Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 November 2013
74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the extent to which he and his Department can repeat measures deemed to be most effective in the generation of economic activity and job creation throughout the economy in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49799/13]
View answerSince the Government has taken office, all of its economic policies have been designed with the goal of strengthening economic activity and putting the labour market back on a sounded footing. In 2012 the economy recorded a second successive year of growth after three successive years of contraction. This recovery has been driven by strong export growth over the period reflecting, in part, the considerable competitiveness gains achieved in the last number of years. In addition to this, recent indications show that domestic demand is stabilising and is moving on to a modest recovery path. Personal consumption was up by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of this year and healthy retail sales in the third quarter, along with improving consumer sentiment, bode well for the second half of the year. We have also seen a return to growth in ‘core’ (excluding planes) investment, with both construction and machinery and equipment growing in the second quarter. My Department projects economic growth again for this year as a whole.
Perhaps most pertinently, employment has now increased in each of the last four quarters, with employment up 1.8 per cent in the year to the second quarter, the strongest pace of job creation since 2008. Encouragingly this growth consisted of both full and part-time employment and was broad based across the different sectors of the economy. In addition, the standardised unemployment rate reduced further in October, to 13.2 per cent, which is the lowest level since March 2010, but still unacceptably high.
The Government has and continues to prioritise getting people back to work. It has implemented a range of measures that have been effective in job creation over the past few years. I feel all the various initiatives have worked in unison to bring about the labour market improvement.
For instance, the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 builds on the success of the Action Plan for Jobs 2012, by focusing on creating an environment conducive to job creation. It will support job creation by:
- Building Competitive Advantage;
- Assisting Indigenous Business to Grow;
- Driving Entrepreneurship at Community and Local Level;
- Developing and Deepening the Impact of FDI; and
- Fostering Sectoral Opportunities.
In addition to the Action Plan for Jobs, Pathways to work 2013, published in July 2013, is a 50-point action plan that focuses on labour market activation and builds on the success of Pathways to Work 2012.
This plan focuses on:
- More regular and on-going engagement with the unemployed;
- Greater targeting of activation places and opportunities;
- Incentivising both the take-up of opportunities and employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed; and
- Reforming institutions to deliver better services to the unemployed.
In addition to these economy-wide initiatives, the Government has also introduced sector-specific initiatives aimed at supporting job creation. Take for example the tourism and hospitality sector where The Gathering Ireland 2013, along with the reduced VAT rate of 9 per cent introduced for the tourism and hospitality sectors in the May 2011 Jobs Initiative, has supported the 8 per cent increase in employment in the year to the second quarter of 2013.
All of these initiatives are having a positive effect, but this is still clearly lots to do. The task now is to build on this by maintaining the momentum generated by these successful measures.
