Written Answers Nos. 305 - 321
305. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will deal with a matter regarding the recruitment of clerical officers (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32937/15]
View answerIn my Expenditure Statement for 2015 I announced the cessation of the moratorium on recruitment and the introduction of delegated responsibility for staffing levels consistent with approved pay budgets.
Recruitment into the civil service is governed by the Public Service (Management and Recruitment) Act 2004. Under that Act the only way of being appointed to a permanent civil service post is by being successful in a competition run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). Selection processes are open to all eligible applicants who meet minimum entry criteria.
In the main, vacancies in the civil service are filled on a permanent basis. However, temporary vacancies arise from time to time usually to cover such absences as maternity leave or shorter working year where a role needs to be carried out for a finite period of time. Temporary Clerical Officer (TCO) positions in the civil service are filled by an annual competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) which is usually advertised in February of each year.
By their nature these posts a temporary and persons appointed to TCO posts do not have an automatic entitlement to a permanent CO post. Persons seeking permanent employment must apply through and be successful in a competition run by PAS for permanent posts.
Any persons who registers with publicjobs.ie will be advised of employment opportunities in the public service as they arise.
306. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to provide a detailed breakdown of the specific expenditure measures to be provided for in health and education as part of the demographic provision in budget 2016. [33189/15]
View answerThe Spring Economic Statement (SES) and the corresponding Stability Programme Update (SPU) outlined that fiscal space of the order of €1.2 to €1.5 billion is expected to be available for Budget 2016 split evenly between expenditure increases and tax reductions.
I have indicated previously that this would allow Government to target an increase in government expenditure of between €600m and €750m in 2016 relative to the 2015 spend. This provides scope to deal with underlying demographic and spending pressures, and target enhancements in key public services.
In addition, as outlined in the SES, the range of €1.2 to €1.5 billion does not take into account re-allocation within expenditure funded by savings from efficiencies and policy measures. For example, Live Register savings over and above those related to the cycle from lower unemployment as a result of existing activation measures will be available to fund new measures.
Some increases are already signalled for 2016 - the expenditure ceilings between 2015 and 2016, set out in Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017, already reflect certain expenditure needs including demographics in Health, Education and Social Protection.
Government policy on new Budget 2016 measures, including those specifically relating to Health and Education, is currently being finalised and will be announced as part of the Budget on the 13th of October 2015.
307. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the assistance available from his Department to a person (details supplied) in respect of building work carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33358/15]
View answerThe Office of Government Procurement, an office of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform publishes a suite of public works contracts which sets out clear conditions governing the payment terms between public bodies and the contractors they engage to undertake public works. Disputes, including disputes over payment, which may arise between a public body and the contractor they have engaged during the course of the project are managed in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanisms contained in the contract.
The Government does not publish forms of contract governing the relationship between private entities since this is a matter for those entities to agree between themselves. A public body does not have any contractual relationship with subcontractors engaged by a main contractor and, furthermore, will not have any knowledge of the terms agreed between the parties. It is for this reason that a public body is not in a position to intervene in payment disputes between main contractors and their subcontractors or between subcontractors and sub-subcontractors.
Government recognises the poor payment practices engaged in by some in the construction industry and has supported Senator Feargal Quinn's Private Members Bill, now enacted as the Construction Contracts Act 2013. The Act sets down minimum requirements for construction contracts; should a contract fail to meet those requirements then minimum payment terms are imposed through the legislation. It also provides statutory rights to suspend work for non-payment and to refer a payment dispute to adjudication.
Although the legislation was developed by my Department, responsibility for the administration of the Act and its commencement transferred to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in November 2014. I understand that the steps necessary to commence the Act are nearing completion with the recent appointment of the Chair of the Panel of Adjudicators and the appointments process for the Panel itself is under way. Once the Panel members are appointed the Act may be commenced by Statutory Instrument.
308. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of Secretaries General in receipt of public sector pensions while employed in a public body and/or State agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33384/15]
View answerMy Department does not keep records of the post retirement employment of former Secretaries-General. However, the position has always been that following the completion of their term of appointment, if any Secretary-General is employed elsewhere in the Public Service, the general rules of abatement apply to their pension. This means that pension is abated so that the rate of pension, when added to the rate of pay or fee for the subsequent work, will not exceed their former rate of salary uprated to current values. This position was reinforced when I reviewed the TLAC terms in October 2011 and the effects of abatement were further extended by the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 to cover all public servants regardless of where in the Public Service they were re-employed.
309. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which he has addressed the concerns raised by the school supply sector, which believes its businesses cannot survive if excluded from the public procurement process; the action he will take to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33385/15]
View answerFollowing points raised at the PAC in 2014 and in 2015 by the Irish School Arts Supplies Federation (ISASF) with the Committee, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has met with the sector representative body to discuss their concerns on two separate occasions. The OGP currently has no framework agreements or contracts in place for school arts supplies, nor does it have plans at present to address the category of school arts supplies in its published programme of work. Any plans which may be developed in the future to address this category will be done in line with Government procurement policy and in particular with Circular 10/14 which enables SME participation, through measures such as lotting strategies, consortia building, reasonable turnover and insurance requirements, etc. in public sector tenders. These measures have been adopted to ensure that competitive supply market remains in place to support public service buyers in the medium to long term. It should be noted that the OGP publish on their website the categories of spend they plan to address on a rolling nine month schedule.
In addition, the OGP promotes SME participation in public procurement through events such as Meet the Buyer, Taking Care of Business, Local Enterprise Office events, etc,. and works closely with bodies such as the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and InterTradeIreland to enable supplier awareness and skills in tendering through programmes such as the very successful 'Go 2 Tender' and 'Consortia Building' run by InterTradeIreland.
310. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the disparity in the maximum compensatory awards allowable under the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2012, the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011 and the Workplace Relations Act 2015. [32806/15]
View answerThe Workplace Relations Act 2015, which was signed into law on 20th May, reforms the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures. This legislation provides a statutory basis for a new structure which will see the existing five workplace relations bodies replaced by two. While a number of technical and operational provisions of the Act were commenced on 1st August, the majority of the provisions, including those related to the new structures, will be commenced on 1st October, 2015. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 will also result in the establishment of new structures for the resolution and adjudication of complaints and disputes across the entire corpus of employment rights and equality legislation. The aim of the Act is to create a modern, user-friendly, world-class employment workplace relations system that will provide significant benefits for its users and society as a whole. The focus will be on resolving the workplace disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible.
The Workplace Relations Act 2015 does not provide for any amendments to the existing substantive provisions within the corpus of employment rights and equality legislation (including the Employment Equality Acts or the Equal Status Acts) which provide for the amounts of compensation or the types of redress that can be awarded under either of those enactments. The Act does not prescribe the levels of compensation that may be awarded by an Adjudication Officer under employment rights or equality legislation and following the establishment of the WRC, adjudicators will apply existing substantive law in this regard.
While responsibility for the Equality Tribunal was transferred from the Minister for Justice and Equality to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with effect from 1 January, 2013 as part of the ongoing reform of the State's employment rights and industrial relations structures, the Minister for Justice and Equality retains responsibility for equality policy. Therefore, any matters concerning the level of compensation prescribed in the equality legislation is a policy matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality.
311. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason the Equality Tribunal has not yet published its annual report for 2014. [32807/15]
View answerThe Equality Tribunal is an impartial, independent body, set up to investigate and decide or mediate cases brought under the equality legislation. Its decisions and mediated agreements are legally binding, and it has extensive powers. In accordance with the provisions of Section 75(8) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011, the Director of the Tribunal is required, within six months of the commencement of every calendar year, to make a report to the Minister on the activities of the office of the Director in respect of the previous calendar year. The Director’s Report in relation to 2014 has been somewhat delayed but has now been made.
