asked the Minister for Labour his Department's forecast as to the likely number of people unemployed in 1990 and the year 2000; and the plans he has to give every assistance possible from the Government to assist in creating employment.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Figures.
33.
The future level of unemployment will be determined largely by economic, productivity, employment and demographic trends both in Ireland and elsewhere. Attempts to predict trends in these variables, even for the short-term, is a hazardous exercise. Any unforeseen departure from or inaccuracy in any one of the underlying assumptions would automatically render the resulting unemployment estimates unreliable.
My Department do not produce economic or employment forecasts. They rely instead, on the projections prepared regularly by reputable institutions in Ireland and abroad such as the Economic and Social Research Institute, the Central Bank, the Commission for the European Communities and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The most recent economic and labour force projections do not foresee any significant decline in unemployment levels before 1989. I would broadly accept this scenario.
During the nineties I hope to see the level of unemployment decrease as the difficult decisions taken by the Government to rectify the position of the public finances lead to increased employment.
As already intimated in my reply to a question by the Deputy on 26 November 1987 I intend to use all the services at my disposal to contribute to a climate conducive to economic and employment growth. These services centre on the industrial relations area and implementing a range of employment and training programmes.