Thursday, 10 Oct 2013

Written Answers Nos. 89-96

Public Sector Staff Recruitment

Questions (89)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Question:

89. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of posts that will be filled by the recent competition for administrative officers in the Civil Service. [42806/13]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The Public Appointments Service advertised a series of Administrative Officer (AO) competitions on the 30 August 2013 with a closing date of 19 September 2013. The competitions covered five streams: Economics, Human Resources, Tax Policy, Law, and Banking and Finance. 2,672 candidates applied for the competitions.

The Public Appointments Service is currently conducting a selection process to put panels in place by January 2014. Once panels are in place, a supply of qualified candidates will be available to meet the demand from Departments to fill vacancies at AO level. The number of posts filled will be dictated by the needs of individual Departments, having regard to the requirements of their Employee Control Framework (ECF). A similar series of AO competitions was held last year, from which a total of 125 candidates were placed on panels and 95 posts have been filled to date.

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Questions (90)

Joe Higgins

Question:

90. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public servants in his Department who are being paid in excess of the Taoiseach's salary and in excess of the Government's pay cap; the annual cost of these excess payments over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43400/13]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The Government Pay Cap was introduced on 21 June 2011 on foot of a Government Decision (S180/20/10/1333) when it adopted a general policy of a €200,000 annual salary pay ceiling for new appointees to Senior Positions across the Public Service. This equalled the then Taoiseach’s annual salary of €200,000 which was reduced under the FEMPI Act 2013 to €185,350 from 1 July last, a figure which now acts as the pay cap. There is nobody in my Department being paid in excess of the Government’s pay cap.

Employment Data

Questions (91)

Joan Collins

Question:

91. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation while welcoming the small increase in total employment in the year to June 2013, if he is concerned that the numbers in work for the 25-34 and 20-24 age groups actually declined in the same period. [42823/13]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The latest information from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QHNS) shows an annual increase in employment of 1.8% or 33,800 in the year to the second quarter of 2013, bringing total employment to 1,869,900.

The largest annual increases in employment were in the 35-44 (+16,600 or +3.4%) and 45-54 (+15,800 or +4.0%) age groups. The annual decreases in employment recorded were in the 20-24 (-2,100 or -1.7%) and the 25-34 (-11,900 or -2.3%) age groups.

While a decrease in employment is always a cause for concern, the results for these two age cohorts have to be viewed in the light of three critical factors. First, the increased rate of young persons staying on longer in education; secondly, increased emigration; and thirdly, the overall demographic decline for these two cohorts. It may also be noted that while the numbers employed in these two cohorts declined over the twelve month period, both age groups experienced small increases in the numbers employed between quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 2013 (by 3.2% and 0.4% respectively).

The Government’s approach to tackling the issue of jobs growth and unemployment is through the twin strategies deriving from the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The primary strategy to tackle all forms of unemployment, including youth unemployment, is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. Past experience suggests that youth unemployment, which tends to rise relatively rapidly in a downturn, can be expected to fall relatively rapidly during the recovery. In addition to this economic growth and competitiveness strategy there are a number of programmes and services to assist unemployed persons and keep jobseekers close to the labour market. With limited exceptions, these approaches are not age-specific – they are available to all unemployed people on the same basis.

The 2013 Action Plan for Jobs contains a total of 333 actions for delivery across all Government Departments and 46 State agencies. Among the measures being delivered are:

- JobsPlus, a scheme to provide regular cash payments to employers to offset wage costs where they employ people who have been on the Live Register for over 12 months;

- the roll-out of 31 Local Enterprise Offices across the country, a network of first-stop shops to deliver world-class services to start-ups and micro-businesses in every county in the country;

- a new €175 million Seed and Venture Capital Scheme, aimed at leveraging private sector funds to provide a total of €700 million in funding to high-growth Irish companies with the potential to grow employment, as well as mentoring and networks;

- a National Step Change Initiative for manufacturing businesses, as part of the Government’s plan to supply 20,000 additional jobs in the sector.

Pathways to Work 2013, the Government's 50-point action plan to fight long-term unemployment builds on the progress made over the past year by the Government to tackle the unemployment challenge. Increasingly, the Department of Social Protection's referrals for job-search assistance and guidance is based on profiling people at the beginning of a spell of unemployment, so as to focus resources on those most in need at an early stage.

During our recent EU Presidency, Ireland succeeded in achieving agreement among Member States on the introduction of a Youth Guarantee. This agreement provides that Member States “should ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.” The Department of Social Protection has primary responsibility for implementing the Youth Guarantee in Ireland. An interdepartmental Group chaired by the Department of Social Protection has been established and includes representation from my Department. The group will co-ordinate the production of an implementation plan for the Youth Guarantee which will be submitted to Government in December 2013. A number of pilot projects will be run across the EU ahead of full implementation of the Guarantee, and a pilot project will be implemented in the Ballymun area in Dublin.