The legislation does not provide for the publication of such reports. However, I propose to make the report available on the website of the workplace relations commission.
312. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will publish data in respect of the number of mediation officers who are employed by the Equality Tribunal, along with data for the same period in 2014. [32808/15]
View answerThe Equality Tribunal is an impartial, independent body, set up to investigate and decide or mediate cases brought under the equality legislation. Its decisions and mediated agreements are legally binding, and it has extensive powers. The objective of the Tribunal’s Mediation Service is to provide an alternative dispute resolution process to that of Investigation in respect of claims for equal pay in employment and complaints of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and victimisation under the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 - 2011, the Equal Status Acts, 2000 - 2012, and the Pensions Acts 1990-2013.
There were 8 Equality Mediation Officers at the beginning of 2014 and 9 in 2015. This includes the Legal Adviser to the Equality Tribunal
313. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the waiting times in respect of lodging a complaint and reaching mediation and a hearing at the Equality Tribunal. [32809/15]
View answer314. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps that are being taken by the new Workplace Relations Commission to reduce delays in dealing with cases before the Equality Tribunal. [32810/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 314 together.
The Equality Tribunal is independent in the exercise of its quasi-judicial functions and I have no direct involvement in its day to day operations. The Equality Tribunal has jurisdiction to investigate and decide upon complaints of discrimination under the Employment Equality Acts, the Equal Status Acts and the Pensions Acts. The Equality Tribunal also provides a statutory mediation service.
I am informed that the average waiting time for a hearing of a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts is currently approx. 12 months. However, in cases where the complainant and respondent opt for mediation, a mediation hearing is arranged within approx. twelve weeks of the initial lodgement of the complaint.
The Equality Tribunal has recently been endeavouring to put measures in place in order to reduce the current waiting time for a hearing. These measures include the training and appointment of a number of Rights Commissioners and persons from the external panel of WRC Adjudication Officers as temporary Equality Officers. These measures have resulted in the reduction of the waiting time for a hearing in equality cases from 22 months in May, 2015 to 12 months at end September, 2015.
Notwithstanding the efforts of the Equality Tribunal to reduce backlogs and waiting times for hearings, I believe the delays that users of the service are experiencing are unacceptable. This is one of the reasons why I am implementing a root and branch reform of all five Workplace Relations Bodies.
My objective is to deliver a world-class workplace relations service which is simple to use, independent, effective, impartial, cost-effective and provides for workable means of redress and enforcement, within a reasonable period of time.
From 1 October, 2015, a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure will be established comprising two statutorily independent bodies replacing the current five (i.e. the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court). We will have a new single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and a separate appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court. All complaints will be dealt with by a single body of first instance where the aim will be to have a hearing within three months from the time the case is lodged.
The WRC Adjudication Officers will comprise a diverse panel of adjudicators which will include experienced industrial relations and HR practitioners, employment lawyers and civil servants with appropriate skills/qualifications. This will include the current cohort of Rights Commissioners and Equality Officers along with an externally recruited panel of suitably qualified and experienced persons. The 19 Adjudication Officers, selected for appointment following an open competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service in December last year, have undergone intensive training and are now available for assignment. These Adjudicators, together with the pre-Establishment Day cohort of Equality Officers and Rights Commissioners who have been appointed as WRC adjudicators, will be working to provide efficient and effective adjudication on complaints and disputes.
It is anticipated that the waiting time for a hearing under the equality legislation will be reduced by a further three months by the end of 2015.
315. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the maximum anticipated timeframes to reach, respectively, mediation and a hearing under the new Equality Tribunal structure as specified in the Workplace Relations Act 2015. [32811/15]
View answerThe Workplace Relations Act 2015, which was signed into law on 20th May, 2015 reforms the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures. This legislation provides a statutory basis for a new structure which will see the existing five workplace relations bodies replaced by two. While a number of technical and operational provisions of the Act were commenced on 1st August, the majority of the provisions, including those related to the new structures, will be commenced on 1st October, 2015. This Act will also result in the establishment of new structures for the resolution and adjudication of complaints and disputes across the entire corpus of employment rights and equality legislation. The aim of the Act is to create a modern, user-friendly, world-class employment workplace relations system that will provide significant benefits for its users and society as a whole. The focus will be on resolving the workplace disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible.
