Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 18 Oct 2001

Vol. 542 No. 4

Written Answers. - Job Statistics.

Michael Ring

Question:

65 Mr. Ring asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of job losses each month since January 2001, broken down by location; and the number of jobs that have been created each month since January 2001, broken down by location. [24744/01]

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

In the period from 1 January 2001 to date, 14,036 proposed redundancies were notified to my Department under the Redundancy Payment Acts, 1967 to 1991. A breakdown of the locations of these redundancies is provided in appendix 1, a copy of which will be forwarded to the Deputy.

With regard to job creation for the current year, the information requested by the Deputy is not yet available. The Forfás annual employment survey is carried out in November of each year. This survey will give details of all jobs created and lost in IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and the county enterprise boards assisted companies for the period 1 November 2000 to 31 October 2001. The preliminary figures for this survey will not be available until year end. In my reply to a Parliamentary Question No 141 of the 10 October 2001, on the subject of revised targets for job creation, I responded as follows.

Up to recently, both agencies remained optimistic about this year's performance, forecasting 21,000 new jobs and a net employment increase of 11,000. However, we are all aware of the unforeseen factors which have arisen, namely foot and mouth, the escalation of difficulties in the IT industry and most recently the tragic events in the US. These factors have combined to significantly moderate the agencies' expectations for the current year. While Forfás expects overall job creation to remain strong at about 19,500, the net employment increase has been revised significantly downwards to 3,400, the bulk of this adjustment being due to increased job losses in foreign owned firms particularly those based in the US.

While any deterioration in these figures is disappointing, the fundamentals of our economy remain strong. I am confident that we can withstand the present downturn and remain an attractive location for both foreign direct investment and indigenous firms. To this end, the Government is continuing to focus on enhancing the country's skills base, improving our infrastructure network, shaping the regulatory environment, and encouraging companies to move up the value chain.

Appendix I

Notified Redundancies by Area Code for Period 01/01/2001 to 30/09/2001

NMS Area: Athlone

County	Male	Female	Total
Laois	49	30	79
Longford	47	40	87
Offaly	96	255	351
Roscommon	30	32	62
Westmeath	96	52	148
Area Total:	318	409	727

NMS Area: Cork

County	Male	Female	Total
Cork	1,049	439	1,488
Kerry	94	62	156
Area Total:	1,143	501	1,644

NMS AREA: Dublin

County	Male	Female	Total
Dublin	3,538	2,593	6,131
Kildare	242	112	354
Meath	67	69	127
Wicklow	157	128	285
Area Total:	4,004	2,893	6,897

NMS Area: Dundalk

County	Male	Female	Total
Cavan	45	34	79
Louth	350	143	493
Monaghan	68	18	86
Area Total:	463	195	658

NMS Area: Galway

County	Male	Female	Total
Galway	323	305	628
Mayo	179	66	245
Area Total:	502	371	873

NMS Area: Limerick

County	Male	Female	Total
Clare	309	213	522
Limerick	514	310	824
Tipperary	139	105	244
Area Total:	962	628	1,590

NMS Area: Sligo

County	Male	Female	Total
Donegal	199	180	379
Leitrim	13	16	29
Sligo	63	79	142
Area Total:	275	275	550

NMS Area: Waterford

County	Male	Female	Total
Carlow	68	24	92
Kilkenny	59	46	105
Waterford	192	180	372
Wexford	397	131	528
Area Total:	716	381	1,097
Grand Totals:	8,383	5,653	14,036