Written Answers Nos 283-292
285. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which plans are in hand to extend motorway services to other regions throughout the country with a view to ensuring that the availability of such transport is seen as an incentive for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14526/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Within its annual budget the planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
The Capital Plan 2016-2021 sets out transport investment priorities from 2016 to 2022. The transport elements of the Plan were framed by the conclusions reached in my Department’s Strategic Investment Framework for Land Transport. Based on the findings in that report it is envisaged that maintenance and renewal of the road network will continue to be the main priority over the next period and the bulk of the roads capital budget, approximately €4.4 billion, is earmarked for such essential work with a further €600 million allocated for implementation of the PPP road programme which is already under way.
As regards the possibility of additional funding within the Plan period, my Department is making a strong case for additional funding for the transport sector as part of the Review of the Capital Plan currently underway. The final decisions on allocations are, however, matters for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and Government as a whole.
286. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the extent to which the upgrading of over-trafficked sections of motorway such as the M50 continue to be a priority both from a health and safety point of view and meeting the needs of the travelling public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14527/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with Section 19 of the Roads Act.
Noting the above position, I have referred the Deputy’s question to TII for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you don’t receive a reply within 10 working days.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
287. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will liaise with the Minister for Social Protection to provide an increase to Bus Éireann in the reimbursement it receives for carrying bus pass customers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14555/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Free Travel Scheme is a non-statutory scheme under the administration of my colleague the Minister for Social Protection. As such funding levels associated with the Scheme are primarily a matter for that Minister.
However, I have publicly acknowledged the concerns expressed in recent times in relation to the current levels of funding associated with the Scheme and its potential impact on public transport operators, including Bus Éireann.
As I have previously informed the Deputy, I have written to my colleague the Minister for Social Protection in relation to these concerns and we have mandated our Departments to work together to review this matter.
288. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland jobs created and lost in County Wexford in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14355/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra289. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of job announcements for the south east for each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017, by county; the number of IDA Ireland visits in the south east by county for each of the years 2011 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14356/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra290. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA Ireland jobs created and lost in the south-east region in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14357/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 288 to 290, inclusive, together.
There were 24 job announcements by IDA Ireland client companies in the South East region from 2011 to date. It is important to realise that the number of announcements does not necessarily reflect the level of FDI activity in the region, because not all IDA clients choose to publicly announce investments. In 2016, IDA supported companies in the South East created 1,202 jobs, bringing total employment in the region to 13,369 with 526 job losses.
In County Wexford IDA Ireland supported companies created a total of 171 new jobs in 2016 with a loss of 27 the same year.
IDA Ireland carried out 176 site visits to the region from 2011 until the end of 2016, with 2015 and 2016 figures more than double those of the previous two years. Site visit data is collated at quarterly intervals on a county basis. Data for the first quarter of 2017 will not be available until next month.
Details of the job announcements and the breakdown of site visits for the region are set out in the following tables:
IDA Ireland Client Company Job Announcements South East 2011-2017
|
Date |
Company |
County |
|
|
1 |
06/04/2011 |
Bausch & Lomb |
Waterford |
|
2 |
06/06/2011 |
Mycroft |
Waterford |
|
3 |
08/08/2011 |
Boston Scientific |
Tipperary |
|
4 |
16/09/2011 |
Coca-Cola |
Wexford |
|
5 |
22/09/2011 |
MSD |
Tipperary |
|
6 |
26/07/2012 |
Envelope Supply Company |
Kilkenny |
|
7 |
28/03/2013 |
Nypro |
Waterford |
|
8 |
30/06/2014 |
NuVasive |
Waterford |
|
9 |
02/10/2014 |
West Pharma |
Waterford |
|
10 |
05/11/2015 |
Clearstream |
Waterford |
|
11 |
25/03/2015 |
Sunlife |
Waterford |
|
12 |
25/04/2015 |
Agora Publishing |
Waterford |
|
13 |
29/04/2015 |
Bausch & Lomb |
Waterford |
|
14 |
15/06/2015 |
CRI |
Wexford |
|
15 |
07/09/2015 |
CipherTechs |
Kilkenny |
|
16 |
07/09/2015 |
Bluefin |
Waterford |
|
17 |
22/09/2015 |
MSD |
Tipperary |
|
18 |
21/01/2016 |
First Data |
Tipperary |
|
19 |
21/04/2016 |
OPKO Health/Eirgin |
Waterford |
|
20 |
13/06/2016 |
Eurofins |
Waterford |
|
21 |
30/08/2016 |
Se2 |
Waterford |
|
22 |
04/11/2016 |
Compar AG |
Waterford |
|
23 |
06/02/2017 |
Mercury Filmworks |
Kilkenny |
|
24 |
06/02/2017 |
Red Hat |
Waterford |
Site Visits to South East Region 2011 - 2016
|
Region |
County |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
South East |
Carlow |
2 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
|
South East |
Kilkenny |
0 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
10 |
10 |
|
South East |
Waterford |
11 |
26 |
14 |
11 |
31 |
17 |
|
South East |
Wexford |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
|
South East & Mid-West * |
Tipperary |
1 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
8 |
|
Total |
13 |
36 |
20 |
18 |
46 |
43 |
*Tipperary straddles two regions – South East and Mid-West.
291. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to progress legislation to introduce a universal living wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14358/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Living Wage concept is grounded in the idea that a person’s wage should be sufficient to maintain a safe, decent standard of living. At an individual level the resources required to achieve a minimum essential standard of living is very dependent on family circumstances and thus the interaction of individual earnings with household income and State-provided supports such as Child Benefit, Family Income Supplement as well as supports available in relation to housing, education and health all contribute to an individual’s standard of living.
It is important that Ireland’s statutory National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage concept are not conflated. The Living Wage is a voluntary societal initiative centred on the social, business and economic case to ensure that, wherever it can be afforded, employers will pay a rate of pay that provides an income that is sufficient to meet an individual’s basic needs, such as housing, food, clothing, transport and healthcare. The Living Wage is voluntary and has no legislative basis and is therefore not a statutory entitlement. It is different to the National Minimum Wage which is a statutory entitlement and has a legislative basis.
The Low Pay Commission was established in 2015 and its primary function is to, on an annual basis, examine and make recommendations on the national minimum wage, with a view to securing that the national minimum wage, where adjusted, is adjusted incrementally over time having had regard to changes in earnings, productivity, overall competitiveness and the likely impact any adjustment will have on employment and unemployment levels. The Commission presented its first report in July 2015 in which it recommended an increase of 50 cents per hour to the minimum hourly rate bringing it to €9.15. That increase, which was accepted by Government, came into effect on 1 January last.
The Commission presented its second report in July 2016 and its recommendation that the minimum wage be increased to €9.25 per hour was subsequently accepted by Government and came into effect on January 1 last.
The Deputy might note that the most recent figures published by EUROSTAT show that Ireland has the second highest national minimum wage of any country in the EU at €1,563 per month, behind only Luxembourg whose minimum wage is €1,999 per month. (EUROSTAT for comparison purposes converts countries hourly or weekly rates into monthly rates).
I have no plans to bring forward proposals outside of the work of the Low Pay Commission.
292. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 308 of 8 March 2017, the number of workplace inspections and total amount of wages recovered in 2016 for the child care sector alone; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14395/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body established on 1 October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC has responsibility for information provision, workplace advice, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, inspection and enforcement in relation to employment rights, equality and equal status matters and industrial relations.
Inspectors of the WRC carry out inspections of employer records with a view to determining compliance with employment rights and employment permits legislation. These inspections arise:
- In response to complaints received of alleged non-compliance with relevant employment rights legislation;
- As part of compliance campaigns which focus on compliance in specific sectors or specific pieces of legislation, or
- As routine inspections, which act as a control measure.
The WRC’s aim is to achieve voluntary compliance with employment law through the provision of education and awareness, inspection of employers’ employment records and enforcement where necessary.
The Deputy will be aware from my previous reply that in 2016 the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) recovered a total of €1,521,600 in unpaid wages in 4,830 cases.
Details in relation to the number of workplace inspections undertaken by the WRC in 2016 in the childcare sector alone are not available as employers engaged in childcare related activities are included with the health and nursing sectors for statistical purposes. In addition, inspections of employers of domestics workers may include some childcare cases but these childcare cases are not identified separately. The overall numbers for the year 2016 are as follows:
|
Sector |
Number of Employers Inspected |
Amount of Wages Recovered |
|
Domestic Workers |
22 |
€4,728 |
|
Health Nursing and Childcare |
82 |
€156,071 |