The Workplace Relations Act 2015 is not prescriptive in terms of the anticipated time frames for the progression of complaints to mediation and hearing under the new workplace relations structures.
Mediation will be offered to facilitate resolution of complaints where possible at an early stage and without recourse to adjudication. Mediation will be offered only where all parties have indicated their willingness to participate in the mediation process and where acceptance by the relevant parties is received. In such circumstances, it is anticipated that the time frame to reach mediation will be three weeks.
All first instance complaints requiring adjudication will be heard in private by WRC Adjudication Officers. The Adjudication Officer will convene a hearing where both parties are given the opportunity to be heard and to decide the matter. Parties will be free to represent themselves or choose their own representation. All appeals will lie to the Labour Court (except in the case of complaints under the Equal Status Acts where the appeal will lie to the Circuit Court). The target waiting time for a hearing under the new structures will be three months from the time of referral of the complaint to hearing.
The deputy will wish to be aware that, as part of the workplace relations reform process, additional adjudicators have been selected through the Public Appointments Service. Over recent months a number have been working as Equality Officers and have already significantly reduced the waiting times for equality cases.
316. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the names and addresses of all the Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in County Mayo. [33096/15]
View answerEnterprise Ireland does not provide commercial data of their clients. However on the occasion of the publication of Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Report every year, the Agency prepare a document naming those companies that were in receipt of financial support in that given year. Therefore, I have provided a table of Enterprise Ireland’s client companies in County Mayo that received funding from the Agency in 2014.
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Enterprise Ireland’s client companies in County Mayo that received funding in 2014 |
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CASHELS ENGINEERING LTD |
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CASHIN PRINTING SERVICES LTD |
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CLOUD STRONG LTD |
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CMS DISTRIBUTION LTD |
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COSMETIC CREATIONS LTD |
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GRADY WINDOW MANUFACTURERS LTD |
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HWT ENGINEERING LTD |
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KALROK DEFENCE LTD |
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KILLALA PRECISION COMPONENTS LTD |
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KNOWLEDGE CLINIC LTD |
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MAJOR EQUIPMENT (INTL) LTD |
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MALONE FARM MACHINERY LTD |
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MCGRATHS LIMESTONE WORKS LTD |
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PORTWEST LTD |
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POWERSAVVY LTD |
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ROCKFIELD DAIRY LTD |
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SALANN MARA ACLA TEO |
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SENTINEL FUEL PRODUCTS LTD |
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SMART DAWN LTD |
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STEPHANIE O'MALLEY |
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TEILIFIS MHAIGH EO TEO |
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THE CONNACHT WHISKEY COMPANY LTD |
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THETA CHEMICALS LTD |
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TRUCKSCIENCE LTD |
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VISUAL BRAND COMMUNICATION LTD |
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WILLS BROS LTD |
317. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to deal with the job creation needs in Tallaght in Dublin 24; when future announcements will be made in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33134/15]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact on employment in the economy, since the first Plan was launched in early 2012. As of Q2 2015, there were an additional 126,000 at work in the economy since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs, which achieved and exceeded the Government’s target of 100,000 extra at work by 2016. The services sector made the largest contribution to the achievement of the Government’s target of 100,000 more at work. Following a number of years of decline in employment from 2007, I am pleased to report that the manufacturing sector has also recorded increases in job numbers since 2011.
