Tag Archives: Pat Breen

The Minister of State with special responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, continues a programme of engagements in the United States during which he will highlight developments in Ireland’s data protection environment and its steadfast commitment as an EU member state. The programme will include 18 high-level meetings and events in San Francisco and Seattle, including a series of meetings with client companies and representatives of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. During the course of the visit, the Minister will use the opportunity to emphasise Ireland’s attractiveness as an investment location – as an English speaking, common law jurisdiction with direct access to Europe’s single market – and its commitment to EU membership, particularly in the context of Brexit. Speaking in San Francisco, Minister Breen said,: “I am delighted to be here on the West Coast, it is a valuable opportunity to further strengthen the strong economic and cultural links between Ireland …

BECKMAN Coulter, based in Lismeehan, O’Callaghan’s Mills is to create 70 jobs over the next two to three years as it just announced expansion plans today. Beckman Coulter develops, manufactures and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing and has revealed it is expanding the company’s development and manufacturing facility at Lismeehan. The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. The company’s 9,700 sq. metre site at Lismeehan in County Clare is a strategic site for the global Beckman Coulter Diagnostics business, with 330 people working there. Work carried out currently on the site includes the development, manufacture and support of reagents (mixtures for use in chemical analysis) for clinical chemistry, immunochemistry and haematology product lines. The expansion will provide capacity for two new product streams at the Clare site, and will also provide for the ongoing growth of the current product streams. The new expansion will add an additional 6,700sq. meters to the …

Clare homeowners and shoppers have been reminded by Minister of State Pat Breen to check for safety standards during the festive season. Supporting the “12 Day’s of Christmas Safety” by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, which is under his remit, Minister Breen wished all Clare people a safe Christmas. “To ensure we all remain safe and happy during this special time of year, it its worth remembering the safety advised being issued by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). “The NSAI will issue daily reminders to help us all stay safe including advice such as the CE mark must be present on all children’s toys, fairy lights and other electronics. “We are also reminded to buy products from trustworthy shops and legitimate online stores and check all your Christmas lights for signs of wear-and-tear and replace them if necessary,” Minister Breen said.

Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market & Data Protection Pat Breen has announced that €63,000 has been granted to Clare for agricultural shows next year. “This €63,000 will be a huge benefit to the nine shows in County Clare who will each receive a grant of €7,000 each. The Clare shows include Kildysart, Kilrush, Clarecastle, Corofin, Ennistymon, Mullagh, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Bridgetown and Scarriff. “This funding is particularly useful to the smaller shows that are susceptible to weather and other unexpected costs that can occur,” said Minister Breen. “Agricultural shows are hugely important to the rural economy, with surrounding towns and villages benefitting hugely from each show. “The Government considers this funding an important investment in rural communities and I am delighted that my colleague Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring has granted this funding for Clare,” he said

THE expected return of Dr John Hillery as a possible candidate for the next general election is adding spice to the political manoeuvrings that have stepped up a gear across all parties. Although the resignation of Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald on Tuesday prevented a Christmas snap election, which no politician or voter wanted, all prospective candidates are now firmly in general election mode. The extraordinary political events of the past week suggest that, unless Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin add new safeguards to their confidence and supply agreement, which was severely dented over the Department of Justice emails debacle, a general election could be called early next year. Fine Gael, which leads the beleaguered, minority-led Government, moved quickly to select its two outgoing Clare deputies, Minister of State Pat Breen and Joe Carey, at its selection convention on Monday night. While Senator Martin Conway, who was one of the three nominations, withdrew at the last minute to …

  There were no surprises at the Clare Fine Gael Dáil Selection Convention as the party’s two outgoing deputies – Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen and Deputy Joe Carey were returned unopposed. There was standing room only as delegates packed the Auburn Lodge Hotel on Monday night to select their General Election team. Three candidates were nominated Deputy Pat Breen, Deputy Joe Carey and Senator Martin Conway. Delegates were told that the national directive was to select just two candidates at the convention with the option that another candidate may be added, if necessary at a later stage. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin were criticised for causing the latest political crisis, which has seen the country on the brink of a General Election. Senator Conway seemed to be unaware of the latest revelations concerning beleaguered Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald when he stated that he was proud in what she has achieved in her department. The need for a contest …

CLARIFICATION is this week being sought about changes to the operation of Shannon Post Office. It is not thought that there is any danger of the post office closing, rather of it no longer being run by An Post, with possible future implications for staff and services. “It came to my attention that there are changes planned for the post office in Shannon and, given the importance of this essential service to Shannon Town and the Shannon area, I sought further clarification from An Post about any such changes,” said Minister of State Pat Breen. “Officials from An Post informed me that it intends to convert Shannon Post Office from being a company-run office to one run by a contractor in the coming weeks.” Mr Breen said he was assured the changes will not mean a reduction in services there. “I have been assured by An Post that the change in business model for the Shannon office will not in …

A €12 million investment delivering 50 new jobs at an Ennis firm was announced on Monday morning. Vitalograph, a world leading provider of cardio-respiratory products, software and services plans to invest €12 million in its Gort Road facility. Expansion will see clinical trials of the efficacy of new cough drugs along with the development of new diagnostic software centre. The company has announced the creation of 50 new jobs at its manufacturing and research and development facility in Ennis at a press conference on Monday morning at 10.30am. The new roles will be across a number of positions including data analysts, software designers and engineers and the company expects to fill the positions over the coming six months. The jobs announcement also coincides with the news that Vitalograph is to invest €12 million in the Ennis facility where it currently employs 100 people. Vitalograph has been designing, developing and manufacturing respiratory and cardiology devices for the healthcare sector for over …