Vol. 550 No. 5
11 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new jobs created in the past 12 months; the number lost in the same period; her views on whether action is required to address the situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9489/02]
Data compiled by Forfás for 2001 shows that new full-time jobs created in firms supported by development agencies, IDA Ireland, Shannon Development, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Enterprise Ireland, amounted to 29,791, while job losses in these firms came to 33,353 for the year, giving an overall reduction of 3,562. Job losses were concentrated towards the latter part of the year after strong growth in the first part of the year.
Information on the numbers of jobs created since the start of 2002 to date is not yet available. In January and February 2002 a total of 4,025 redundancies were notified to my Department. The 2001 outcome reinforces the need for firms in Ireland to increase their competitiveness and re-position in market sectors with greater potential for profitable growth. The strategies of the enterprise development agencies are now firmly fixed on building, and providing the infrastructure for high value-added and knowledge-intensive industries. In addition, the Government will continue 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.
There will continue to be challenges in the year ahead, but many vacancies still exist in the economy and I am confident that, going forward, the Government's policies will be successful in minimising the effects of the difficulties experienced in 2001 with new jobs continuing to be created across a wide range of sectors.
