems |
Telephone call traffic management hosting service |
65,282 |
|
PM Centrix |
Support for the redesign of Dept’s Website |
42,470 |
|
Core International |
Development of new processing system for claims for travel and subsistence |
14,410 |
|
Total |
14,501,599 |
*Provisional.
207 Deputy Joe Behan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will support the case of persons (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19535/10]
Due to staff action currently being taken in the HSE, I regret that I am unable to provide the information sought by the Deputy.
208 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection if persons resident in Ireland and in receipt of invalidity and incapacity pensions from the UK are entitled to household benefits and free travel here; and if all residents here who came from EU countries are covered by these scheme under the EU regulation or Bilateral agreement. [19633/10]
People resident in Ireland may qualify for the household benefits package (HHB) if they are aged 70 or over, or are getting carer's allowance, or are caring for a person who is receiving prescribed relative's allowance or constant attendance allowance. If they are between 66 and 70 they may qualify for HHB if they are receiving state pension (contributory), state pension (non contributory), widow's/widower's (contributory) pension, or an equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement. They must live alone or only with certain "excepted persons".
If under 66 they may qualify for HHB if they are receiving invalidity pension, blind pension, incapacity supplement or workmen's compensation with disablement pension (for at least 12 months), disability allowance or an equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement and live alone or only with certain "excepted persons".
The free travel scheme is available to people aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind person's pension. People resident in the State who are in receipt of a social security payment from a country covered by EU Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, and who have been in receipt of this payment for at least 12 months, are also eligible for free travel.
209 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when child benefit will be restored in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19662/10]
Letters issue on a regular basis to parents who receive Child Benefit as part of the Department's ongoing customer service and control work. Parents are asked to verify that they continue to reside in Ireland, that they continue to satisfy the conditions for Child Benefit and that all details held by the Department are correct.
Correspondence which issued to the person concerned in December 2009, to the address which she had provided to the Department, was not returned within the required 21 days and as a consequence the claim was suspended on 8 th February. On 11th February an incomplete certificate was received and further correspondence issued to the customer's address on 24 th February. The customer's spouse contacted the Child Benefit office on 14th April 2010 and stated that she and her children were on holidays in China.
As the customer was absent from the state without informing the Department, she must re-apply for Child Benefit and provide documentary evidence of when she and her children left and returned to Ireland. Application forms for this purpose were issued on 22 nd April 2010 and have not yet been returned.
210 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if this parliamentary question will stand as notice of an appeal for an oral hearing in respect of the refusal of an application in respect of child benefit, job seeker’s allowance and so on by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who has lived in this country for more than three years and who is an EU citizen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19663/10]
The applications for child benefit and jobseeker's allowance, by the person concerned, were disallowed by a Deciding Officer of the Department in August 2007 and August 2008 (child benefit), April 2009 and February 2010 (jobseeker's allowance) as she was not habitually resident in the State for Social Welfare purposes. I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there is no trace of appeals against any of those decisions by the person concerned.
In the normal course, an appeal against the decision of a Deciding Officer must be made within 21 days of a decision being notified. Appeals received outside of this time limit may be accepted at the discretion of the Chief Appeals Officer. This limit is not rigidly enforced but in view of the length of time which has elapsed since the person concerned was notified of each of these decisions and in the absence of any explanation for the failure to make the appeals within the prescribed time, it is considered that the acceptance of an appeal would not be warranted at this late stage. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister of Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
211 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Defence the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19516/10]
The following table provides the information requested in relation to amount paid for each of the past five years for IT Services supplied to my Department, the nature of the service provided, if there were tenders sought for each such contract and the successful company or person. This includes material provided by the Military Authorities on IT services provided to the Defence Forces.
The number of IT staff employed in the Department of Defence is ten in the Dublin Office and thirteen in the Galway office. The Defence Forces IT services are served by the Communications and Information Services (CIS) Corps.
|
Year |
Nature of Service |
Tender Competition |
Company/Supplier |
Amount Paid |
|
€ |
||||
|
2010 |
||||
|
Corepay Software and Support |
Not required |
Core International |
5,498.50 |
|
|
MIF Application Support |
Tender competition 2007 |
Fujitsu (Ireland) Ltd |
13,943.00 |
|
|
Online Recruitment |
Yes |
Candidate Manager |
11,374.00 |
|
|
Hosting Mil.ie and RDF.ie |
Yes |
Hosting 365 |
11,176.53 |
|
|
Technical Assistance Decentralisation Plan |
Yes |
DQ Networks |
893.75 |
|
|
Webfarm and Managed Backup Service |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
BT Ireland |
11,516.30 |
|
|
Website Support |
No |
Four5One Creative |
1,645.60 |
|
|
Microsoft Exchange Support 2 years |
Yes |
Hibernia Evros Technology Group |
11,737.00 |
|
|
Mail Archive Software Support & Technical Assistance |
Not required |
Waterford Technologies |
6,512.40 |
|
|
Total |
74,297.08 |
|||
|
2009 |
||||
|
MIF Hardware OS Support & Maintenance |
