Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 June 2014
49. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he can verify the actual number of jobs created and-or lost in each of the past six years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23964/14]
View answer50. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which State agencies have supported job creation in the small medium enterprise sector in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23965/14]
View answer55. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs created or supported by State institutions or the EU in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23970/14]
View answer60. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which the alleviation of youth unemployment continues to be specifically targeted by his Department in the context of investment in small and medium enterprises and larger corporations here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23975/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 50, 55 and 60 together.
Responsibility for statistical information rests with the Central Statistics Office (CSO). However, I understand that the CSO does not compile statistics on jobs created and lost on a county basis. As far as agencies of my Department are concerned, the number of jobs created by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices (formerly CEBs), in the past five years are set out in the following Tables, 1, 2 and 3. (Prior to 2010, the CEBs could only report on the number of jobs existing in CEB-supported companies. In 2010, the CEBs’ data recording system was changed, thereby enabling them to produce figures for jobs existing, job gains and job losses for the years from 2010 onwards.)
As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I introduced a collaborative, cross- government approach to advancing job creation in the State. The Action Plan for Jobs is an annual plan designed to drive action across all Government Departments and Agencies in a collective effort to put in place the conditions needed to support and grow employment in the State. This Government has set an ambitious target of adding 100,000 net new jobs by 2016 on a path to having 2.1 million people employed in the economy by 2020. In the year to Q1 2014, there was an annual increase in employment of 2.3% or 42,700 jobs in the economy, bringing total employment to 1,888,200.
I was pleased to note that the long-term unemployment rate decreased from 8.4% to 7.3% over the year to Q1 2014. Long-term unemployment accounted for 60.5% of total unemployment in Q1 2014, compared with 61.8% last year, and 63.5% in the first quarter of 2012. In the same period, youth unemployment decreased from 26.7% to 25.3%. These figures are very encouraging and show that the Government's Action Plan for Jobs process is working and getting people back to work.
The Government also specifically continues to address the alleviation of youth unemployment through the combined strategies of the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. The objective of Pathways to Work – which has a particular focus on supporting those who are unemployed - is to ensure that as many jobs as possible are filled by people from the Live Register.
There are a number of actions in both the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work which are targeted at, or amenable to, younger people. These include the JobBridge internship programme, the JobPlus initiative, the Youth Guarantee, the Momentum and Springboard training courses, and the ICT Action Plan. These initiatives are collectively delivered by the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Education and Skills. The Government is also increasing the number of training places available for young people this year. For example, the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs includes a commitment to ring-fence 2,000 places for people under 25 years of age under the new iteration of the Momentum programme this year.
Within my own Department, there is a strong emphasis on supporting entrepreneurship this year, and the range of supports available to entrepreneurs - including young entrepreneurs - is being increased. A key initiative in 2014, under the Action Plan for Jobs, is the establishment of a new €2m Fund to find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur.
We will continue to build on this progress through the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work to ensure that more employment opportunities are available to all those who are seeking work, particularly young people.
Table 1:
|
Enterprise Ireland |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Jobs Created |
9,500 |
16,206 |
13,717 |
12,256 |
12,536 |
Source: Forfás Annual Employment Survey
Table 2:
|
IDA Ireland |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Jobs Created |
5,375 |
10,430 |
12,314 |
12,773 |
10,611 |
Source: Forfás Annual Employment Survey
Table 3:
|
LEOs |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Jobs Created |
N/A |
4,510 |
5,331 |
4,858 |
5,278 |