Official employment figures recently published by the CSO indicate that the Government’s twin strategy approach is making progress. Figures show that the private sector has been adding an average of more than 2,000 jobs per month since the Government published and commenced implementing the Action Plan for Jobs in early 2012.

International Bodies Membership

Questions (92)

Andrew Doyle

Question:

92. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has given consideration to joining the international research body, the European Particle Physics Centre at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, in view of the fact that membership would bring financial benefits for Ireland, aiding science education and promotion; the amount membership would cost and the amount associate membership would cost per annum; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that multinational technology companies based here cannot compete for contracts from CERN because Ireland is not currently a member; his views on whether it will be economically beneficial for Ireland to become a member; when the last review was held by Ireland for becoming a member of the body; if he is considering conducting a new review in view of the economic advantageous position in which membership would place Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42571/13]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Ireland's membership of international research organisations must be predicated on whether the benefit of membership, in terms of support to Irish researchers, companies and jobs, justifies the cost involved.

For example, in the case of the European Space Agency, Ireland has chosen to pursue membership because of the major benefits that can accrue to innovative Irish companies in the sector, where Irish companies have established expertise, exports and employment.

My Department, through its industrial and scientific advisory agency, Forfás, commissioned an expert report by consultants Georgia Tech to examine the case for Irish participation in a number of intergovernmental research organisations, one of which was CERN. That Report, in 2001, concluded that, because of high costs and limited potential industrial development returns, membership should not be a priority. Since then, of course, the severely depleted resources which this Government inherited has meant that there is an even greater imperative to ensure that publicly funded research and development will yield the maximum benefits for the country – most particularly in terms of downstream jobs.

As you are no doubt aware, the Government’s priority in the area of science, technology and innovation is to implement the recommendations of the National Research Prioritisation Exercise which will see the majority of public research funding aligned with 14 priority areas where we are most likely to get economic and social returns, particularly in the form of jobs. The Steering Group which undertook the exercise included representatives of the enterprise sector and its terms of reference specifically required that it take account of complementary developments at EU level and other international initiatives. Research in the area of particle physics was not identified as a priority nor was there any recommendation that Ireland should join CERN.

The costs of full membership of CERN are understood to be over €10 million per annum. In addition to substantial fees for any type of membership, it is important to note that significant extra amounts of expenditure would be necessitated in order to ensure that Ireland benefits fully from membership. While other associate membership options may be available involving lesser amounts, the issue remains that a decision about joining CERN must take into consideration the opportunity costs involved, as payment of any fees would mean that less funding is available for our existing research priorities.

Should budgetary circumstances change over the next few years, the question of membership of CERN could be reviewed again but only if there is a compelling business case from a cost/benefit viewpoint. Also, the selected national research priority areas will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure their continued relevance and to also ensure that new opportunities are identified.

Job Creation Data

Questions (93)

Tom Fleming

Question:

93. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs created in County Kerry and throughout the country to date; the areas in which these jobs have been created; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42799/13]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Forfás Annual Employment Survey reports on job gains in companies that are supported by the enterprise development agencies. Details of the number of jobs created in IDA and Enterprise Ireland client companies in 2011 and 2012 are set out in Tables 1 and 2 below on a county by county basis, including Co. Kerry.

2012 was a particularly good year for job creation in Agency supported companies, with IDA client companies creating 11,790 full time jobs, as per table 2 below, (In addition 932 part time jobs were also created). The IDA client base in Ireland now employs 152,785 full and part time people, a level last recorded before the global financial crisis began in 2008. Clients of Enterprise Ireland created 12,861 full time jobs, the highest net gain for Irish companies since 2006.

In addition, the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEB) supported a total of 5331 full time job gains in 2011 and 4,858 in 2012.

Table 1 - Job creation in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland (PFT=Permanent Full Time).

County	Data	2011	2012
Carlow	PFT Gains	253	152
Cavan	PFT Gains	369	374
Clare	PFT Gains	94	133
Cork	PFT Gains	1,997	1,663
Donegal	PFT Gains	301	180
Dublin	PFT Gains	3,938	4,097
Galway	PFT Gains	855	572
Kerry	PFT Gains	232	194
Kildare	PFT Gains	1,082	534
Kilkenny	PFT Gains	150	320
Laois	PFT Gains	158	76
Leitrim	PFT Gains	46	54
Limerick	PFT Gains	289	684
Longford	PFT Gains	86	116
Louth	PFT Gains	389	299
Mayo	PFT Gains	716	197
Meath	PFT Gains	362	615
Monaghan	PFT Gains	391	294
Offaly	PFT Gains	173	139
Roscommon	PFT Gains	108	29
Sligo	PFT Gains	140	247
Tipperary North Riding	PFT Gains	127	49
Tipperary South Riding	PFT Gains	123	81
Waterford	PFT Gains	909	692
Westmeath	PFT Gains	340	275
Wexford	PFT Gains	191	385
Wicklow	PFT Gains	204	410
Total		14,023	12,861

Table 2 - Job creation in companies supported by IDA Ireland (PFT=Permanent Full Time).

