Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014
251. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views that the Irish economy may be becoming overly dependent on the IT-tech sector, if he is concerned about possible future shock events that could have a profound impact on the Irish economy; his views on whether we can protect ourselves from such eventualities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18571/14]
View answerThe ICT sector forms a key part of the Government’s plans for jobs and growth, and since we have come to office we have seen an increase of more than 11,000 in the number of people at work in this sector. International research has shown that every high-tech job created leads to an additional 4-5 jobs elsewhere in the economy. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs predicts that there will be a total of 44,500 job openings in the ICT sector over the period to 2018. We have set out the ambition of making Ireland the most attractive location in the world for ICT skills, and we are delivering on that through a combination of Irish educated people and talent from abroad. Through collaborative actions identified in both the Action Plan for Jobs and the ICT Skills Action Plan for delivery by Government Departments, State Agencies and, most importantly, industry stakeholders, we can ensure that we continue to foster the growth of Irish companies and attract multinational companies in this area, and ultimately help deliver the jobs in Ireland that we so badly need.
IDA's Horizon 2020 strategy is based on attracting FDI from a number of different sectors. By achieving on the delivery of a diverse range of FDI investment into Ireland, one can avoid over reliance on any particular sector. The following table outlines the main area of job growth by IDA client companies in 2013, new jobs by sector.
Table shows 2013 Main Areas of Growth – New Jobs by Sector
|
Sector |
Number of New Jobs |
Net Gain |
|
Content, Consumer & Business Services |
3,590 |
2,342 |
|
ICT |
2,910 |
1,815 |
|
Lifesciences |
3,097 |
1,167 |
|
Financial Services |
2,436 |
1,267 |
