Written Answers. - Job Losses.
Pat Rabbitte
Question:
98
Mr. Rabbitte
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
the number of redundancies or job losses notified to her Department during 2000 and 2001; the number of anticipated job losses reported to her Department over the past six months; the steps being taken to deal with the serious level of job losses over recent months; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[3316/02]
The numbers of redundancies notified to my Department in 2000 and 2001 were 13,316 and 19,828 respectively.
As regards anticipated job losses, one indicator of this is the number of collective redundancies notified to my Department under the Protection of Employment Act, 1977. These are the numbers of employees that companies have indicated that they propose to make redundant after the statutory minimum notification period of 30 days. A total of approximately 11,700 collective redun dancies were notified in the six months July to December 2001.
The increase in the level of job losses here in recent months is a consequence of the downturn, over the past year or so, in the US and global economies and the slump in the ICT sector in particular. The tragic events of 11 September exacerbated the situation, with a particular impact on sectors such as aerospace and tourism.
While the prospects for an improvement in 2002 are very much dependent on the speed and strength of recovery in the US economy, and in the ICT sector in particular, the Government, together with the State industrial development agencies, are continuing to aggressively address the factors which impact on competitiveness and on our ability to create quality jobs in the economy.
IDA Ireland is working closely with existing overseas companies here with a view to helping them move up the value chain into higher value products and services and into higher order functions such as research and development. Simultaneously, IDA Ireland is pursuing high quality new investment that is in keeping with the competitive characteristics of the economy today.
For our indigenous companies, market conditions in the short-term are likely to remain challenging, especially for companies in the high technology sectors. Enterprise Ireland's work with companies is focused on areas such as increasing innovation and competitiveness through investment in research and development and increasing and diversifying exports.
I remain confident that by pursuing such issues and promoting developments in the wider economy, such as infrastructure and skills, we will be well positioned to take full advantage of the upturn in global economic conditions.