County	Data	2011	2012
Carlow	PFT Gains	75	116
Cavan	PFT Gains	3	43
Clare	PFT Gains	27	37
Cork	PFT Gains	1,990	1,979
Donegal	PFT Gains	271	186
Dublin	PFT Gains	6,864	6,389
Galway	PFT Gains	1,047	859
Kerry	PFT Gains	163	74
Kildare	PFT Gains	398	176
Kilkenny	PFT Gains	33	180
Laois	PFT Gains	3	2
Leitrim	PFT Gains	7	1
Limerick	PFT Gains	233	400
Longford	PFT Gains	0	24
Louth	PFT Gains	109	386
Mayo	PFT Gains	69	126
Meath	PFT Gains	53	68
Monaghan	PFT Gains	0	3
Offaly	PFT Gains	31	31
Roscommon	PFT Gains	51	53
Sligo	PFT Gains	93	149
Tipperary North Riding	PFT Gains	22	0
Tipperary South Riding	PFT Gains	84	10
Waterford	PFT Gains	72	75
Westmeath	PFT Gains	194	252
Wexford	PFT Gains	51	111
Wicklow	PFT Gains	66	60
Total		12,009	11,790

Table 3 - CEB Employment Statistics for 2011 and 2012

-	2011	2012
CEB	Full Time Gains	Full Time Gains
Carlow	190	254
Cavan	154	138
Clare	56	200
Cork City	41	52
Cork North	57	59
Cork South	164	179
Cork West	77	83
Donegal	310	131
Dublin City	293	382
Dublin Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown	159	337
Dublin Fingal	98	240
Dublin South	122	168
Galway County/City	250	124
Kerry	348	316
Kildare	106	133
Kilkenny	151	84
Laois	136	69
Leitrim	61	35
Limerick City	174	100
Limerick County	190	73
Longford	117	79
Louth	255	148
Mayo	63	43
Meath	358	175
Monaghan	111	120
Offaly	224	75
Roscommon	107	81
Sligo	121	117
Tipperary(NR)	88	41
Tipperary(SR)	77	53
Waterford City	178	76
Waterford County	59	110
Westmeath	188	130
Wexford	167	269
Wicklow	81	184
Total	5,331	4,858

Departmental Reports

Questions (94)

Dara Calleary

Question:

94. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in view of the commencement of intellectual property based derivatives trading by IPXI, Chicago, in June, the actions being taken vis-à-vis the report entitled Feasibility Study for Making Ireland a World Centre for Managing and Trading in Intellectual Property of January 2013; when this report will be published; the main conclusions and actionable recommendations of said report; when these recommendations will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42867/13]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

In order to deliver on a commitment in the Programme for Government which was further articulated in the Action Plan for Jobs 2012, my Department commissioned a Feasibility Study to examine what structures and policies could be developed to make Ireland a world centre for managing and trading in intellectual property. The objectives of the study were to identify and describe the emerging trends in IP Portfolio Management in corporations globally; and taking account of such global emerging trends, to identify options and models for Ireland to leverage its existing strengths to become an internationally attractive centre for managing and trading in IP, such that this could realise an economic and jobs potential.

The Study, which was undertaken by Deloitte, was finalised in January 2013 and is now being considered by officials in my Department in the context of wider policy developments and economic conditions domestically and globally. Following this consideration, proposals will be developed regarding the next steps to be taken resulting from the findings of the Study.

Job Creation

Questions (95, 96, 101, 102, 103)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which his Department has studied any contributory causes to job losses in the manufacturing sector in the course of the past eight years; if costs have been a factor; if so, to what extent and the precise elements of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42937/13]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the context of the total number of extra new jobs created in each of the past two years to date, the extent to which innovation and technology played a part, in respect of both manufacturing and services sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42938/13]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

101. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will set out year on year the total number of jobs lost throughout the economy, in both manufacturing and services sectors, in each of the years 2007 to date; the number of new jobs created in each year over the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42945/13]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

102. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which his Department continues to monitor the cost base in respect of manufacturing and services industries; the action, if any, taken to address any such issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42946/13]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

103. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs lost in County Kildare in manufacturing and services in each year from 2006 to date; the number of net new jobs created in the same period in respect of both sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42947/13]

Written answers

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 95, 96 and 101 to 103, inclusive, together.

The most up to date figures available for job creation in the manufacturing and services sector are included in the Forfás Employment Survey 2012. There is no data available on a month to month or county basis for each of these sectors in the survey.

