Written Answers Nos. 31-36
31. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a person (details supplied) whose land has been damaged due to flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8731/16]
View answerThe Office of Public Works (OPW) has not received a report of the damage mentioned. In the context of the OPW’s legal responsibilities it is making enquiries into the matter and will make contact with the person mentioned.
32. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to provide a pension scheme for community employment scheme supervisors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8665/16]
View answerUnions representing CE Supervisors and Assistant Supervisors have sought the provision of Exchequer funding to implement a Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme dating back to 2008. In this regard the position has remained that it is not possible for the State to provide funding for such a scheme to employees of private companies even if those companies are or were reliant on State funding.
Notwithstanding this the matter has remained under review and I held a constructive meeting with SIPTU and IMPACT trade unions in relation to this matter. Having listened to their respective positions I reconvened the Community Sector High Level Forum which ceased operation some years ago in order that this matter is fully examined, having regard to costs and precedent.
The Forum commenced its work on 27 November 2015 and a further meeting of the Forum took place on 11 April 2016.
33. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the action plan for jobs (details supplied) for counties Kerry and Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8683/16]
View answerSupporting enterprise development in all regions of the country in order to support job creation is a key objective of the Government, with initiatives such as the Regional Action Plans for Jobs seeking to build on the capabilities and strengths of each region to maximise enterprise growth and job creation.
The objective of the 8 Regional Action Plans is to strengthen and develop regional collaboration by encouraging local authorities, regional bodies, higher education institutions, the private sector and communities to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their respective regions. While all 8 regions vary in size (from one county in the case of the Dublin region to 6 in the case of the North East/North West region), the geographical remit of each region is defined at NUTS III level, the standard developed and regulated by the European Union for statistical purposes.
The South West Action Plan for Jobs, launched in July 2015, aims to deliver 40,000 extra jobs in the counties of Cork and Kerry by 2020. Key targets in service of this overall goal are to achieve an increase of 40-50% in the number of start-ups in the region; a 20% increase in employment in exporting companies which will be delivered by increasing in the number of IDA investments in the region by 30-40% to 2019; and an increase of 33% in tourist numbers and 40% increase in overseas revenue from the sector.
Sectors targeted as part of the plan include agri-food, tourism, manufacturing and ICT, including high-potential emerging sectors like multimedia/content and the green economy, energy and marine.
Key actions in the Plan to be delivered over the coming period include measures to achieve an increase of 40-50% in the number of businesses starting-up, scaling and surviving, to achieve a 20% increase in employment in exporting companies, delivered by winning 139 IDA investments, building an IDA advance facility in Tralee and a 50% increase in enterprise-research collaborations and other measures to support growth in Irish exporting companies and establishing an Employer and Education Skills Forum.
Actions are also set out to increase by 40% agri-food output to 2020 and to achieve a 33% increase in overseas tourist numbers, in addition to developing new sectors, including the content/multimedia sector, innovative energy technology and the green economy and rolling out “smart region” infrastructure.
Since the Plan was launched, focus has moved to putting in place a comprehensive implementation structure. A Regional Implementation Committee has been established, chaired by Mr Bob Savage, Managing Director of EMC. The Committee is composed of key stakeholders in the region who work in concert with Enterprise Champions - nominated senior private sector representatives - to oversee and monitor progress. The Committee held its second meeting in Tralee on 8th March last to review progress on the delivery of the Plan’s actions. The first Progress Report on the implementation of the Plan, covering the period to end-June 2016, will be completed and published in Q3 2016.
All regional Action Plans will be supported by investment of up to €250 million over the next five years, including €150 million for a property investment programme by IDA Ireland. A further sum of up to €100 million will be made available over the next five years through three competitive calls to be administered by Enterprise Ireland. These competitive calls are being targeted at innovative and collaborative approaches to support job creation across the regions.
On 22nd January, a €3m Regional Accelerator Scheme was launched, which aims ultimately to create more accelerator spaces in the regions where start-ups can locate their businesses and access supports. It is targeted that a further €3m will be leveraged with additional private sector investment to support this entrepreneurship initiative. This Regional Accelerator Scheme was the first competitive initiative to be launched under the €40m competitive regional jobs fund announced by the Government on 15th January.
