Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Oct 2000

Vol. 524 No. 1

Written Answers. - Job Creation.

Ivor Callely

Question:

85 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the categories of new industry that have set up here over the past five years; if she has satisfied herself that Ireland has attracted a broad range of industries and that it will be able to sustain its employment record; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21284/00]

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

The attached table shows the numbers of jobs created over the past five years, broken down by industry sector. It is clear from the figures that three sectors have performed exceptionally well, namely, electrical and optical equipment, internationally-traded services, and food and beverages. The internationally-traded services category includes financial services, software, and telemarketing operations. However, it is also evident from the table that the remaining job gains have been spread across all industry sectors, inspiring confidence that we will be able to sustain our employment record in the future.

To enable us to achieve this goal in the coming decade, a number of actions, which are focused on safeguarding Ireland's location as a base for job creation, will have to be taken. These include a shift towards higher-value sectors, increasing productivity in existing firms, upgrading the skills profile of the workforce, and expanding the number of firms engaged in research and development. It will also be necessary to achieve more balanced spatial development of economic activities, and to redirect agency assistance from capacity to capability support in areas such as human resource development, R&D, marketing and market development. The national development plan indicates clearly the steps that are to be taken to give effect to work in these areas.

	JobGains(FullTime)					CumulativeJob Gains	ShareofJobGains
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	1995-1999
All Ownership
Food products, beverages and tobacco	2,784	3,517	3,155	3,398	3,757	16,611	11.0%
Textiles and textile products	637	473	313	312	565	2,300	1.5%
Clothing, footwear and leather	953	764	628	423	261	3,029	2.0%
Wood and wood products	519	748	630	555	551	3,003	2.0%
Paper and paper products; publishing and printing	735	796	1,014	736	783	4,064	2.7%
Chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres	1,069	1,527	1,567	1,819	2,473	8,455	5.6%
Rubber and plastic products	1,000	810	918	1,033	727	4,488	3.0%
Non-metallic mineral products	579	721	867	514	904	3,585	2.4%
Basic and fabricated metal products	1,864	1,797	1,966	1,911	2,353	9,891	6.5%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	999	813	799	1,038	2,085	5,734	3.8%
Electrical and optical equipment	7,408	7,558	8,333	7,345	5,850	36,494	24.2%
Transport equipment	1,247	708	678	915	449	3,997	2.6%
Other manufacturing n.e.c.	1,187	995	1,094	887	882	5,045	3.3%
Financial Services	601	884	777	1,083	2,159	5,504	3.6%
International Services	3,876	5,340	7,152	9,656	9,956	35,980	23.8%
Other	675	664	472	521	601	2,933	1.9%
All Sectors	26,133	28,115	30,363	32,146	34,356	151,113	100.0%
Foreign
Food products beverages and tobacco	563	654	313	476	729	2,735	3.4%
Textiles and textile products	272	114	55	91	334	866	1.1%
Clothing, footwear and leather	195	194	103	36	122	650	0.8%
Wood and wood products	39	173	232	20	69	533	0.7%
	JobGains(FullTime)					CumulativeJob Gains	ShareofJobGains
	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	1995-1999
Paper and paper products; publishing and printing	89	81	152	50	69	441	0.5%
Chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres	826	1,217	1,250	1,503	2,163	6,959	8.6%
Rubber and plastic products	331	299	369	385	177	1,561	1.9%
Non-metallic mineral products	29	31	54	16	61	191	0.2%
Basic and fabricated metal products	383	353	414	608	684	2,442	3.0%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	228	254	266	556	1,391	2,695	3.3%
Electrical and optical equipment	6,150	6,256	7,153	5,828	4,625	30,012	37.1%
Transport equipment	629	532	397	486	234	2,278	2.8%
Other manufacturing n.e.c.	242	54	143	18	46	503	0.6%
Financial Services	546	803	648	855	1,583	4,435	5.5%
International Services	2,347	3,715	4,495	6,582	6,785	23,924	29.6%
Other	106	155	172	83	115	631	0.8%
All Sectors	12,975	14,885	16,216	17,593	19,187	80,856	100.0%
Irish
Food products, beverages and tobacco	2,221	2,863	2,842	2,922	3,028	13,876	19.8%
Textiles and textile products	365	359	258	221	231	1,434	2.0%
Clothing, footwear and leather	758	570	525	387	139	2,379	3.4%
Wood and wood products	480	575	398	535	482	2,470	3.5%
Paper and paper products; publishing and printing	646	715	862	686	714	3,623	5.2%
Chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres	243	310	317	316	310	1,496	2.1%
Rubber and plastic products	669	511	549	648	550	2,927	4.2%
Non-metallic mineral products	550	690	813	498	843	3,394	4.8%
Basic and fabricated metal products	1,481	1,444	1,552	1,303	1,669	7,449	10.6%
Machinery and equipment n.e.c.	771	559	533	482	694	3,039	4.3%
Electrical and optical equipment	1,258	1,302	1,180	1,517	1,225	6,482	9.2%
Transport equipment	618	176	281	429	215	1,719	2.4%
Other manufacturing n.e.c.	945	941	951	869	836	4,542	6.5%
Financial Services	55	81	129	228	576	1,069	1.5%
International Services	1,529	1,625	2,657	3,074	3,171	12,056	17.2%
Other	569	509	300	438	486	2,302	3.3%
All Sectors	13,158	13,230	14,147	14,553	15,169	70,257	100.0%