Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2006
176 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in view of the recent spate of factory closures, he intends to implement a monitoring system to establish the detailed reasons for the loss of Irish jobs. [4126/06]
View answerMy Department operates an internal early warning system of potential job losses and firms in difficulty based on material provided on a confidential basis by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development. This information includes details as to why each particular situation has developed.
There are various reasons for job losses and factory closures. The early years of this decade saw a substantial restructuring and downturn in the information and communications technology industry globally. This brought about a strong focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency to meet a harsher global demand environment. Ireland is no longer a low-cost economy and we have experienced increased competition from locations elsewhere in the world where goods can be produced more cheaply than here. In addition, innovation and productivity in manufacturing processes have led to increases in output and wage levels for employees but with a reduced employment requirement.
Notwithstanding this, the year just concluded was the best since 2000 in terms of the range and quality of new investments, the development of our research capability and capacity, and in new jobs created. According to the latest quarterly national household survey published by the Central Statistics Office, 1,989,800 persons were in employment in the third quarter of 2005, an increase of 96,200 in the year.
