Vol. 420 No. 6
12 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline the level of investment in manufacturing industry for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the trend indicated and on the matter in general.
I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement giving the information sought by the Deputy. The information was provided by the Central Statistics Office and covers the period 1985 to 1989, the last five years for which figures are available.
The information shows that there has been a marked upward trend in the level of capital asset acquisitions in manufacturing industries in the period 1987 to 1989.
Following is the statement:
Capital Assets — Acquisitions during the year.
|
Year |
£m.* |
|
1985 |
802.4 |
|
1986 |
741.3 |
|
1987 |
717.3 |
|
1988 |
885.4 |
|
1989 |
1,001.2 |
*Current prices.
Source:
Central Statistic Office.
Notes:
(1) All figures relate to the Census of Industrial Establisments for the relevant year.
(2) The figures relate to the total for manufacturing industries.
Is the Minister not extremely disappointed that the essential statistics are only available to 1988-89 and that, notwithstanding the apparent increase he indicates in the level of investment, the net number of jobs being provided in manufacturing industry is falling? Has the Minister examined that aspect and is he suggesting any radical alterations to the policy that has produced those very unsatisfactory results?
Obviously, I should like more recent figures if they were available, but they are not available from the CSO in respect of this heading after 1989. The Deputy is wrong in saying that manufacturing employment is falling. On the contrary, particularly since 1988, it has been increasing.
How does the Minister know if he has not the statistics?
That increase would not have been achieved were it not for, among other things, the level of capital investment being made, which has been increased in a particularly marked way from 1988 onwards.
Will the Minister not agree that the investment of increasingly large amounts of money up to 1989 is not fulfilling the need to provide anything like the necessary level of employment? Does the Minister have any radical new proposals to reverse the position in the public, private or semi-State sector? If so, what is this new thinking?
Lest the Deputy seek to convey that manufacturing employment in Ireland is in a serious state by comparison with other western European countries, I should like to give him some statistics covering the past 20 years to show the reality. Manufacturing employment in Ireland in the period 1970 to 1990 declined by 2.2 per cent. The corresponding figure for the same period in other countries in the Community is as follows: Germany, a decline of 15.2 per cent; United Kingdom, a decline of 38.2 per cent; Denmark, a decline of 17.4 per cent; France, a decline of 16.9 per cent; and Italy, a decline of 11.3 per cent. In terms of the retention of manufacturing employment Ireland has been more successful than any other Western European country. Even though there has been a very marginal decline in the 21-year period, the quality of the jobs that existed in 1990 in manufacturing in Ireland by comparison with the quality of the jobs that existed in 1970 was immeasurably better.
Would the Minister not agree that the key factor is not the quality of the jobs but the absence of jobs for 300,000 people who are seeking them? Would the Minister not agree that the only key statistic which is relevant is the fact that the unemployment level in this country is 20 per cent while in each of the other countries enumerated it might average out at between 6 per cent and 8 per cent?
One of the things that would indicate is that increases in employment tend in a modern economy to come not directly from manufacturing but from a much broader range of services. That is where the pick-up in employment will take place here. It will be underpinned by our successful manufacturing economy which has held its own remarkably well in very difficult circumstances and which creates more spinoff employment than any other sector of the economy.