Please see the following table setting out the breakdown of Job gains and losses as requested.

While manufacturing has been an important sector in Ireland since the 1960s, there has been a noticeable decline in numbers employed in this sector. This is not necessarily surprising, and it echoes what has been happening in most developed economies. A similar trend has also been experienced in other industrialised countries such as Germany, UK, USA, Netherlands and Korea. We still have 205,000 directly employed in manufacturing here and, when account is taken of indirect employment that means about 400,000 depend on manufacturing for a livelihood. This impressive statistic highlighted the need for action.

Hence the initiation by me of two research projects - Forfás's "Making it happen Manufacturing 2020" and "The Future Skills Needs of the Manufacturing Sector to 2020" published by the Expert Group on Future Skills. Both of these reports complement each other and will assist Government in reaching the target of creating an additional 20,000 jobs in manufacturing by 2016.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 also included a series of actions for the Manufacturing Sector and noted that Ireland is well positioned to exploit the advances in manufacturing technology, and to build and maintain a strong base of manufacturing activity. Ireland currently has a very diverse range of manufacturing businesses with many exciting and innovative companies in high-technology and emerging sectors. We are well placed to take advantage of our current position to build on this expertise in both the FDI and indigenous companies.

The 2013 Action Plan for Jobs also outlines a range of sectoral initiatives to facilitate new and established companies to grow in the Services sector with particular focus on International Financial Services, Business Process Outsourcing/Shared Services, Education Services, Retail and Wholesale, Tourism, Construction Services and ICT Services.

In respect of the contribution of innovation and technology to job creation in these sectors, my Department, and the relevant State Agencies under its remit, have a clear and steady focus on the potential and opportunities that exist and can be created by prioritising innovation as a key driver of success. Enterprise development agencies, Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Science Foundation Ireland, provide a spectrum of innovation and technology development programmes that deliver financial, technical and experiential support to help companies become more innovative, encourage and support competitiveness, and help them grow their sales and exports in order to create a climate in which sustainable employment will grow and expand. It is not possible to separate out the precise contribution of innovation and technology elements from other factors.

All of our businesses face similar Competitiveness issues including the manufacturing and services sector. It is clear that, arising from greater globalisation, reduction of tariff barriers and the ease of transporting goods, the nature of industry and the location of specialisations will be changing. There will be an inevitable movement of production of lower cost, less specialised goods towards cheaper labour economies, e.g. in Asia. This is part of a wider global pattern.

Last year, I requested Forfás to undertake research into a number of factors impacting on Ireland's international competitiveness, to benchmark these factors and to develop proposals to systematically reduce excessive key business costs or delays.

That wider Forfás research indicates that in the period between January 2000 and April 2008 Ireland suffered a 22.5% loss in competitiveness. However, in the period from April 2008 to July 2012, Irish cost competitiveness improved by 19% as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. Prices have now fallen back to levels last seen in 2002. The research benchmarks Ireland’s performance against a number of our key trading partners, as well as the OECD and Euro area averages. Positive trends are emerging in relation to some key cost factors, including Labour costs, where our labour cost competitiveness continues to improve; Construction and new rental costs, which have fallen significantly since the collapse of the property bubble; and the cost of most business services, which have fallen to, or below, 2006 levels.

The numbers employed in manufacturing have stabilised over the last two years. It is noteworthy that exports of manufactured goods are continuing to rise despite a difficult environment. Even more heartening is the fact that exports by the Services sector are going from strength to strength, with an 11% increase in the first nine months of 2012. In addition the contribution of manufacturing to GDP has risen significantly over the last decade.

Despite the considerable challenges in an internationally competitive environment, there is considerable potential for the manufacturing sector in Ireland, as we are strongly placed to create opportunities and employment in many higher-value sub sectors, for example chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food, amongst others.

The provision of adequate and appropriate finance for both the manufacturing and services sectors is crucial, but as you will appreciate, EU grant aid is a less significant factor now than in former years. Obviously all potential sources of grant aid are pursued.

I am confident that all these measures, combined with other Government initiatives, including those to improve Competitiveness generally, will provide strong practical support to these important areas resulting in job creation.

The total number of jobs lost and gained, and the total of net new full-time jobs created in agency supported manufacturing companies, for the period 2006-2011 is set out as follows.

-	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Job Gains	34,497	28,888	23,664	13,962	20,388	21,038	10,704
Job Losses	-21,369	-24,099	-30,351	-47,325	-25,802	-16,599	-7,987
Net Change	13,128	4,789	-6,687	-33,363	-5,414	4,439	2,717

The following provides details of gains and losses in the services sector in agency supported companies.

Gains

-	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Job Gains	11,527	10,254	9,078	5,162	9,025	8,723	16,949

Losses

-	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Job Losses	-5,663	-7,356	-7,267	-12,973	-7,511	4,970	10,161