As a small open economy, Ireland is dependent on the export of high value goods and services to deliver economic growth and support job creation. The international economic environment is therefore a key influencing factor in our economic performance.
Notwithstanding a difficult trading environment last year, Enterprise Ireland client companies achieved €15.2 billion in export sales last year – the highest level ever recorded. This demonstrates the strengths that Irish companies possess when it comes to selling their goods and services abroad.
At a domestic level, we need to continue to build on the competitiveness gains we have made in recent years and build a strong foundation to support employment creation and retention.
Through the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government is systematically removing obstacles to competitiveness, putting downward pressure on business costs, promoting innovation and trade, supporting new and existing businesses to develop and expand, and deepening the impact of foreign direct investment in Ireland. The Government has also identified, in the Action Plan, a number of key sectors where Ireland can gain competitive advantage in global markets.The positive impact of the Government’s policies on job creation are beginning to show. 2011 saw a net increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies and a number of major foreign direct investments have been announced so far this year which have the potential to support a further 6,000 jobs as the projects come on stream. Employment in Enterprise Ireland’s client companies stabilised in 2011 after 30,000 job losses in the period 2007 to 2010. In the first eight months of 2012, a total of 4,669 job commitments over the next three years have been secured, linked to Enterprise Ireland approvals to client companies.
Overall, we are seeing a stabilisation in the level of private sector employment, particularly in areas targeted by the Action Plan for Jobs. For example, employment in the tourism sector increased by 6,300 in the period June 2011 to June 2012. Employment also increased in Agriculture and the ICT sectors, underscoring the shift in our activity away from the old, failed economy based on property, banking and debt, to a new sustainable economy based on enterprise, exports and innovation.