Tender won 2004 for hardware contract |
Sabeo Technologies Ltd |
90,739.83 |
|
|
MIF Application Support |
Tender competition 2007 |
Fujitsu (Ireland) Ltd |
57,193.50 |
|
|
Corepay Software and Support 2009 and 2010 |
Not required |
Core International |
84,136.29 |
|
|
Windows LAN training and support contract (2009-2010) |
Yes (3 year), 2007 |
Cotter Networks |
3,900.00 |
|
|
Online Recruitment |
Yes |
Candidate Manager |
10,874.25 |
|
|
Hosting Mil.ie and RDF.ie |
Yes |
Hosting 365 |
36,146.73 |
|
|
Information Security |
Yes |
*information not available for security reasons |
99,703.08 |
|
|
IT Infrastructure and Security Support |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Baker Consultants |
28,419.46 |
|
|
Call Cost Monitoring Software |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Bandwidth Communications |
1,215.00 |
|
|
Webfarm and Managed Backup Service |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
BT Ireland |
54,457.78 |
|
|
Annual Licence & Support — Flexitime System |
Not required |
Flextime Ltd |
6,220.80 |
|
|
Website Support |
No |
Four5One Creative |
4,659.52 |
|
|
Emailfilter Support |
Yes |
FutureRange Ltd |
3,523.50 |
|
Year |
Nature of Service |
Tender Competition |
Company/Supplier |
Amount Paid |
|
€ |
||||
|
Migration to MS Exchange email system |
Yes |
Hibernia Evros Technology Group |
9,221.85 |
|
|
ASR Software Support (HRM) |
Not required |
Intelligo Software |
1,162.02 |
|
|
Mail Archive Software Support |
Not required |
Waterford Technologies |
5,880.60 |
|
|
Total |
497,454.21 |
|||
|
2008 |
||||
|
Corepay Software and Support |
Not required |
Core International |
69,225.77 |
|
|
MIF Application Support |
Tender competition 2007 |
Fujitsu (Ireland) Ltd |
25,235.50 |
|
|
Windows LAN training and support contract (2008-2009) |
Yes (3 year), 2007 |
Cotter Networks |
3,900.00 |
|
|
MIF Hardware OS Support & Maintenance |
Yes. New tender competition for 3 years |
Sabeo Technologies Ltd |
150,278.00 |
|
|
Health Check Upgrades — December 2008 |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Hewlett Packard (Ire) Ltd |
1,800.00 |
|
|
Online Recruitment |
Yes |
Candidate Manager |
16,970.25 |
|
|
Hosting Mil.ie and RDF.ie |
Yes |
Hosting 365 |
31,172.32 |
|
|
Information Security |
Yes |
*information not available for security reasons |
19,622.25 |
|
|
IT Infrastructure and Security Support |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Baker Consultants |
18,234.28 |
|
|
Call Cost Monitoring Software |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Bandwidth Communications |
1,210.00 |
|
|
Webfarm and Managed Backup Service |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
BT Ireland |
47,597.59 |
|
|
Domino Server Upgrade |
Yes |
Domino People |
2,057.00 |
|
|
Annual Licence & Support — Flexitime System |
Not required |
Flextime Ltd |
18,009.64 |
|
|
Website Support |
No |
Four5One Creative |
411.40 |
|
|
ASR Software Support (HRM) |
Not required |
Intelligo Software |
1,157.26 |
|
|
Total |
406,881.26 |
|
Year |
Nature of Service |
Tender Competition |
Company/Supplier |
Amount Paid |
|
€ |
||||
|
2007 |
Corepay Software and Support |
Not required |
Core International |
5,891.04 |
|
Maintenance on Dell Server |
No. Subject to existing contract. |
DELL (IRELAND) |
3,901.00 |
|
|
Hardware Support for ES40’s and payroll development |
No. Subject to an annual renewal of existing agreement |
Hewlett Packard (Ire) Ltd |
36,697.44 |
|
|
Windows LAN training and support contract (2009-2010) |
Yes (3 year), 2007 |
Cotter Networks |
1,650.00 |
|
|
MIF Hardware OS Support & Maintenance |
Yes. 2004 tender for hardware contract |
Sabeo Technologies Ltd |
80,165.00 |
|
|
Application maintenance for FMS V2 DOD/FM/07 Period 01/01/07-31/12/07 |
Not required |
Version 1 Software |
8,107.50 |
|
|
Online Recruitment |
Yes |
Candidate Manager |
7,260.00 |
|
|
Hosting Mil.ie |
Yes |
Hosting 365 |
23,890.30 |
|
|
IT Infrastructure and Security Support |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Baker Consultants |
33,892.10 |
|
|
Webfarm and Managed Backup Service |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
BT Ireland |
40,411.65 |
|
|
Annual Licence & Support — Flexitime System |
Not required |
Flextime Ltd |
7,612.11 |
|
|
ASR Software Support (HRM) |
Not required |
Intelligo Software |
3,924.40 |
|
|
Total |
253,402.54 |
|||
|
2006 |
Payroll Software Maintenance Charges for 2007 |
Not required |
Core International |
43,232.24 |
|
Corepay Software and Support |
Not required |
Core International |
18,630.00 |
|
|
Hardware Support for ES40’s and payroll development |
No. rolling annual support agreement |
Hewlett Packard (Ire) Ltd |
41,811.36 |
|
|
Maintenance Contract 3 Years Support on Printronix P Series Printers |
No. Follow-on at reduced price from existing agreement |
Oki Systems (Ireland) Ltd |
15,000.00 |
|
|
MIF Hardware OS Support & Maintenance |
Yes. Tender 2004 for hardware contract |
Sabeo Technologies Ltd |
87,895.00 |
|
|
Online Recruitment |
Yes |
Candidate Manager |
91,705.90 |
|
|
IT Infrastructure and Security Support |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
Baker Consultants |
6,774.79 |
|
|
Webfarm and Managed Backup Service |
No. Ongoing support and maintenance arrangement |
BT Ireland |
37,610.53 |
|
|
Annual Licence & Support — Flexitime System |
Not required |
Flextime Ltd |
28,466.06 |
|
|
ASR Software Support (HRM) |
Not required |
Intelligo Software |
1,914.34 |
|
|
Total |
373,040.22 |
212 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Defence the number by rank of all Reserve Defence Forces discharged or resigned and retired separately in 2008, 2009 and to date in 2010; the promotions by rank in 2009 and to date in 2010; the number recruited in each year; the approved structure for the RDF in 2010; the number of vacancies by rank unfilled as at 30 April 2010; the budget for direct RDF expenditure in 2010; the number of Permanent Defence Forces attached to RDF at 30 April 2010; the estimated total cost of these for 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19639/10]
The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available and is being compiled at present. This information will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.
213 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he expects the multidisciplinary special housing task force to report on the options for the future development of a property (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19472/10]
214 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he expects the multidisciplinary special housing task force to report on the options for the future development of a property (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19473/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 and 214 together.
