Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 21 Mar 1991

Vol. 406 No. 8

Written Answers. - Manufacturing Industry Statistics.

Mervyn Taylor

Question:

38 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the amount of investment in manufacturing in Ireland for each of the last ten years for which figures are available, allowing for inflation; if he will indicate the comparable figures for Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States and Japan in percentage terms; and if he will make a statement on the trend indicated.

Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr. O'Malley)

The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the following table:

Total Investment in Manufacturing Industry — Country Comparisons — 1978-88

Enterprise with 20 or more Persons Engaged (Million ECU's)

	Ireland	Germany	Italy	Netherlands	USA	Japan
1978	653.4	17,514.4	7,927.6	3,106.4	N/A	N/A
1979	797.9	18,751.1	7,548.3	2,976.8	N/A	N/A
1980	594.9	21,258.9	8,201.2	3,054.2	N/A	N/A
1981	561.9	19,871.4	7,852.8	2,859.2	N/A	N/A
1982	614.2	N/A	7,534.3	2,498.6	N/A	N/A
1984	534.4	17,890.2	8,831.0	3,507.4	N/A	N/A
1985	516.5	20,978.4	8,834.4	4,268.8	N/A	N/A
1986	506.0	23,509.9	9,264.4	4,570.5	N/A	N/A
1987	520.7	2,4235.1	11,259.1	4,472.7	N/A	N/A
1988	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Note: Current values deflated with implied price deflator (1980=100) for total gross fixed capital formation.

Source: CSO/Eurostat — Structure and Activity of Industry — Annual Reports.

Mervyn Taylor

Question:

39 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of manufacturing jobs gained or lost each year for each of the last ten years for which figures are available, giving the rise/loss of such manufacturing jobs as a percentage increase or decrease for each year; and if he will compare such percentage rise/loss with the comparable average figure for the EC, the United States and Japan; and if he will make a statement on the trend indicated and the implications thereof.

Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr. O'Malley)

The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the following table:

Manufacturing Employment Changes

	1980-89	1985-89
	%	%
Ireland	-20.0	NC
EC (12)	-14.0	-3.0
Japan	+8.0	+3.0
US	+6.0	+2.0

NC — No change.

Note: Manufacturing employment levels tend to fluctuate from year to year; consequently annual cross-country comparisons are not particularly meaningful. Accordingly the information sought by the Deputy has been presented for ten year and five year periods respectively.

Source: CSO Quarterly Employment Inquiry, Eurostat: Employment and Unemployment and OECD Industrial Indicators.

Mervyn Taylor

Question:

40 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline the percentage increase in manufacturing output for each of the last five years for which figures are available and the comparable percentage increase for Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the EC, the United States and Japan; and if he will make a statement on the trend indicated.

Minister for Industry and Commerce (Mr. O'Malley)

The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the following table:

Manufacturing Production Changes 1985-89

	1986	1987	1988	1989	1985-89
	%	%	%	%	%
Ireland	+2.9	+11.3	+12.7	+12.6	+45.0
Italy	+3.6	+3.5	+6.1	+3.2	+18.0
Germany	+2.4	+0.2	+4.1	+5.2	+13.0
Netherlands	+3.0	NC	+4.8	+4.6	+13.0
EC (12)	+2.0	+2.0	+5.8	+4.5	+16.0
USA	+2.9	+6.1	+5.8	+2.9	+19.0
Japan	NC	+3.4	+9.6	+6.2	+20.0

NC — No change.

Source: OECD Main Economic Indicators.