Written Answers Nos. 76-79
76. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the contracts a person's businesses and-or subsidiaries (details supplied) have with his Department; the value of these contracts; their length; and the other companies that entered the tendering process that resulted in this person's companies winning the contract. [12359/15]
View answerIn answer to the Deputy's question in so far as can be determined my Department does not have any contracts with the named individual's businesses or subsidiaries. I can confirm that the information sought by the Deputy is not collected by my Department as part of a procurement process. While my Department holds information in relation to contracts awarded by it, it is not required to collect the details of all the shareholders that have invested in a company that has been awarded a public contract.
77. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding au pairs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12196/15]
View answerIreland's strong commitment to protecting the rights of domestic workers was highlighted last July when we ratified the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers. Ireland is among the small group of seventeen ILO member countries that have ratified this Convention to date. To mark the occasion of Ireland's ratification of the Convention and to help promote greater awareness of domestic workers' rights, Minister Bruton welcomed members of the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland's Domestic Workers Action Group, along with IBEC and ICTU, to the Department on 9 July 2014 for the launch of a NERA Information Leaflet on the employment rights of domestic workers in Ireland. Ireland's strong track record in the area of protecting people involved in domestic work is evidenced by the fact that we were in a position to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention without having to amend our existing suite of employment rights legislation.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) has undertaken a programme of inspections involving domestic workers, and continues to respond to any complaints received from domestic workers. In addition, the Labour Relations Commission, in conjunction with the social partners, produced a Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other People's Homes which recognises the unique circumstances that occur in the domestic work employment relationship.
There is no legal definition of the term “au pair” in Irish legislation. However Ireland's body of employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis, regardless of what title is given to them. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment, on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under employment law as other employees. For example, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 requires that any persons working under a contract of employment to be paid the statutory National Minimum Wage. For the purposes of this Act, this means a contract of service or apprenticeship, or any other contract whereby an individual agrees with another person to do or perform personally any work or service for that person.
Where the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) receives a complaint involving somebody described as an au pair, NERA will investigate with a view to establishing the person's statutory entitlements under employment law. The question as to whether a person is an employee or not is generally established by reference to the provisions of existing employment legislation and established contract law, regardless of any title or designation given to the individual. Complaints involving "au pairs" are considered on a case-by-case basis, in the light of the facts of each case.
Any persons with questions or complaints regarding their rights under employment law should contact the Workplace Relations Customer Service on lo-call 1890 808090 or at www.workplacerelations.ie.
78. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on any upcoming strategies for science, technology and innovation; the priorities in these strategies; and the moneys that will be made available for them. [12203/15]
View answerA successor to the Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation (SSTI) 2006 – 2013 is being formulated and will provide the framework for the strategic direction to enable the delivery and support of effective research that produces outputs of maximum impact for Ireland's economy and society. Resource constraints and the economic downturn nationally and globally meant that, de facto, in recent years policy has been focused mainly around five core strategic policies:
- Prioritisation of public funds into areas of research that offer most potential for economic recovery and social progress;
- Consolidation of resources in units of scale with scientific excellence,
- Increased collaboration between academia and industry; and between academic and research performing institutions;
- International collaboration, to maximise return on investment and to optimise success under EU Framework programmes; and
- Facilitating the translation of knowledge and the transfer of technology into jobs.
There is now an opportunity for Ireland to develop a new whole-of-Government strategy for research and innovation that will build on the progress made to date in developing Ireland's research and innovation system, as well as addressing identified challenges. An Interdepartmental Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation - which includes members from key Government Departments and the HEA as well as the Chief Scientific Adviser - is working towards formulating the new Strategy.
The new Strategy will seek to, inter alia:
- recommit to targets around levels of public and private investment in Science, Technology & Innovation in the years ahead;
- embed Research Prioritisation as a key policy objective to ensure a continued focus on public funding of research in areas of economic relevance to enterprise;
- maintain and build further the capacity and capability of people in academia and in enterprise through the acquisition and transfer of knowledge and in doing so, support excellent and impactful research across the full continuum from basic to applied as well as commercialisation of research;
- maintain and build further relevant infrastructures across all the sciences but in particular in areas of economic relevance to the enterprise base to address the jobs crisis;
- build on consolidation of the system by further enhancing its coherence and its accessibility to enterprise and society.
The views of our stakeholder community in the development of our new Strategy are very important. In this context, a consultation process is underway, and the submissions received will be considered in detail in its formulation.
79. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the geographical spread of new employment as reported in the Nevin Economic Research Institute quarterly report for spring 2015; the steps he is taking to ensure geographically balanced employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12324/15]
View answerThe Nevin Institute's Spring Report notes that 29,100 jobs were created in the economy between the end of 2013 and the end of 2014. The report also acknowledges that a further 61,000 jobs were created between Quarter 4 2012 and Quarter 4 2013, giving a total of 90,000 jobs created over the two-year period in question.
To get an accurate picture of employment trends at a regional level, an analysis of labour market data is necessary over a period greater than one year. An analysis of labour market data from the CSO shows that every region in the country has experienced jobs growth since 2012. More than 50% of the jobs created were outside of the Dublin and Mid-East regions.
The South-East showed the fastest growth rate in employment in this period, with a 12.5% increase in jobs between Quarter 4 2012 and Quarter 4 2014. This region accounted for 25% of all net jobs created nationally in 2014. The Unemployment Rate in the South-East has fallen from 20.1% at the start of 2012, when the Action Plan for Jobs process commenced, to 11.9% at the end of 2014. Other regions have also performed strongly in terms of jobs creation. Based on these actual figures and a reasonable and fair review of the data published by the CSO the Nevin Institute's presentation of regional employment data in their recent Spring Report was, at best, highly misleading.
However, the Government recognises that some regions are growing faster than others. That is why we are putting in place regional Action Plans for Jobs to accelerate employment in every region in the country. The purpose of these Plans is to facilitate each region to achieve its economic potential, building on its existing strengths and opportunities.
It is my intention to publish six regional Action Plans for Jobs by July, with a further two in development at that stage.