The Multi Disciplinary Special Housing Taskforce was established by Dublin City Council to examine alternative options for the redevelopment of their priority regeneration projects. My Department exercises no control over the taskforce, which reports to Dublin City Council; ultimately it will be a matter for the City Council to decide on the most appropriate method of regeneration for the areas in question, and to devise and advance its proposals in the context of its overall social housing investment programme and having regard to its available funding.
215 Deputy Charlie O’Connor asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the consultations he is having with interested parties in respect of the proposed resident tenancies (amendment) Bill; when he believes work on the Bill will be completed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19482/10]
In April 2009 my Department commenced a review of the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, under which the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) operates. The purpose of this review is to consider whether the Act best supports the PRTB's key functions and whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of those functions or the broader good working of the private rented sector.
As part of the review my Department engaged in a formal public consultation process, which took place from 29 May to 10 July 2009. Arising out of this, submissions were received from a number of organisations, including landlord and tenant representative groups, social and voluntary bodies and residents' associations, together with individual submissions from landlords and tenants and from the staff and Board of the PRTB. Following consideration of the submissions received during the consultation process, the preliminary outcomes of the review were announced in November 2009. They include recommendations in a number of key areas, and have an overall emphasis on streamlining and simplifying the Act and reducing delays. Among the main issues that will be addressed by the amending legislation are:
a statutory objective of 6 months to be set for the issuing of determination orders arising out of dispute resolution applications,
the Board of the PRTB to be reduced from 15 to 12 members,
the introduction of fixed fines where deposits are illegally retained by landlords,
measures to address non-payment of rent by tenants during a dispute process, in particular to introduce scope for the legal termination of such a tenancy,
the separation of the governance and quasi-judicial functions of the Board,
the inclusion within the remit of the Residential Tenancies Act of segments of the voluntary and co-operative housing sector that most closely parallel its current remit.
A number of issues requiring further research, including third party complaints under the Act, the Act's engagement with anti-social behaviour matters and how best to address issues surrounding the retention of deposits, will also be considered in detail. The Department will continue to engage in direct consultation with key stakeholders so as best to address those issues.
The Government recently approved the preparation of Heads of a Bill in this regard and it is envisaged that the General Scheme of a Bill setting out the detailed proposals arising out of the review will be submitted for Government approval in autumn 2010.
216 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the types of central heating systems that are eligible for grants; if range cookers are eligible for grants; if not, the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19503/10]
Under the terms of my Department's suite of Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability, which is administered by the local authorities, grants are available to assist older people or people with a disability to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out in order to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs and to facilitate the continued occupancy of their own homes.
In the case of works which include the installation of central heating there is no standard specification set out with regard to the type of central heating system which may be approved for assistance. It is a matter for the local authority to determine the suitability of any proposed heating system having regard to, inter alia, the needs of the relevant household and the specification, performance and cost effectiveness of the proposed system.
Where an application for a grant relates solely to the provision of a central heating system local authorities should exercise appropriate discretion taking account of the applicant's accommodation and personal circumstances and/or the nature of any disability affecting the applicant or other member of the household.
217 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19509/10]
Section 14 of the Building Control Act 2007 sets out the eligibility criteria for registration in the statutory register of architects. Section 14(2)(f) and Section 14(2)(h) provide two options for registration in respect of persons who have been practising architecture for specified periods in the State.
The statutory register examination referred to in Section 14(2)(f) is conducted by the Architects Register Admission Examination Ltd. (ARAE) which is set up as a company limited by guarantee. Further information about this process is available on the company's website (www.arae.ie)
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) is designated as registration body in respect of architects under the Act. Details of the proposed fees for technical assessment and registration have been submitted for my consideration by the RIAI. Following a recent meeting with the RIAI, I am currently considering a further submission from the registration body on the proposed fees and I intend to convey my decision on the fees to the body in the near future.
218 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19519/10]
The information requested in respect of my Department is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
219 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide an update on the provision of a scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19534/10]
The Water Services Investment Programme 2010 — 2012, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, provides for the development of a comprehensive range of new water services infrastructure in County Clare.
Phases 1 and 2 of the Ennis / Clarecastle Sewerage Scheme are included in the Programme to advance through planning over the course of the Programme. My Department recently issued approval to Clare County Council to extend the brief of its consultants to review the Preliminary Report for the Scheme. This will allow the precise scope of the Scheme to be defined, taking cognisance of the Ennis and environs development plan. Any priority contracts which emerge through this process will be considered for inclusion for commencement, under the new annual review process included for the first time in the new Programme.
My Department understands from Clare County Council that the Tulla Road area of Ennis is sewered and that the sewer is available to existing developments at that location. As the provision of adequate wastewater services in an area is a matter for the relevant local authority, any further enquiries in this matter should be made to the Council.
220 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to introduce a regeneration scheme for villages and towns that have been bypassed by motorways, that is, Clarecastle and Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare, or that will be bypassed in the future, that is, Crusheen, County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19538/10]
Under the Urban and Village Renewal Programme 2000-2006, grant assistance was provided by my Department to local authorities for a range of interventions to upgrade the fabric of the built environment in cities, towns and villages. Final funding allocations under this Programme, which ended in early 2008, involved total EU and Exchequer co-financed expenditure of over €158 million.
The 2007-2013 Urban and Village Regeneration Programme, administered by my Department, has been deferred due to budgetary constraints.
221 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 279 of the 27 January 2010 the status of a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19540/10]
I refer the reply to Question No. 279 of 27 January 2010. My Department is in contact with Clare County Council regarding the outstanding issues.
222 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when the final instalment of €855,000 for a development (details supplied) in County Longford, will be sanctioned for payment to Longford Town Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19570/10]
A budget cost of €11,983,510 was approved in respect of this project, of which €11,683,885 has been paid to date. Clarification is awaited by my Department from Longford Town Council in relation to a number of items included in the final account for the project. On receipt of this information my Department will determine the overall scheme cost and pay the outstanding balance to the Council.
223 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the arrears regarding housing rents on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19571/10]
The setting and collection of rents is the responsibility of local authorities, in accordance with their rent schemes.
