Written Answers Nos. 212-217
212. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if plans to build social housing units on the greenfield site between Tolka Valley Road and St. Helen’s Road will impact on plans to extend the Luas line through Finglas and onto the N2 road in Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16350/16]
View answerThe National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the implementation and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), including Luas light rail projects.
Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.
213. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to report on the performance and plans of Pobal in supporting local development and social enterprise jobs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16109/16]
View answerPobal comes under the remit of my colleague, Mr. Simon Coveney TD, Minister of Housing, Planning and Local Government, so I am not in a position to report on Pobal's performance and plans.
214. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will consider a proposal (details supplied) for dealing with creditors and employees of companies experiencing financial difficulties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16362/16]
View answerLimited liability of companies, through its 150 year history in Irish law, has always been a concession to enterprise - a means of incentivising and encouraging entrepreneurs to overcome aversion to risk and to make investments in business ventures that might be beneficial to the economy at large. This concession can be open to abuse and companies can use the corporate form to evade debts that they are perfectly able to pay, for example, through tactical insolvency of subsidiaries within otherwise solvent corporate groups. As a result, the legislature has developed a number of safeguards that are aimed at reducing the opportunities for abuse.
The most important of these safeguards is the common law doctrine of piercing the corporate veil. This occurs where the veil of incorporation is used fraudulently to shield the owners of a company from liability, and where the subsidiary company is merely a “sham façade” of its parent company. In such circumstances, the owners of the company can be made liable by the courts for money owed by the company to its creditors, including employees. The courts are rightly hesitant to apply this doctrine liberally: much of the beneficial effect of the concession of limited liability would be compromised if veil-piercing occurred on a regular basis. However, it does give creditors recourse where they have been genuinely defrauded.
Since news of the Clerys insolvency broke, the position that we have maintained is that we must be careful not to take rushed steps to amend the law and to create unintended consequences. As part of the twin track process put in place by my predecessor, the Company Law Review Group has been asked to examine legislation with a view to recommending ways company law could be amended to better safeguard employees and creditors. That work is currently ongoing and any recommendations made by the Group will receive careful consideration, when received.
215. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she will introduce legislation to increase the remit of the Low Pay Commission from its limited focus on the minimum wage to empower it to look at low pay in general and to make recommendations accordingly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16370/16]
View answerThe Low Pay Commission was established last year through the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015. Its principal function is, once each year, to examine the national minimum hourly rate of pay and to make a recommendation to the Minister respecting the rate, ensuring that all decisions are evidence based, fair and sustainable, and do not create significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness.
The National Minimum Wage Act, was amended in 2015 and under a newly inserted Section 10 C (4) it allows the Minister to request the Commission to examine and report its views and recommendations on such matters, related generally to the functions of the Commission under the Act, as are specified in that request. Such request must be made to the Commission by the end of February each year. This new provision was invoked, in order to obtain a better understanding of the impact of the national minimum wage on younger people. The Commission has been asked to examine the appropriateness of the sub-minima rates as currently provided for in the National Minimum Wage Acts with regard in particular to their impact on youth unemployment rates and participation in education. This report is due by the end of October 2016. This new provision has also been used to ask the Commission to report on the preponderance of women on the national minimum wage. In order to obtain a better understanding of the composition and profile of this group and the underlying causality, the Commission was requested to examine this issue in more detail and report its views as to the underlying reason for this position and make any recommendations it considers appropriate. This report is also due by the 31st of October this year.
Following completion of these reports this new provision will again be utilised to set the work programme for the Commission for 2017 by the statutory deadline of end February.
216. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she monitors the industrial cost base relative to other European Union and non-European Union states to ensure competitiveness in the manufacturing and services sectors; if she has identified issues requiring attention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16307/16]
View answerCost competitiveness is an important aspect of Ireland's overall competitiveness and we continue to monitor Ireland's cost competitiveness on a regular basis. The National Competitiveness Council’s Costs of Doing Business in Ireland report published in April 2016 benchmarks key business costs across over 50 indicators and focuses on areas where Irish enterprise costs are out of line with key competitors, and on costs that are largely domestically determined.
Ireland’s improving competitiveness performance has been central to securing the recovery in economic growth and employment. Improved competitiveness has made Irish firms more cost competitive internationally and made Ireland a more attractive location in which firms can locate and expand their operations.
As a result of our concerted efforts to improve competitiveness, Ireland’s relative international competitiveness as measured by a range of international indices has improved since 2012.
In June this year we saw a significant improvement in Ireland's global IMD ranking, with Ireland now ranked the 7th most competitive economy in the world.
The NCC report concludes that Ireland’s industrial cost base has improved but pressure points have emerged in labour, property and business service costs. The report makes clear, despite good progress in recent years Ireland remains a relatively expensive location in which to do business. Improving cost competitiveness continues to be a significant challenge. We must therefore focus intensely on reducing costs that are out of line with those in competitor countries.
Addressing Ireland’s international cost competitiveness is a key economic policy priority for Government and as set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, a range of initiatives are in train across Government Departments to support cost competitiveness. The policy implications of the Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2016 report’s analysis, and associated structural reforms required to address Ireland’s cost base, will be included in the Council’s annual Competitiveness Challenge report which will be brought to Government published later this year.
217. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if job opportunities will continue to become available during the next five years; the need to ensure an even distribution of economic opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16309/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government sets an ambitious target to have an additional 200,000 at work by 2020, with an unemployment rate of 6 per cent. Achieving this ambitious target is premised on the creation of a range of employment and career opportunities across a broad spectrum of skills across all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing and services activities.
Enterprise 2025, the Government’s long-term enterprise policy was launched in 2015. It is an ambitious strategy, with the objective of delivering growth over the next decade that is sustainable, led by strong export performance, builds on our sectoral strengths, and that is underpinned by innovation, productivity, cost effectiveness and competitiveness.
It is our aim to build resilience into our economy so that we do not suffer again as we have done in the past. As a small open economy Ireland’s success will be dependent on driving export led growth and growing the additional indirect jobs stimulated by the activities of exporting enterprises in the wider economy. We will continuously monitor our employment growth patterns in terms of an export/non-export ‘balance’ to avoid the mistakes of the past.
The focus on job creation is a government wide agenda, and it involves:
- achieving a leap forward in the capacity and the performance of enterprises based here/and in attracting further investment. We will put in place an extra €500 million in capital funding to accelerate export led jobs growth across Ireland’s regions;
- focusing investments in areas where Ireland can differentiate itself internationally - specifically education and skills, creating attractive places to live and work throughout the country and supporting enterprise innovation; and
- improving the environment for business and maintaining a focus on protecting our national competitiveness from unsustainable cost growth.
To deliver on this ambitious target, in the Programme for Partnership Government we commit to maintaining the OECD endorsed Action Plan for Jobs Process that will set out, on an annual basis, the best ideas for job creation within available resources.
Building on this process, we are focused on ensuring that we can support new job creation in every region in the country over the next five years, through the implementation of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs. A key objective of the plans is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020.
The Regional Action Plans are being driven in each region by Regional Implementation Committees. Funding of up to €250 million to support the Regional Action Plan process is being provided. This includes a €150 million Regional Property Programme being delivered by IDA and a range of competitive regional funding calls rolled out by Enterprise Ireland on a phased basis. The first Progress Reports on the implementation of the Plans, covering the period to end-June 2016, will be completed and published in Q3 2016.
