Written Answers Nos. 306 - 320
306. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of funds allocated by the Health and Safety Authority for farm safety initiatives in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20134/16]
View answerThe Health and Safety Authority has allocated a budget of €244,000 for 2016 for farm safety initiatives. These initiatives will include the organisation of, participation in, or support for a number of agriculture related events such as the Farmer of the Year Awards, Farm Safety Week, Teagasc Beef 2016, and the National Ploughing Championships.
The Authority’s Programme of Work for 2016 continues the emphasis on engagement with farmers through knowledge sharing groups and the level of inspection on farms will be maintained at 2015 levels. Priority tasks for the current year include:
- implementation of Year 1 of the Farm Safety Partnership Action Plan, 2016 to 2018;
- continuing awareness campaigns through the media, events and advertising targeted at agricultural sector;
- promotion of good health for farmers;
- publication of information sheets;
- reviewing and updating the Code of Practice on farm safety;
- developing an e-learning tool on tractor and machinery safety;
- focusing on child safety on farms through programmes at primary and post-primary school level;
- increasing awareness of farm safety throughout the sector.
307. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if a prosecution has been initiated by the Workplace Relations Commission under the 1977 Protection of Employment Act relating to the closure and liquidation of a company (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20136/16]
View answer308. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the outcome of the High Court proceedings taken by companies (details supplied) against officers of his Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20137/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 307 and 308 together.
The Deputy may be aware that authorised officers have sought information from a number of parties in relation to the collective redundancies that took place in OCS Operations Limited on 12 June 2015. This was one of the actions initiated as part of the Government response to the closure of Clerys last year. The work of the authorised officers relates to the application of the Protection of Employment Act 1977 to the collective redundancies in question. Prosecutions, if appropriate, remain an option under the Act.
One of the parties from whom the authorised officers sought information initiated proceedings in the High Court challenging the powers of the authorised officers. This matter is due back before the High Court today, 7 July. As the matter is before the courts it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further.
309. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when the European Commission will present a proposal to the Council of Ministers asking the European Council to vote to give the Commission the authority to sign-off on the final text of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the Canadian Government; when she will get access to the wording of this proposal to conclude the agreement; and if she will make this proposal public. [20177/16]
View answer310. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if, given that the European Commission's stated intention is to ask the European Council for permission to provisionally apply the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement at the same time as it is asking the European Council for permission to sign-off on or conclude the final text of the arrangement, she will make public her position as to whether she supports provisionally applying the agreement. [20178/16]
View answer311. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views that Article 29.5.2° of Bunreacht na hÉireann places a constitutional imperative on the State to have any international agreement involving a charge upon public funds to be approved by Dáil Éireann; should the European Council of Ministers vote by a qualified majority vote to approve the signing and provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, and considering the ISDS mechanism of the agreement is designed specifically to allow for a charge upon public funds, her views on whether this would thus create a constitutional crisis for Ireland and the EU whereby Ireland could be the subject of the settlement cases which lead to a charge upon public funds prior to Dáil Éireann approving the agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20179/16]
View answer312. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which, given that Article 30.7.4(d) of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement declares that the parties shall understand the term, "entry into force of this Agreement", as meaning the date of provisional application, she can claim that the agreement and its settlement will not be enforced upon Ireland prior to the agreement being approved by Dáil Éireann. [20180/16]
View answer313. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware that Article 218.5 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union declares that the Council, on a proposal by the negotiator, shall adopt a decision authorising the signing of the agreement and, if necessary, its provisional application before entry into force; and if she will detail the necessity test it is using to inform its thinking on the provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. [20181/16]
View answer314. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware that the European Commission staff working document, SWD, on the free movement of capital in the EU, SWD (2013) 146 final, states that, with relation to a private company using an intra-EU member state investment state dispute settlement, ISDS, mechanism, such agreements clearly lead to discrimination between EU investors and are incompatible with EU law (details supplied); and the way in which she can explain her position that the ISDS of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is compatible with EU law. [20182/16]
View answer315. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware that the European Commission's legal service has made amicus curiae submissions to investment state dispute settlement cases involving intra-EU bilateral investment treaties in order to make its legal case that ISDS is incompatible with EU law (details supplied); the way in which her position that the ISDS of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is compatible with EU law; and the reason she does not invoke Article 218.11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and ask the European Court of Justice to deliver a legal ruling as to whether ISDS is compatible with EU law. [20183/16]
View answer316. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is aware of the fact that the European Commission is engaged in legal action at the European Court of Justice against five member states requiring that they terminate their intra-EU bilateral investment treaties, BITs, because investment state dispute settlement, ISDS, contravenes the principles of the Single Market (details supplied); and her views on a scenario (details supplied). [20184/16]
View answer317. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason she supports the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and its investment state dispute settlement, ISDS, (details supplied). [20185/16]
View answer318. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation how she intends to protect Irish citizens from the European Commission's proposal to provisionally apply the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, prior to a definitive legal ruling as to the distribution of competences relating to new proposals to subject the EU to an ISDS under the CETA (details supplied). [20186/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 309 and 318, inclusive, together.
