Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 Jun 2000

Vol. 521 No. 1

Written Answers. - Job Losses.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

47 Mr. Quinn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will confirm the figure contained in her Department's report, the tightening labour market, that more than 21,000 jobs were lost in agency supported companies during 1999; the steps being taken to deal with this record level of job losses; the plans she has for improved training opportunities for those who are losing jobs as a result of these closures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16516/00]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

Despite significant job losses during 1999 both indigenous and inward investment companies continued to perform strongly in terms of sales and exports leading to sustained growth in employment. The total number of jobs created by agency clients during 1999 was 33,492.

When total job losses of 20,590 are factored out this gives a net job gain of 12,902. Of these, 9,841 were Enterprise Ireland supported jobs, 9,162 were IDA Ireland supported jobs while 1,587 were Shannon Development supported jobs.

The job losses which are occurring are mainly as a result of the restructuring process which is going on in industry in Ireland whereby activities, and hence jobs, at the lower end of the value added scale are being phased out as these activities become uneconomic in an Irish context. This is a by-product of the dynamic growth of the Irish economy in terms of growth in volume and value.

IDA's policy in this regard is, first, to focus a major part of its efforts on an embedding programme for the existing overseas owned companies in this country. The essential ingredient in this programme is to ensure that these companies continuously adapt to the changing nature of the economy. Second, IDA seeks to ensure that, as jobs are lost in the more traditional sectors, they are more than compensated for by greater numbers of jobs in the new industries.

In the indigenous sector also many of the low paid more traditional jobs lost are being replaced by jobs in the newer sectors such as software development. On an ongoing basis, Enterprise Ireland is working with existing firms with a view to addressing competitive weaknesses. Increased output now depends more on productivity growth than on labour growth. The development of human resource capabilities is of strategic importance in the development and maintenance of national competitiveness, and investment in training will help companies to achieve this. This will in turn raise living standards and ultimately enhance the competitiveness of the Irish economy while at the same time develop a high income, high productivity, high value economy based on world class skills, technology and production systems.

As regards improved training opportunities for those who are losing jobs, a range of FÁS employment and training services is available to all persons made redundant. The FÁS employment service registers redundant workers and puts them in contact with employers seeking workers. Thanks to the booming economy, there is a very large number of job vacancies. In 1999, FÁS was asked to fill a record 69,750 vacancies by employers. Indications for the first months of 2000 suggest a further increase in job vacancies.

The 20 FÁS training centres and contracted facilities provide over 200 different skills training courses. Most redundant workers seeking training can find a suitable FÁS option to meet their re-training needs. The vocational opportunities training scheme run by the vocational education committees is also very suitable for many redundant persons who seek to improve their educational qualifications. CERT programmes are also an option for some. FÁS enterprise training represents an opportunity for some redundant persons who feel that starting their own business, sometimes with the help of their redundancy payments, is an option.

Recognising the inevitability of factory closures over the coming years in the context of the ongoing development of the Irish economy, the Government made a conscious decision in the National Development Plan, 2000-2006 to ensure that FÁS was active in this area. It states: Provision will be made to assist those threatened with or affected by redundancy due to major factory closures. It is intended that provision will include relatively short training courses for persons still in employment, Job Clubs or similar interventions to help persons seek employment and start-your-own-business training.