My Department does not collect information in relation to arrears from the collection of housing rents.
224 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he will take to alleviate the problem of the 1,970 housing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19572/10]
Meeting social housing need remains a high priority for the Government. While ensuring that we can deliver across the full range of needs, the scale and composition of the public housing programme in the years ahead will be dependent on a number of factors, including the level of available funding and the evolution of the housing market generally.
I am determined to ensure that the programme is framed in a manner which continues to optimise the delivery of social housing. To achieve this, it is essential that we tailor the use of available Exchequer supports to prevailing market conditions, and explore alternative solutions to address housing needs, having full regard to the sustainable communities philosophy outlined in the Government's housing policy statement Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities .
To this end, the range of delivery mechanisms continues to be adapted and expanded. For example, in 2009 I announced the introduction of a new Social Housing Leasing Initiative, through which it is expected that a substantial number of dwellings can be provided to meet housing needs, estimated at just over 56,000 households in the 2008 Housing Needs Assessment. This, together with the Rental Accommodation Scheme, complements the traditional capital funded programmes operated through local authorities and the voluntary and co-operative housing sector.
I will be keeping the leasing initiative and all the other housing programmes under ongoing review to ensure that they are appropriately geared towards meeting the maximum level of housing need.
225 Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the number of birds of prey, which have been destroyed in recent times; the way this impacts on the re-introduction programme; the evidence that exists to suggest that the birds have been targeted by members of the farming community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19581/10]
My Department has been working with the Golden Eagle Trust on the re-introduction of extinct birds of prey into Ireland, such as the Golden Eagle in Donegal, the White Tailed Eagle in Kerry and the Red Kite in Wicklow. I am aware that there have been recent incidents where some of these re-introduced birds have died as a result of eating poisoned meat-based bait. I am very concerned at these incidents as not only do they impact negatively on our commitment to maintain and enhance Ireland's native wildlife but they also harm our environmental and agricultural reputation at home and abroad.
My Department is addressing the regulatory position in relation to the use of poisoned meat-based bait, and it is my intention that new regulations will be made to help enhance protection of our wildlife while, at the same time, ensuring good farming practice. While I recognise that the great majority of landowners and farmers are supportive of the raptor re-introduction project, and against the use of poison, it is necessary to continue to work to stop the few people who are continuing to use poison in this manner.
226 Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19583/10]
ENFO provided an excellent service to the public in its 20 years of operation, contributing significantly to environmental education and raising levels of environmental awareness. However, in light of the expansion in information technology and web based sources of information over recent years, and the growing public interest in environmental issues throughout the country, the ENFO service has been reformed and enhanced, in scope and in delivery, to meet modern needs.
The ENFO library stock was assessed by the Library Council with a view to the selection of items for transfer to Dublin City Public Libraries. Selection was based on the currency, condition and on-line availability of the publications held by the ENFO library. A coherent collection was maintained and duplication of stock already held by Dublin City Public Libraries was avoided. Some 3,000 titles were selected on this basis and are available for loan through the Dublin City Public Libraries service and via the national www.borrowbooks.ie inter-library loan scheme, operated by the public library network nationally.
Environmental Impact Statements previously held in the ENFO library are available to view and download via the new ENFO website www.enfo.ie while the popular ENFO service to school children continues to be delivered through a range of on-line educational resource material including interactive games, lessons, posters, information leaflets, exhibitions and materials suitable for teachers. The Learning Zone for Kids has been developed in co-operation with the NCCA and the Primary Professional Development Service. The on-line service continues to be complemented by the wealth of resource material made available by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Heritage Council, as well as a number of Environmental NGOs.
227 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding an application for the sale of Turbary Rights in County Roscommon in respect of a person (details supplied) and when this application will be approved for payment. [19631/10]
Having regard to available budgetary resources, priority is being given under the bog purchase scheme to those wishing to sell their interest in the 32 raised bog sites which were nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation between 1997 and 1999. The person in question owns land within a Special Area of Conservation designated at that time. Therefore, priority is being given to his application. My Department will be in further contact with the applicant as the sale proceeds.
228 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of farmers that are awaiting payment for bogs sold back to his Department in Special Areas of Conservation in which farmers were prohibited from cutting turf due to EU Directive; when he will commence payment to these farmers; and if these farmers will be paid interest on their agreed sale price in view of the number of years they have had to wait for payment. [19632/10]
There are approximately 1,200 active applications to sell land or turbary rights to my Department for which contracts have yet to be signed. In some of these cases my Department has issued letters of offer to the applicants. There are also some 250 cases for which contracts have been executed, subject to title, and the sale is awaiting closure by the legal representatives.
Having regard to available budgetary resources, my Department is continuing to process applications. At present, priority is being given under the bog purchase scheme to those wishing to sell their interest in the 32 raised bog sites which were nominated for designation as Special Areas of Conservation between 1997 and 1999. For these sites the ten year derogation, which allowed the continuation of turf cutting for personal domestic use, has now expired.
In cases where my Department has not entered into contracts of sale, interest will not be payable and I do not envisage any undue delay in payment where contracts have been signed and title proved to allow closure of the sale.
229 Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of funding that has been allocated to South Tipperary County Council every year for the past five years in respect of Housing Aid for the Elderly, Housing Adaption Grants, Mobility Aid Grants, in tabular form. [19635/10]
My Department's involvement with the Housing Adaptation Grant Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability relates primarily to the recoupment of a proportion of local authority expenditure on the payment of individual grants. The grant schemes, introduced in November 2007, are funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department together with a 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority.
The detailed administration of the schemes, including the assessment and approval of applications, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.