The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) is a new generation agreement that will remove over 99% of tariffs between the EU and Canada and will create sizeable new market access opportunities in services and investment. It will end limitations in access to public contracts, open-up services market, and offer predictable conditions for investors.
The EU-Canada Agreement will save on duty costs as 99.6% of all industrial tariffs will be eliminated on entry into force. Irish firms will also benefit from the recognition of product standards and certification, thus saving on ‘double testing’ on both sides of the Atlantic. These are some of the benefits of the trade deal with Canada as well as providing new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms.
In May this year, the Council had an exchange of views on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the process towards signature and provisional application of the agreement. The European Commission and Member States highlighted the high quality of the agreement reached with Canada and expressed the desire to work towards signature of the agreement at the October EU-Canada Summit. The Commission published their proposals for signature, conclusion and provisional application on 5 July 2016 which are available on the European Commission Register of Documents. The proposal is for CETA to be a mixed agreement.
At the last EU Council of Trade Ministers on 13 May 2016, I made Ireland’s approach clear, that based on our current assessment of its provisions, we viewed CETA as a mixed Agreement, in terms of EU and Member State competency. In view of the position taken by Ireland and other Member States I note that the Commission have now decided to submit CETA to the Council for decision as a mixed agreement. This means that each Member State will be required to ratify the agreement under its own procedures. The Oireachtas will be part of the final decision on ratification. It will now be a matter for the Council and the European Parliament to decide on the signature, conclusion and provisional application of CETA.
The provisions of the CETA on investment dispute resolution relate solely to the CETA as a multinational trade agreement. Such trade agreements are not part of domestic law. This is why separate adjudication arrangements are required in the event of disputes under the agreement.
319. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of an application by an organisation (details supplied) for grant assistance; if she will provide funding for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20224/16]
View answerThe details supplied pertain to a Westmeath based unit of the Irish Manufacturing Research Centre (IMR). IMR is an Enterprise Ireland/IDA Ireland Technology Centre focused on manufacturing and industrial energy efficiency research aimed at delivering solutions to manufacturing companies throughout Ireland. The Centre offers the manufacturing industry a unique environment to collaborate with peer companies across all manufacturing sectors, and to inform and guide manufacturing research that can provide solutions to industry problems.
I asked my officials to consult with Enterprise Ireland in relation to the grant assistance referred to in the Deputy’s question. My officials are advised there is no application for grant assistance pending for the Unit in question. IMR receives the core of its funding from Enterprise Ireland (currently in the region of €15 million over 5 years) but, like all Technology Centres, the Centre must also attract a portion of matching funding from industry and also from competitive research funding sources. These additional funding sources ensure that Enterprise Ireland /IDA Ireland Technology Centres remain relevant to industry’s needs while also being of a sufficient research & technological standard to win competitive funding. The Mullingar based unit of this Technology Centre receives its funding from the central IMR budget where funding & governance decisions are made by its Board, which is predominantly comprised of industry representatives.
320. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of funding drawn down from her Department and given out by each of the local enterprise offices for each of the years 2012 to 2015, inclusive and to date in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20284/16]
View answerCapital funding for the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) is provided by my Department via the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Enterprise Ireland, who distribute the funding to individual LEOs. The Capital allocations are for direct financial supports to the micro-enterprise sector (Measure 1 grants) and so-called “soft” supports for LEO clients, such as training and mentoring (Measure 2 supports). Measure 1 grants are given out to LEO client companies, in the form of priming, business expansion and feasibility grants. Since 2014, the LEOs also disburse direct Capital funding in the form of investments to successful applicants under the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition.
Table 1 provides details of the Capital funding drawn down by the CoE for allocation to the LEOs for the years from 2012 to 2015 and to 6 July 2016. The table also shows the total expenditure made by the LEOs over the same period under Measure 1, Measure 2 and IBYE (2014 and 2015).
The total value of the Measure 1 direct grant assistance made by the LEOs to their clients over in this period may also include an element of refundable aid which is generated by the LEOs from repayments by clients of up to 30% of the value of the grants made. The Measure 2 expenditure may include an element of own resource income generated by the LEOs from their training courses and mentoring services, etc. These additional elements are included in the expenditure amounts in Table 1.
A more detailed up-to-date breakdown of expenditure on a LEO by LEO basis is being compiled by my Department and will be supplied to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
|
|
Total Subhead - Capital Allocation |
Measure 1 Allocation |
Measure 1 Expenditure |
Measure 2 Allocation |
Measure 2 Expenditure |
IBYE Expenditure |
|
2012 |
€18,775,750 |
€ 9,989,000 |
€12,303,035 |
€ 8,810,262 |
€10,959,105 |
N/A |
|
2013 |
€18,180,500 |
€ 9,695,866 |
€11,496,596 |
€ 8,447,916 |
€10,626,920 |
N/A |
|
2014 |
€18,499,500 |
€ 8,065,866 |
€10,931,992 |
€ 7,506,416 |
TBC |
€ 1,644,800 |
|
2015 |
€18,500,000 |
€ 8,332,366 |
€10,048,453 |
€ 7,401,294 |
TBC |
€ 2,137,048 |
|
To 6 July 2016 |
€18,500,000 |
€ 7,500,000 |
€4,282,386 |
€ 7,109,000 |
€1,398,174 |
N/A |
