Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 May 1993

Vol. 430 No. 8

Written Answers. - Job Creation.

Helen Keogh

Question:

36 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the aspects of the Programme for a Partnership Government 1993-1997 which relate to his Department which have been implemented to date; and the impact these changes have had on job creation.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

159 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the extent to which the Government's job creation proposals as outlined in the Programme for a Partnership Government 1993-1997 have so far been met; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister of Enterprise and Employment (Mr. Quinn)

I propose to take Oral Question No. 36 and Written Question No. 159 together.

The Programme for Government contains a number of measures which come within or touch on the remit of my Department. The programme provides for changes in the area of industrial policy, which I am in the course of implementing. The objective is to improve both the formulation and management of industrial policy and its implementation; to further facilitate agency efforts to assist small businesses, County Enterprise Partnership Boards are to be established shortly. Community-based employment schemes will allow for the participation of 15,500 people; in the area of training and manpower development I am introducing new apprenticeship and training schemes for those at work and increasing the level of direct interventions to train and upgrade the skills of the unemployed; targeted wage subsidies are being considered under the Community Support Framework 1994-1999; a national certification board will be established as part of the process of upgrading training standards; a study of the opportunities and scope for work sharing is being undertaken as part of the approach of the Government to increasing participation rates; the legal framework of employment law is to be updated and, in this connection, the Unfair Dismissals Bill is currently under consideration in the Seanad; provision has been made for an extra public holiday in May and improvement of consumer rights is under consideration. In this connection a Bill is being prepared to regulate all forms of consumer credit, including money lending. I hope to have it enacted before the end of this year. A consumers' charter is under consideration also and preparatory work in this connection is underway.

Most, though not all of the measures I have mentioned will have a direct impact on job creation. They will all contribute to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of both the economy and of programmes and measures for assisting industry to create employment. The extra jobs that will come from all of the structural interventions and changes that this Government is undertaking will come about as a result of business selling more at home and abroad, as a result of their increased competitiveness and their ability to increase market share. Clearly then, jobs growth in business is something that Government policy can faciliate and assist, through not bring about. The Government's programme and its decisions on implementing Culliton/ Moriarty recommended structural reforms will be a major facilitation, assistance and improvement of the opportunities and potential for creating and sustaining jobs.