Details of the allocations for the period 2006 to 2010, incorporating the Exchequer contribution and the co-funding provided by South Tipperary County Council are set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Allocation |
|
€ |
|
|
2006 |
1,059,095 |
|
2007 |
882,395 |
|
2008 |
1,358,885 |
|
2009 |
2,193,750 |
|
2010 |
3,126,666 |
230 Deputy Michael Noonan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when an announcement will be made on a renewable energy feed in tariff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19391/10]
232 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the announcement of Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff Price will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19568/10]
233 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason he has reneged on the promises made to those in the Miscanthus industry that an announcement on the Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff Price as applied to peat power stations would be made by the end of January 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19636/10]
234 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if it is his stated goal to support indigenous biomass to meet the energy targets of co-firing 30 biomass in the peat stations by 2015; the strategy he has to achieve this target through indigenous biomass; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19637/10]
235 Deputy James Reilly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the final clarification on when an announcement will be made regarding the REFIT price for Miscanthus and other biomass burned in peat power stations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19638/10]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 232 to 235, inclusive, together.
The Government has set the targets for the contribution from renewable energy sources to electricity at 40% by 2020. The 40% electricity target is consistent with the new EU target addressed to Ireland in the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC, which requires Ireland to increase the contribution from renewable sources to 16% of all energy consumed (encompassing electricity, transport and heating) by 2020.
Reflecting the need to support the development of biomass, I announced in February 2008 a Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff (REFIT) for biomass of 12 cent per kilowatt hour.
Under the auspices of the Renewable Energy Development Group, which is chaired by my Department, the Bioenergy Working Group is currently finalising a Bioenergy Road Map to 2020 which will underpin the contribution of bioenergy, including biomass to Ireland's Renewable Energy target for 2020. The Working Group is reviewing the current REFIT for the various categories of biomass Combined Heat and Power plants, having regard to the particular challenges for the sector and I expect that work to be finalised within the next few weeks.
The Government's Energy Policy Framework 2007 sets out a target for co-firing in peat stations of 30% by 2015. Both ESB and Bord na Móna have been conducting a programme of research and development, including large scale co-firing trials with a variety of materials. The trials have also encompassed laboratory tests on the chemical and physical properties of various materials.
Decisions by ESB and Bord na Móna on what material to co-fire and the timing of the move to introduce large scale co-firing will be taken in light of the ongoing trials.
Both companies have been in discussions with a number of market players around sourcing potential supplies for the co-firing material. The companies themselves will be responsible for making the commercial decisions to award any such contracts.
The objective is to utilise domestically produced biomass as much as possible, and my Department is working closely with the Department of Agriculture to ensure that their support schemes for energy crops and forestry are in alignment with the scale of demand that may ultimately arise as a result of the co-firing process.
The Miscanthus Pilot Demonstration Programme is a newly launched programme funded under the Renewable Energy Research Development and Demonstration Programme, which provides assistance for the deployment of renewable heating systems fuelled by miscanthus in commercial, industrial, services and public sectors and also community organisations and Energy Supply Companies (ESCOs), in Ireland.
The programme, which was launched on 30th April 2010, is administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
The use of miscanthus as a fuel to date is very limited in Ireland due to a number of issues, including limited experience with its use as a boiler fuel. The Miscanthus Pilot Demonstration Programme is intended to support the establishment of a number of exemplar boiler sites, between five and 15 depending on the mix of size ranges and costs submitted. These exemplar sites will serve to provide important information on the supply chain logistics and suitability of miscanthus as a boiler fuel in an Irish context, as well as providing a solid basis for creating market confidence.
231 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT Services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19514/10]
The information requested in relation to IT Services provided to my Department since 2007, and the average full time equivalent staff numbers for the same period is provided below in tabular format.
Outsourcing has given the Information Systems Division in my Department access to a large pool of highly skilled people and companies that were brought in and let go according to project timelines, providing a much larger delivery capability than the number of people employed in the Division could provide on their own.
In the instances where there was no tender competition, support was being provided for proprietary technologies, the service was being supplied centrally, or the value of the contract was very small.
|
Year |
Total annual amount paid for IT services provided. |
The nature of the IT services provided |
Tender process sought — Yes/No |
Name of the successful tenderer(s) |
Average number of internal staff employed in IT sections |
|
2007 |
€5,215,759 |
Provision of IT Helpdesk staff |
Yes |
Calyx Ireland |
16 |
|
Access and Control Security |
Yes |
Omada Fire & Security Group |
|||
|
Application Testing |
Yes |
Insight Test |
|||
|
C# programmer |
Yes |
Ethos Consultancy, Pembroke, X-Wave, System Dynamics |
|||
|
Data Entry |
Yes |
Top People |
|||
|
Database Design / Administration/Development |
Yes |
CPL Solutions, System Dynamics, Version 1, Vantage |
|||
|
Financial Management System Support |
Yes |
Calyx Software |
|||
|
GIS Development |
Yes |
ESRI Ireland, Intrepid Geophysics, Grainne O’Shea |
|||
|
Human Resource Management System |
Yes |
Bearing Point, Department of Finance |
|||
|
Java programmer |
Yes |
Vantage Resources, Version 1, CPL Solutions, X-Wave, Client Solutions, Ethos consultancy |
