Paul McGrath
Question:19 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the estimate of the impact of the recent currency crisis on employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Currency Crisis.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:49 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the proposals, if any, he has to assist exporters to the sterling area and firms with a high level of exposure to competition from UK competitors in view of the continuing weakness of sterling and the consequent threat to jobs.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 49 together.
The £50 million made available by the previous Government on 6 October 1992 was acknowledged by industry to be an effective and an imaginative response to help firms adapt over a period to the massive and rapid devaluations of currencies which had been part of the ERM until September, 1992. To date it has been possible to assist some 650 firms with almost 30,000 employees under the Market Development Fund. That assistance has enabled all but three of those companies to continue in business and to take steps to adapt to the changed conditions of competition as a result of the instability of currencies in Europe.
Assistance from the Market Development Fund will continue to be available to firms until the end of March, so long as the pound sterling remains above parity the job survey undertaken by the IDA and
In addition to the Market Development Fund, the State development agencies have, as part of their normal remit, a function in assisting the adaptation of firms to changing market circumstances arising from currency or other factors and adequate resources have been made available in 1992 and 1993 to enable them to do that.
I am confident that the measures which have been taken will greatly assist firms under pressure because of the currency crisis. It must also be remembered that the currency crisis of recent months was only one factor affecting the performance of manufacturing industry. There has been a sharp downturn in the international economy in recent years which has affected Irish firms and it is not possible to separate the impact of the different factors on performance including employment. The preliminary results of the job survey undertaken by IDA and SFADCo in November last, however, indicate that employment numbers in 1992 held up well in a difficult year with a net loss of less than 500 jobs over the course of the year.
Deputies can be assured that every effort will be made to ensure that firms can make adaptations so as to return to the high level of competitiveness that had been achieved prior to September last, without job losses, where that is at all possible.