Significant progress has been made by Government in supporting job creation and in reducing unemployment rates in all regions of the country, including Dublin. By Q2 2015 the number at work in Dublin had risen to 591,800, an additional 88,000 from Q1 2012. As of Q2 2015 the unemployment rate in Dublin was down to 8.1% from 13.1% in early 2012. The number of unemployed in Dublin has reduced from 75,800 in early 2012 to 51,800 in Q2 2015 according to the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey.
While progress has been made, this Government is not complacent about the challenge of achieving sustainable full employment over the medium term, in all regions including Dublin. As part of the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs we launched the process for developing Action Plans for every region and the work on the preparation of the Dublin Action Plan for Jobs is currently commencing. Two areas of particular focus will be how we can generate future entrepreneurship and investment in manufacturing and services sectors of the economy.
Arising from the strategy for the manufacturing sector ‘Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020’, prepared by Forfás and the report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs Skills Report on the skills needs for the sector, both of which I launched in 2013, there are now a range of initiatives being progressed by my Department and relevant Agencies to drive the Government’s jobs targets. In recent weeks I launched a new guide for manufacturing enterprises on the supports available through the state bodies and agencies to support new and existing employment.
Manufacturing was a Disruptive Reform in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is a key focus in the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs and also in the regional Action Plans for Jobs, with a range of measures designed to support industry growth including encouraging entrepreneurship, further improving our skills base, improving access to finance by SMEs and supporting indigenous companies and foreign-owned manufacturing companies to transform their businesses as part of a National Step Change Initiative. The Manufacturing Development Forum is helping to address the key issues arising from the Strategy recommendations. These initiatives are important to growing and sustaining the competitiveness of existing enterprises, to sustaining employment and to attracting new investment.
For both manufacturing and services sectors, skills and talent development and attraction are critically important. We have a good skills base on which to grow our manufacturing and services sectors and as the economy recovers there will be further opportunities for the unemployed. My Department and its agencies has a Protocol in place with the Department of Social Protection to ensure that where new job openings are available, that there is an efficient and timely matching between those unemployed and skills required by enterprise and that appropriate training or development is available. The Apprenticeship Council has also recently announced a number of new apprenticeships to meet the current and future skills needs of manufacturing and services sectors. These new apprenticeships will also provide a range of opportunities for the long terms and youth unemployed.
318. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason employment in the computer games industry has not risen during his period in office; his plans to stimulate employment in this modern computer industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33296/15]
View answerThe games sector experienced considerable growth in Ireland in recent years, with many of the sector’s largest global players having established operations in Ireland. The games sector in Ireland encompasses a broad breadth of areas for example the Irish operations of Activision and Culture Translate demonstrate the capabilities that exist in games localisation. The indigenous game studios demonstrate the games development, platform development/porting capabilities in Ireland (e.g. Digit, Six Minute Games). The strengths in technology development/middleware are evidenced by Havok (Intel), Swrve, and DemonWare (ActivisionBlizzard). The operations of Riot, Webzen, and Red5Studios highlight the broader publishing capabilities here. And, the customer service & community management activities in EA, Blizzard, Riot and Zynga demonstrate the ability of Ireland to support multilingual, pan-European, high end customer support activities. Ireland has produced exciting start-up companies some of which have had a major impact within the global industry, including Havok (Intel) and Demonware (ActivisionBlizzard) and Ireland continues to have a hotbed of very early stage start-ups and independent games designers, with new entrants every year.
Tracking of employment in the games industry and related activities is difficult to assess definitively due to data classification limitations in official statistics, and also the small scale of many of the independent Irish owned operations. Analysis undertaken by Forfás in 2011 estimated that total employment in the sector stood at around 2,200 having experienced a five-fold increase from a low base of an estimated 400 in 2004. This was driven mainly by rapid growth in foreign direct investment in the sector over the period, particularly in activities such as customer and technical support, community management and games localisation.
