Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
41. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of actions in the action plan for jobs that have been implemented to date; his estimate of the number of jobs that have been created under the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51776/12]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs contains over 270 individual actions to be delivered in 2012, spanning all Government Departments and 36 State agencies. The 270 actions are further broken down into Quarterly milestones. Progress Reports on the delivery of these milestones are published at the end of each Quarter. Details of all actions delivered to the end of the third Quarter of the year are available in these Progress Reports on my Department’s website www.enterprise.gov.ie. The third Progress Report on the Action Plan for Jobs was published on 17 October 2012. It indicated that 218 (96%) of the 227 milestones to be achieved in the first three Quarters of 2012 have been delivered to date, with nine actions outstanding.
Some significant objectives have been realised, including the establishment of a Microfinance Fund for small business, the introduction of a Partial Credit Guarantee scheme, new supports for first time exporters, the launch of a new Women-In-Business programme, the simplification and extension of the Employer’s PRSI Exemption scheme, the launch of a National Broadband Plan, the piloting of a Health Innovation Hub, and work being undertaken to develop sectors such as Cloud Computing, Digital Games, Manufacturing, and the Green Economy.
The Action Plan for Jobs is a rolling plan and part of a multiannual process that builds on the Government’s Jobs Initiative of May 2011. The aim of the Plan is to transform the operating environment for business and support the creation of 100,000 new jobs by 2016. The Action Plan therefore has a medium-term objective, but there have been some notable positive developments in the last 18 months.
2011 saw an increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies, compared to net losses of 15,000 jobs between 2008 and 2010. So far this year, the IDA has announced investments with the potential to create more than 8,500 further jobs as these projects come on stream. Similarly, jobs in Enterprise Ireland companies started to grow again in 2011, for the first time in three years. In the first eight months of 2012, a total of 4,669 job commitments over the next three years, linked to Enterprise Ireland approvals to client companies, were secured. Enterprise Ireland companies also achieved €15.2 billion in exports last year – the highest level ever.
While the economy has experienced job losses in sectors that were not sustainable at previous levels, such as Construction and domestic banking, employment has increased in a number of sectors that are the focus of the Action Plan for Jobs. For example, employment in the Tourism sector increased by 6,300 over the period June 2011 to June 2012. There were also modest increases in Agri-food and ICT. The number of people employed in Digital Games has also doubled since 2009. The full impact of the measures being taken under the Action Plan for Jobs will become apparent over time, but we are already seeing encouraging progress. I remain committed, along with my Government colleagues, to keeping job creation as a key priority on our agenda.