|||
|
Lotus Application Support |
Yes |
Blue Wave Technology |
|||
|
Management and Technology Briefings |
No |
Gartner |
|||
|
Map Plotting Software |
Yes |
Petris Technology |
|||
|
Payroll maintenance |
Yes |
Core International |
|||
|
Program Management |
Yes |
Calyx Ireland, Diameter Business Systems, |
|||
|
Project End User Support |
Yes |
Vidatum Atlas Personnel Group, Elaine Fitzgerald, Robert Coughlan |
|||
|
Project manager |
Yes |
Informatic Software |
|||
|
Security Officer |
Yes |
CC Squared |
|||
|
Server Hosting |
No |
LGCSB |
|||
|
Storage network maintenance |
Yes |
Sabeo Technologies, Origina |
|||
|
System Analyst |
Yes |
System Dynamics, Ethos consultancy |
|||
|
Windows Technical Support |
No |
Microsoft Ireland |
|
Year |
Total annual amount paid for IT services provided. |
The nature of the IT services provided |
Tender process sought — Yes/No |
Name of the successful tenderer(s) |
Average number of internal staff employed in IT sections |
|
2008 |
€3,074,523 |
Provision of IT Helpdesk staff |
Yes |
Calyx Ireland, IT Force |
13.5 |
|
Map Plotting Software |
Yes |
Petris Technology |
|||
|
Server Hosting |
No |
LGCSB |
|||
|
Online Survey |
No |
W5 Marketing Intelligence |
|||
|
Java programmer |
Yes |
Vantage Resources, Version 1, CPL Solutions, X-Wave, Client Solutions, Ethos consultancy, Kane Code |
|||
|
C# programmer |
Yes |
Ethos Consultancy Pembroke, X-Wave, System Dynamics |
|||
|
Database Design / Administration/Development |
Yes |
CPL Solutions, System Dynamics, Version 1 |
|||
|
GIS Development |
Yes |
ESRI Ireland, Grainne O’Shea |
|||
|
System Analyst |
Yes |
System Dynamics, Ethos consultancy, Tailwind Technologies |
|||
|
Project manager |
Yes |
Tailwind Technologies |
|||
|
Application Testing |
Yes |
Insight Test |
|||
|
Program Management |
Yes |
Calyx Ireland, Diameter Business Systems |
|||
|
Software Architect |
Yes |
Version 1 |
|||
|
Tender evaluation |
Yes |
Sonas innovation |
|||
|
Strategy Consultancy |
Yes |
Astron Consulting |
|||
|
Storage network maintenance |
Yes |
Sabeo Technologies, Origina |
|||
|
Payroll maintenance |
Yes |
Core International |
|||
|
Financial Management System Support |
Yes |
Calyx software |
|||
|
Lotus Application Support |
Yes |
Blue Wave Technology |
|||
|
Storage network maintenance |
Yes |
Sabeo Technologies |
|||
|
Human Resource Management System |
Yes |
Bearing Point, Department of Finance |
|||
|
Windows technical Support |
No |
Microsoft Ireland |
|
Year |
Total annual amount paid for IT services provided. |
The nature of the IT services provided |
Tender process sought — Yes/No |
Name of the successful tenderer(s) |
Average number of internal staff employed in IT sections |
|
2009 |
€1,540,619 |
Provision of IT Helpdesk staff |
Yes |
IT Force |
11 |
|
Application Testing |
Yes |
Sogeti Ireland, Insight Test Services |
|||
|
Citrix Architect |
No |
Kerna Communications |
|||
|
Database Design / Administration/Development |
Yes |
CPL Solutions, System DynamicsVersion 1 |
|||
|
End point security |
Yes |
Dell Ireland |
|||
|
Financial Management System Support |
Yes |
Calyx software |
|||
|
GIS Development |
Yes |
ESRI Ireland, Compass Informatics Ltd |
|||
|
Human Resource Management System |
Yes |
Bearing Point, Department of Finance |
|||
|
Java programmer |
Yes |
Kane Code, Client Solutions, Ethos consultancy, Vantage Resources |
|||
|
Map Plotting Software |
Yes |
Petris Technology |
|||
|
Network Support |
Yes |
LAN Communications |
|||
|
Project manager |
Yes |
Informatic Software |
|||
|
Security Review |
Yes |
RITS |
|||
|
Server Hosting |
No |
LGCSB |
|||
|
Storage network maintenance |
Yes |
Origina |
|||
|
System Analyst |
Yes |
Tailwind Technologies |
|||
|
Technical Architect |
Yes |
Version 1 |
|||
|
Windows technical Support |
No |
Microsoft Ireland |
|
Year |
Total annual amount paid for IT services provided. |
The nature of the IT services provided |
Tender process sought- Yes/No. |
Name of the successful tenderer(s). |
Average number of internal staff employed in IT sections |
|
2010 to date |
€342,768 |
Provision of IT Helpdesk staff |
Yes |
IT Force |
10.5 |
|
Analyst Programmer |
Yes |
Tailwind Technology, IRE software |
|||
|
Citrix Architect |
No |
Kerna Communications |
|||
|
Database Design / Administration/Development |
Yes |
CPL Solutions, System Dynamics |
|||
|
Financial Management System Support |
Yes |
Calyx software |
|||
|
GIS Development |
Yes |
ESRI Ireland, Compass Informatics |
|||
|
Hosting |
No |
HEAnet |
|||
|
Java Programmer |
Yes |
Client Solutions |
|||
|
Network Support |
Yes |
LAN Communications |
236 Deputy Noel J. Coonan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when broadband will be available to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19682/10]
My Department entered into a contract with "3", a Hutchison Whampoa company, for the delivery of the National Broadband Scheme ("NBS") in late December 2008. Since then, 3 has progressed its network rollout and NBS broadband services are now available in more than 60% of the 1,028 designated Electoral Divisions (ED) to be covered under the Scheme. Under the NBS contract, all EDs in the NBS Coverage Area are required to have broadband connectivity by the end of September 2010.
With particular reference to Gurteen, Borrisokane, County Tipperary, this area can now avail of the NBS broadband services.
237 Deputy Paul Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the 2009 single farm payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19384/10]
An application under the 2009 Single Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 24 April 2009. On the date of application the person named had no Single Payment entitlements in his own name.
On 25th February 2010 an application was received to transfer single payment entitlements from another farmer to the person named. My department requested testamentary documentation and when that was received the entitlements were transferred on the 21st April 2010.
Payments due under the Single Payment Scheme to the person named issued on 7th May 2010.
238 Deputy Ulick Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food further to Parliamentary Question No. 356 of 5 May 2010, if he will reply to the question that was asked, conscious of the facts relating to the floods in South Galway in November and December 2009; if he will provide assistance to those farmers whose lands have been rendered useless for the forth coming with loss of 2010 fodder and not 2009 fodder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19463/10]
As detailed in my reply to question 356 of 5 May 2010, I introduced a Fodder Aid Scheme in November 2009, which was targeted at farmers who lost fodder due to the severe flooding in November 2009. Many of the beneficiaries of this Scheme were farmers in South Galway. I also introduced a Scheme in February 2010 to provide limited assistance to some potato and vegetable producers whose crops were severely damaged by the exceptionally harsh frost in January 2010.
