Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014
301. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which his Department has identified the most important issues affecting job retention based on the performance over the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18077/14]
View answer302. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which his Department has identified the main cause of job losses in the economy in the years 2007 to 2011; the extent to which these issues have been addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18078/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 301 and 302 together.
When this Government came into office, it had inherited a situation where more than 250,000 private sector jobs had been lost in the previous three years. This was primarily the result of relying on economic growth fuelled by a construction sector bubble and unsustainable consumption.
At its peak in 2007, the construction sector directly employed 276,000 people. By the end of 2011, the numbers employed in the sector had fallen to 107,000. Similarly, the numbers employed in the wholesale and retail sectors reduced from 317,800 in 2007, to 271,400 at the end of 2011. We had also experienced a significant loss in our competitiveness in the period up to 2007.
In general terms, business decline resulting in job losses often arises due to a combination of issues affecting the long-term viability of a company. Some of the primary reasons for business decline and consequent job losses include:
- significant decreases in customer or market demand due to the recession in Ireland and in key trading partners;
- financial difficulties (insolvency, bankruptcy, bad debts, inability to raise finance);
- increased competition from competitor;
- loss of key customers;
- rationalisation/consolidation/restructuring of Group structures involving the closure of a company unit.
To support economic recovery, the Government set about transformation on a number of fronts, including fixing the banking systems, reforming the public sector and embedding a jobs agenda right across Government. The new economic model which we are building is based on enterprise, innovation and exporting.
Through the Action Plan for Jobs process, we have been addressing key factors which can act as obstacles to job creation and retention. These include issues such as costs of doing business, access to finance, administrative burdens on business, the need to improve company capability, and access to new markets. We are also building a strong enterprise mix to ensure that Ireland is not overly reliant on a limited number of sectors for future growth.
While the task has been significant, we are making progress. We are climbing back up the international competitiveness rankings again, our exports are at record high levels, and the latest CSO Quarterly National Household Survey showed that the number of people in employment increased by 61,000 year-on-year in the fourth Quarter of 2013, net of a reduction of 5,500 people in the public sector.
We are now seeing an average of 1,200 jobs being created each week in the enterprise sector, compared to an average loss of 1,600 per week before the Government came into office. There are now 1.909 million people at work, compared to 1.847 million at the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process.
