Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
99. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps he has taken in the wake of the various jobs initiatives created by Government over the past two years to assess the extent to which opportunities arose to a greater extent in the public or the private sector, in manufacturing or services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52060/12]
View answer100. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs created in the manufacturing and services sectors in each of the past four years to date in 2012; those that have arisen through foreign direct investment; those created in the indigenous sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52061/12]
View answer102. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs created through innovation and technology in each of the past four years and to date in 2012; the number of such that were as a result of foreign direct investment or indigenous industry in both manufacturing and services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52063/12]
View answer104. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will indicate, arising from his discussions with stakeholders in the indigenous sector, the extent to which specific reasons have been identified for job losses in manufacturing or service sectors; if it has been found possible to address the most commonly quoted causes for such losses; the action taken or likely to be taken to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52065/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 99, 100, 102 and 104 together.
Manufacturing has played a strong role in Ireland’s economic development and growth. It is a key driver of innovation and technological advance, is an important source of jobs for people at all skills levels and generates many additional secondary jobs. Manufacturing is a key priority of enterprise policy comprising 64% of Enterprise Ireland (EI) supported jobs and over 50% of IDA supported jobs in 2011. The following tables set out the job gains in manufacturing and services sectors from 2007 to 2011. As agency-employed data is collated on an annual basis there is no data available yet in respect of 2012. However, there has been a noticeable decline in numbers employed in manufacturing and in the contribution from manufacturing activities to Ireland’s employment and exports over the past decade. This is not surprising, and it reflects similar trends in many developed economies, particularly small open economies that rely heavily on exports and do not have a tradition of large scale manufacturing.
To address the challenges facing this sector, this Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2012 (APJ) included a series of actions for the Manufacturing Sector and it noted that Ireland is well positioned to exploit the advances in manufacturing technology, and to build and maintain a strong base of manufacturing activity. The APJ pointed out that the activities taking place within the base of foreign owned companies are continuously changing and, in general terms, moving to more sophisticated and high value added activities involving elements of both manufacturing and services. Similarly, indigenous manufacturing was seen as becoming more sophisticated and knowledge-based.
A key proposal was that a Manufacturing Development Forum be established to assist the Government in identifying the needs of manufacturing enterprises and to progress a transformation agenda. I have therefore established such a Forum in June last to help drive this process. Its membership comprises key industry players and there are also representatives from Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Forfás. I have asked the Forum to consider the biggest impediments to job creation in manufacturing in Ireland and the immediate areas of opportunities for job creation in the sector and it will provide expert insights to two key initiatives on manufacturing which I have set in train as part of the APJ:
- A Long-term Vision and Strategic Plan. Forfás has commenced a study to revisit the role of manufacturing in Ireland’s economy to assess where it stands today and to set out a strategic vision for 2020 aimed at reversing the current employment trend and enabling a return to growth. This research will set out the policy actions needed to support a sustainable and competitive manufacturing sector to 2020 in the context of global trends, the on-going transformation of the sector and the existing issues facing the sector in Ireland. The Forum will provide expert insights into the development of this Plan.
- An Assessment of Manufacturing Skills Needs: The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, working alongside Forfás in the development of the Long-term Vision and Strategic Plan, is currently undertaking an in-depth study on the future skills needs of the manufacturing sector in Ireland, building on previous sub-sectoral work and undertaking new firm-level inquiry.
In relation to the number of jobs created through innovation and technology, it is not possible to disaggregate the contribution made by innovation and technology towards overall job creation in those sectors as these are key, but seamless aspects of the Manufacturing and Services sectors.
Forfás’s Annual Employment Study 2011 showed that between 2007 and 2011, services employment held fairly steady (109,134 in 2007 and 109,933 in 2011) with a total of 46,634 full-time jobs being recorded in the Irish-owned Services sector in 2011, a net gain of 428 jobs (0.9 per cent) over 2010. A total of 63,359 full-time jobs were recorded in the foreign-owned Services sector in 2011, with a substantial net gain of 4,236 jobs (7.2 per cent) over 2010. Employment levels in key areas of the Services sector have therefore been very resilient in the period, which reflects the decisive shift in economic activity towards the sector.
There are many complex factors which contribute to job losses particularly over the period of the current recession. The Government are fully committed to addressing these losses as outlined in the overall APJ. I am confident that these measures, combined with other Government initiatives to improve Competitiveness generally, will provide strong practical support to these important sectors.
Manufacturing - Job Gains (Department agencies combined
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
13,011 |
10,420 |
6,794 |
8,167 |
9,042 |
Services & Other Sectors - Job Gains (Department agencies combined)
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
15,877 |
13,244 |
7,168 |
12,221 |
11,996 |