In tandem with this growth, there has also been considerable expansion within the broader consumer internet sector (including social media and mobile internet) to which a large part of the games industry is inextricably linked. Ireland now has a very strong Internet and social networking cluster in existence – thanks to significant investments in EMEA Operations Centres from leading companies such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, eBay, PayPal, Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, etc. A wider base of related activities can also be considered part of the games ecosystem, although it is difficult to assess the degree to which these are connected to the industry in Ireland; these activities include: software development, financial services, online gambling, information security, animation & film production, and creative arts (music, art, literature).
The talent base associated with this broad range of activities is a significant attractiveness factor in new games sector enterprise investments. Ireland also possesses a long history and tradition in technical and creative content development, through our innate storytelling abilities seen through the success of our animation industry to the international recognition of Ireland today as a centre of excellence for technology investment. Investment in Ireland’s broadband/internet infrastructures also has had a strong role to play in underpinning new activity in the games sector in recent years.
Since 2011, there have been a number of new investments by foreign owned games companies, the most recent being Kama Games, a global developer and publisher of social games for mobile platforms which is headquartered in Dublin who announced an expansion of up to 100 jobs over the next 3 years (announced July 2015). Others have departed the scene (such as Big Fish and PopCap) reflective of the ongoing disruptive competitive forces within the games sector globally.
The Irish owned element of the Irish games cluster is still relatively young by international standards but its reputation is growing and awareness within the investor community to the attractiveness of the Irish games sector is increasing. A number of Irish games startups (in middleware and content) have raised seed and follow on series ‘A’ funding investments over the last 24 months. Current exports from the Irish owned segment account for over 95 percent of their turnover and are oriented towards the UK and North American markets in the main. Linkages with international games publishers are key to the growth of the games content developers. The marketing of games is very expensive and publishers have the monies and users to enable a small Irish company create a hit game.
CEOs are collaborating in a structured way to grow the cluster to the next stage of international growth through industry representative groups such as Games Ireland. Indigenous indie developers have recently set up a new representative body called ‘Imirt’ (http://www.imirt.ie/).
Subsequent to the publication of the Forfás Report on the sector in 2011 (The Games Sector in Ireland: An Action Plan for Growth), Minister Bruton, in the context of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2012, established a Clustering Development Team (CDT) for the Games Sector on 25 July 2012 to support the implementation of actions called for in the Report. This industry-chaired group comprised representatives of leading Irish and multinational games companies based in Ireland, as well as representatives of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Forfás, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, FÁS, HEA and the Higher Education Institutes/Colleges of Further Education.
The ambitions for the CDT are to drive ‘on-the-ground’ collaboration and networking by proactively developing relationships between the foreign and indigenous cohort of games companies, HEIs and related sectors along with seeking to influence the policy system. The CDT provides a forum for discussion of issues for industry, enterprise support agencies, the education system and policy Departments.
A series of specific actions set out in the Action Plans for Jobs have been delivered on since the establishment of the CDT. These included activities in order to heighten awareness within the sector of the existing R&D supports available to the Games sector. The enterprise agencies held a number of R&D supports workshops and issued an enterprise friendly guide on R&D tax credits which included examples of relevance to games companies. The Department worked with the industry members of the group to assess the case for introducing a new specific financial instrument/relief for the Games industry and in 2014, a proposal was made to the Department of Finance for the introduction of a refundable corporation tax credit for the games sector, along the lines of what has been introduced in the UK and France.
A further key area of activity for the group has been to promote the increase in collaboration between industry and HEIs/Training providers in terms of mentoring and course content. A pilot “hothouse” initiative for undergraduate and Post-Leaving Certificate courses was devised and run in late 2013, which saw students from games, animation and multimedia courses working in multi-disciplinary teams on projects supported by an industry mentor.
In order to promote industry engagement with the development of curriculum of games courses, a leading games expert visited Ireland for six weeks in September and October 2014 as part of a Fulbright U.S. Specialist Award in conjunction with the HEA and carried out master classes and curriculum reviews of Digital Games courses at a number of Irish universities and colleges. She also met with industry representatives and government agencies and had very constructive meetings with Minister English in respect of enterprise and Minister O’Sullivan in respect of education.
