Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 11 May 2000

Vol. 519 No. 1

Written Answers. - Job Creation.

Tom Enright

Question:

91 Mr. Enright asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of jobs created during 1999 in Ireland by enterprise agencies such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development; the number of jobs lost which received State agency support during the same period; if she will give a breakdown of the numbers of jobs created and jobs lost in respect of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development; the plans, if any, she has to tackle and reduce the number of job losses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13239/00]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

During 1999, the number of full time jobs created by clients supported by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development was 33,582. The number of full time job losses among the clients of these agencies was 20,590. The breakdown between the agencies is:

	JobsCreated	Jobs Lost	Net Change
IDA Ireland	17,859	9,162	8,697
Enterprise Ireland	12,892	9,841	3,051
ShannonDevelopment	2,741	1,587	1,154
Total	33,492	20,590	12,902

During 1999, 19,250 jobs were lost in firms that had at some stage received grant support. Certain agency clients do not receive grant aid, for example, those located in the International Financial Services Centre.

While job losses are regrettable and are not always avoidable, they must be seen in the context of overall strong economic growth, declining unemployment and sustained employment expansion throughout the economy. Significant employment creation continued unabated in the wider economy during 1999, as indicated by the latest quarterly national household survey. In the September-November quarter of 1999 there were an additional 102,700 in employment compared with the same period in 1998. Furthermore the unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 1999 compared with 6.4% in the same period in 1998. During 2000 the unemployment rate has declined further and is now estimated to be about 4.7%.

One objective of enterprise policy is to constrain job losses as far as possible by helping indigenous companies achieve stronger positions of durable competitive advantage and by encouraging investment in greater research and development, market driven innovation, human resource development and skills improvement. With regard to foreign investment in the economy, IDA Ireland is encouraging foreign companies that have plants here to become more deeply embedded in the economy while targeting new investments in products and services which involve higher technologies and skills. These measures are a core aspect of the development agencies' mission and underpin important programmes, which help to ensure firms' prospects of longevity and ultimately the sustainability of longer term employment for their workforces.

Enterprise development policies will continue to help firms which have the capacity for growth so that they can become more resilient to the competitive pressures that can lead to job losses.