Other elements of this fund to be rolled out over the coming months include:
- Opportunities to drive greater company/sector collaboration/clustering in the regions
- Driving procurement opportunities for start-ups and established small businesses
- Strengthening Third-level as a driver of regional enterprise
- Strengthening the start-up ecosystem locally.
34. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware that a company (details supplied) is insisting that customers pay upfront for the collection of wheelie bins which are electronically tagged, despite not having made the fee structure pertaining to this available to customers or to the public; and his views on this practice. [8700/16]
View answerThe European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 484 of 2013) require traders to provide a range of information to consumers in a clear and comprehensible manner before the consumer is bound by the contract. That information includes the total price of the goods or services inclusive of taxes, or where the nature of the goods or services is such that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is to be calculated. If the contract is an off-premises or distance contract as defined in the Regulations, the information which the trader must provide forms part of the contract and cannot be altered without the express agreement of the consumer and the trader.
Investigation of possible breaches of the Regulations is the function of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. I have accordingly referred the Deputy’s question to the Commission for consideration.
35. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on a professional service surcharge that can be charged to companies on top of their corporation tax rate, where clients of the IDA Ireland, IDAI, or Enterprise Ireland, are trading internationally with professional services, and these services are delivered abroad, the general message appears to be that the corporation tax rate is 12.5% but some clients may have to pay the additional rate; if this matter is highlighted by IDAI, given its level of knowledge on this; if he considers it reasonable that the IDAI is pushing the 12.5% rate whereby the Revenue Commissioners are looking for a surcharge on top of that; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8707/16]
View answerThe professional services surcharge to which the Deputy refers is one of a number of longstanding anti-tax avoidance rules relating to close companies. According to the Revenue Commissioners, a close company is a company that is under the control of five or fewer participators or is controlled by any number of participators who are directors.
I understand that the close company surcharge applies in respect of investment income – such as interest, dividend or rental income – which is not distributed to the company shareholders within 18 months of its year-end. Its primary purpose is to counter attempts to avail of lower company taxation rates on personal income.
IDA Ireland supported companies do not generally fall into the category of closed companies. The close company surcharge is therefore not an issue that is frequently raised by the Agency’s clients.
With regard to Ireland’s competitive rate of corporation tax of 12.5%, this has been an important part of our industrial policy since the 1950s. It remains a cornerstone of the Government’s strategy to sustain an enterprise friendly environment that will foster further economic growth and job creation.
In terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), it is important to note that tax is only one of many reasons why companies choose to locate themselves here. Ireland has many other attributes that make it so attractive to FDI, including a highly educated workforce, the ease of doing business and the fact that we are the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone.
36. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to review the case of a person (details supplied) who was refused a work permit on the grounds that 50% of the employees need to be European Union nationals. [8748/16]
View answerThe Sport and Cultural Employment Permit Application as detailed above was refused on 15th April 2016. This refusal was made on the basis that it appeared from the information submitted, that the foreign national in respect of whom the employment permit was being sought, was at the time of application the sole employee of the employer. This being the case, the application did not pass the 50:50 Rule, whereby at least 50% of an employer’s employees must be EEA nationals at time of application. Section 10(2B) of the Employment Permits Act 2006 (as amended) provides exemptions to the 50:50 rule for certain employment permit types, including the Sport and Cultural permit. These exemptions are as set out below:
a) at the time of application the employer has no employees
b) the foreign national in respect of whom the employment permit is being sought will be the sole employee of the employer and
c) the Minister is satisfied that the foreign national in respect of whom the employment permit is being sought will be the sole employee of the employer concerned.
The exemption at S10(2B)(a) above does not apply to the current application, since the application states that the foreign national in question is currently employed on foot of a working permission from the Minister for Justice and Equality, known as a Stamp 2 permission. In relation to the exemption provision set out at S10(2B)(b), the application provided no evidence that satisfied the Minister that the foreign national concerned would remain the sole employee of the employer, thus this exemption from the 50:50 Rule could not be applied to the applicant.
The decision to refuse this application was communicated in writing to the applicant dated 15th April. The applicant was also provided with information on how to seek a review of the decision but thus far has not exercised this right.
The employer in question is also free to re-apply for an employment permit at a point in the future when the EEA / non-EEA employee ratio may reach a ratio that satisfies the 50:50 Rule.