My Department continues to support the Games sector through the enterprise agencies, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. As with other companies in the technology and creative sectors, games companies can avail of the direct supports provided by the enterprise agencies such as the Competitive Start Fund, Seed Capital, In-market and Management development, R&D funding and tailored company expansion packages. A range of financial instruments also exists to assist companies which are not sector specific.
A number of the existing venture funds have and will continue to invest in a range of Irish owned software related projects including businesses in the digital game space (Seed and later stage). Enterprise Ireland (EI) has also co invested. EI’s Competitive Start Fund (€50k equity) has also had a significant impact on the early stage indigenous games sector since December 2010. Over this period, EI has funded over 20 Games companies to date. The companies include Batcat Games, Bitsmith, Redwind, Tribal City and Gone Gaming. R&D support is available for companies as they mature to cash generating businesses. The cohort has also availed of a number of start-up management development programmes to date (including iGap& Sprint).
At the request of Government I am currently finalising a new Enterprise Policy 2025 strategy, which will identify a number of sectors/activities with future growth potential. The creative sector is one such example, of which the games industry is a part and we will work to ensure the employment growth potential of the sector is realised.
319. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a reinstatement grant to persons whose forestry was damaged in the storm in February 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32729/15]
View answerI am aware of the difficulties that have been created for many forest owners as a result of the storms of 2014. The frequency and ferocity of these storm events, compounded by waterlogged soils on many forest sites, led to extensive damage on both private and State owned forest lands. While estimates indicate that less than 1% of the national forest area (approximately 8,000 hectares) has been blown down, the damage has been extensive at a local level, especially in the south and parts of the midlands where substantial quantities of timber have been blown down. Financial support for reinstating privately owned forests affected by the winter storms of 2013/2014 is currently being considered by the Department. A final decision on this matter can be expected shortly.
320. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Turf Club or Horse Racing Ireland are obligated to report incidences of lack of animal care by horse trainers when their horses have not met the requirements of the pre-race veterinary examination (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32802/15]
View answerMy understanding is that this matter relates to two horses that were withdrawn from races ‘not fit to run’ as reported in the Irish Field in June 2015. The Turf Club have advised that in the case of one horse there was evidence of skin disease and soreness and in the case of the other animal there was also an issue with soreness. My Department has authorised the Turf Club under the Animal Health and Welfare Act and signed a service level agreement with that body to ensure the protection of horses under that Act.
The incidents concerned were not reported to my Department. There is no obligation or expectation that the Turf Club would report individual issues to the Department (e. g. overuse of the whip, a horse withdrawn because it is lame at a pre-race inspection) that are dealt with by the body themselves. The reporting relationship with the Turf Club and other bodies dealing with the implementation and monitoring of welfare issues is in the form of annual reviews & reports. In the event that the Turf Club uncover very serious welfare issues with broader repercussions then it is expected that these would be reported to the Department.
The Turf Club carries out an audit programme covering all aspects of compliance with the Rules of Racing (including animal welfare). I understand that they randomly inspect in the region of 100 trainers premises per annum as well as carrying out pre-race inspections during summer months. Specific premises are inspected where there is evidence to target such a premises and history of previous non-compliance with the rules of racing may be considered in this regard. During the inspection I understand the Turf Club identify all horses and check their condition. All adverse findings are included in the audit report.
321. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is within his Department's remit to report animal cruelty to An Garda Síochána when reports of same are received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32803/15]
View answerMy Department operates an animal welfare helpline (telephone number 076 1064408). Animal cruelty reports are investigated by authorised officers of my Department and by authorised officers of the ISPCA and DSPCA. An Garda Siochana may also be involved in these investigations where this is considered necessary or desirable. Where there is sufficient evidence, cases are prosecuted by my Department, or by An Garda Síochána, as appropriate. A high level of co-operation exists between my Department and An Garda Síochána in implementing the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.