I have received representations for assistance from other sectors that also experienced losses due to the unusually harsh weather in 2009 and in early 2010. However, I am not in a position to extend financial assistance to those sectors or to farmers to whom you specifically refer who may suffer consequential fodder losses this year due to their reseeded land being flooded in 2010.
239 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive their REP scheme four payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19506/10]
Payment will issue to the person named within ten working days.
240 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive a decision on their appeal in respect of their 2009 grant payment under the suckler cow welfare scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19507/10]
The person named applied for 11 animals in 2009 under the Suckler Welfare Scheme.
It is a condition of this Scheme that for herds of more than 10 cows the calves must be weaned in at least two separate groups with each group being removed at a minimum interval of five days. My Department examined the additional information provided by the applicant but was not satisfied that this condition was adhered to by the applicant. Therefore, no payment can issue to the applicant under the Scheme.
241 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT Services supplied to his Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if there were tenders sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in his Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19513/10]
The information requested for the years concerned is not readily available but will be collated and forwarded directly to the Deputy.
242 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review his decision to exclude farmers whose REP scheme three contracts are completed after 17 May 2010 single farm payment deadline from the agricultural environmental option scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19556/10]
REPS 3 was introduced under EU Regulations covering the Rural Development programming period 2000–2006 whereas the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) was introduced under the Regulations covering the current period, 2007–13. It is not legally possible under the regulations for a person to apply for AEOS while still participating in REPS 3 and I have no discretion in this matter.
243 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of farmers in County Clare participating in the REP scheme for 2009; the average REP scheme payment made in respect of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19563/10]
There are currently 2,996 participants in REPS in County Clare with an average annual payment of €6,200.
244 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of applications received to date for inclusion in the new agri-environmental options scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19564/10]
At close of business on Tuesday 11 May, 1,079 applications had been submitted to my Department's office at Johnstown Castle Estate in Wexford. I expect significant volumes of applications will be submitted over the coming days.
245 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when a person (details supplied) in County Longford will be awarded their forestry grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19569/10]
Payment of the relevant forestry premium will be made to the person in question on receipt of a completed 10-year Forest Management Plan.
246 Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the steps he has taken to ensure that the programme of re-introduction of birds of prey is supported by the farming community and the penalties in place to penalise those who would poison or destroy birds which are part of the programme. [19582/10]
My Department is not directly involved in the programme of re-introduction of birds of prey to certain areas in this country.
However, checks are carried out under the Direct Payment Schemes to ensure that farmers comply with eighteen statutory management requirements. One of these requirements relates to the conservation of wild birds. Specifically farmers must not:
Kill or capture any wild birds;
Deliberately disturb wild birds while they are breeding or rearing young;
Blind or mutilate wild birds as decoys;
Use any of the following to capture or kill wild birds;
Artificial light sources, mirrors or other dazzling devices;
Nets or traps which are non–selective;
Poisons;
Gas or smoke.
Penalties for non-compliance are provided for in the governing EU regulations and are applied to the Single Payment Scheme, Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and to the REPS 4 Scheme.
In addition, under the Protection of Animals Act, 1911(section 8) and the Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act, 1965 (Section 14), there are specific provisions for the laying of poison. Section 14(3) requires that a notice in writing of the laying of poison or poisonous matter be given to the Garda Síochána for the sub-district in which the land is situated. The Garda Síochána enforce the legislation.
247 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the number of training or upskilling places available through her Department by way of FÁS or other means at present; the degree to which this has fluctuated over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19668/10]
I am investigating the feasibility of providing this information and will reply to the Deputy in the matter as soon as possible.
248 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the number of training places available through FÁS in each of the past five years and to date in 2010; the extent to which this has increased along with the relevant attendant funding in 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19673/10]
I am investigating the feasibility of providing this information and will reply to the Deputy in the matter as soon as possible.
249 Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who undertook a post leaving certificate course in the academic year 2009-2010 on a county basis; the ratio of the persons attending each course to the overall number who live in that county; the cost per head of a PLC course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19390/10]
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to enrolments in Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) and population, broken down by county, is included by way of a table below. Approval of PLC places involves incurring expenditure on teacher salaries, non-pay funding and means tested student support grants. Teachers are appointed to deliver PLC courses on the basis of a pupil teacher ratio of 17:1 compared to the 19:1 ratio that applies to second level teaching. In addition, non pay funding related to student numbers is also provided. Finally, students who satisfy the terms of the student support schemes are eligible to receive maintenance grants. Taking all these factors into account it is estimated that approval for each additional 1,000 PLC places costs about €8 million.
|
County |
2009/10 Approved PLC Places |
2009/10 Enrolments (per October Returns) |
Population (2006 Census) |
% of population enrolled on PLC |
|
% |
||||
|
Cavan |
1,216 |
1,581 |
64,003 |
2.47 |
|
Carlow |
870 |
1,037 |
50,349 |
2.06 |
|
Clare |
290 |
335 |
110,950 |
0.30 |
|
Cork |
5,374 |
5,976 |
481,295 |
1.24 |
|
Dublin |
10,915 |
12,906 |
1,187,176 |
1.09 |
|
Donegal |
205 |
245 |
147,264 |
0.17 |
|
Galway |
1,568 |
2,074 |
231,670 |
0.90 |
|
Kerry |
562 |
780 |
139,835 |
0.56 |
|
Kildare |
357 |
395 |
186,335 |
0.21 |
|
Kilkenny |
528 |
719 |
87,558 |
0.82 |
|
Laois |
370 |
386 |
67,059 |
0.58 |
|
Leitrim |
108 |
106 |
28,950 |
0.37 |
|
Limerick |
1,470 |
1,871 |
184,055 |
1.02 |
|
Longford |
350 |
424 |
34,391 |
1.23 |
|
Louth |
1,100 |
1,474 |
111,267 |
1.32 |
|
Mayo |
665 |
874 |
123,839 |
0.71 |
|
Meath |
328 |
477 |
162,831 |
0.29 |
|
Monaghan |
278 |
363 |
55,997 |
0.65 |
|
Offaly |
50 |
49 |
70,868 |
0.07 |
|
Roscommon |
79 |
74 |
58,768 |
0.13 |
|
Sligo |
580 |
1,037 |
60,894 |
1.70 |
|
Tipperary |
919 |
1,100 |
149,244 |
0.74 |
|
Waterford |
1,023 |
1,174 |
107,961 |
1.09 |
|
Wexford |
904 |
1,124 |
131,749 |
0.85 |
|
Westmeath |
599 |
747 |
79,346 |
0.94 |
|
Wicklow |
980 |
1,285 |
126,194 |
1.02 |
|
Total |
31,688 |
38,613 |
4,239,848 |
0.91 |
Population data sourced from www.cso.ie.
250 Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19461/10]
I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding for an extension and refurbishment project. The application has been assessed in accordance with published prioritisation criteria for large scale projects and assigned a band 2 rating. Information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for major capital works, including the project referred to by the Deputy, are now available on the Department's website at www.education.ie.
The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme. However, in view of the level of demand on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression the project at this time. The school has also submitted an application for funding for the replacement of Temporary Accommodation and has appealed the amount of funding approved for the Summer Works Scheme 2010. These applications are currently under consideration by my Department and a response will issue to the school authority in due course.
251 Deputy Darragh O’Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if a special needs unit is planned to be provided as part of the permanent school building in schools (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19465/10]
A Special Needs Unit (SNU) forms part of the brief for the school in Donabate to which the Deputy refers. With regard to the schools in Swords there are no plans to provide SNUs as there is sufficient SNU provision in the Swords area.
252 Deputy Paul Connaughton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in County Galway is entitled to school transport from their home to a school; if her attention has been drawn to the huge input in both time and money by their parents in ensuring that they get the best education consistent with their abilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19496/10]
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if s/he resides 4.8 kilometres or more from her/his local post primary education centre. The scheme is not designed to facilitate parents who choose to send their children to a post-primary centre outside of the catchment area in which they reside. However, children who are fully eligible for transport to the post-primary centre in the catchment area in which they reside, may apply for transport on a concessionary basis to a post-primary centre outside of their own catchment area — otherwise known as catchment boundary transport. These children can only be facilitated if spare seats are available on the bus after all other eligible children travelling to their local post-primary centre have been catered for. Such children have to make their own way to the nearest pick up point within that catchment area. The Transport Liaison Officer of Co. Galway has advised that the pupil referred to in the details supplied is not attending a school in the catchment area in which he resides and therefore may only apply for catchment boundary transport subject to the terms outlined above.
253 Deputy Fergus O’Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the amount paid in each of the past five years in respect of IT services supplied to her Department, in tabular form; the nature of the service provided; if tenders were sought for each such contract; the successful company or person; the number of staff employed in her Department’s IT sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19517/10]
The amount paid in each of the years 2005 to 2009 for IT Services by my Department is set out in the following table:
|
Year |
Total Expenditure on IT Services |
|
€m |
|
|
2005 |
3.7 |
|
2006 |
3.5 |
|
2007 |
4.7 |
|
2008 |
4.6 |
|
2009 |
2.5 |
This includes expenditure in respect of a range of services including application development and support, hosting, hardware and software maintenance, specialist expertise, database administration and network support. The services are covered by a range of contracts with a range of companies on foot of appropriate public procurement exercises. There are currently 52 staff employed in the IT Unit of my Department. The following is a list of the companies with whom my Department has contracted over the last 5 years for the provision of IT services (valued at more than €10,000).
|
Company |
Nature of Service |
|
BEARING POINT |
Application development, support and hosting |
|
BLUE WAVE TECHNOLOGY |
Application development and support |
|
CALYX IRELAND LIMITED |
Network security products support |
|
COMPUTER PEOPLE LTD |
Database Administration Support |
|
CORE INTERNATIONAL |
Application support and development |
|
CURACH CONSULTING THE ACADEMY |
Application development |
|
DATACONVERSION |
Key punching |
|
DELL (IRELAND) |
Dell server support |
|
DELPHI TECHNOLOGIES |
Application testing |
|
ESRI IRELAND |
Application support |
|
FUJITSU SERVICES LIMITED |
Application support and development |
|
FUTURERANGE LTD |
Endpoint security products installation/support |
|
GARTNER |
Specialist independent advice |
|
HELM CORPORATION |
Application support and development |
|
ICON SYSTEMS |
Application support |
|
LAN COMMUNICATIONS LTD |
LAN monitoring |
|
MAXIMA IRELAND |
Remote access support |
|
MOKUM CHANGE MANAGEMENT LTD |
Application support and development |
|
MORSE ENGINEERING LTD |
Operating system support |
|
NCC SERVICES LTD |
Escrow services |
|
ORACLE EMEA LTD |
Technical Support |
|
ORIGINA |
Database Administration and Operating System Support |
|
PARAGON GROUP UK LIMITED |
Hardware maintenance |
|
PMCENTRIX |
Application support and development |
|
QUEST COMPUTING LTD |
Application support and development |
|
RESCON LTD |
Database Administration Support |
|
SOPRA GROUP |
Application support and development |
|
STORAGE ONLINE |
Backup solution supply, installation and support |
|
STORM TECHNOLOGY LTD |
Application support |
|
SURESKILLS |
Network technical assistance |
|
SYNOPTIX |
Operating system support |
|
SYSTEM DYNAMICS SOLUTIONS LTD |
Application support and development |
|
SYSTEMHOUSE TECHNOLOGY GROUP |
Anti virus software supply and installation |
|
TEAMDBA |
Database Administration Support |
|
VERIZON |
Hosting |
|
VERSION 1 |
Application support and development; Remote DBA; Technical support |
|
WARD SOLUTIONS |
Application support and development; technical support |
|
XWAVE SOLUTIONS |
Analysis |
254 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) in County Clare has not been facilitated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19644/10]
As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. I have arranged for the details supplied to be forwarded to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
