Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2015
252. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the level of engagement with stakeholders in County Longford, in the preparation of the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs to the regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7147/15]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs since 2012 has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote job opportunities and employment growth in all parts of the country. The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs was launched on January 29th. The 2015 Action Plan contains a suite of 380 actions to deliver an additional 40,000 jobs this year throughout the country. Specifically, in 2015, Enterprise Ireland will target the creation of 13,000 gross new full-time jobs in indigenous firms. IDA Ireland will target the creation of 14,000 gross new jobs in multinationals. It is estimated that every direct job created in agency assisted firms indirectly supports another job in the wider economy thereby making a strong contribution to the overall target of getting to full employment in 2018.
One of the factors that has made the Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) strategy such a success has been the engagement with stakeholders from across the country in throughout its preparation. Each year my Department actively seeks, receives and employs the input, support and partnership with business and others in developing and progressing the Plans. The process for APJ2015 was no different.
My Department formally began the process of developing the APJ in July 2014. The Action Plan is informed by my Department's ongoing research, the work of the National Competitiveness Council, information from the Enterprise Development Agencies, feedback from the new Local Enterprise Office network in the regions, and general interaction of my Department with stakeholders from every county over the year.
I have also convened a number of Action Plan for Jobs business forums to consult directly with industry and other stakeholders. These forums have been convened around the country since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, including Co. Longford.
I personally held meetings dedicated to APJ2015 with representatives from IBEC, American Chambers, SFA, Chambers Ireland, ISME, ICTU, SIPTU, IMPACT, UNITE and the INOU, seeking their views on the shape and content of the Plan. I also held an APJ roundtable with entrepreneurs and small businesses. In many cases these discussions were followed-up with formal written submissions.
A written request for submissions was also issued to stakeholders to accompany the open-call for submissions on my Department's website, which facilitates input from every region of Ireland into the process. In all, 40 submissions containing over 500 actions were received from all quarters by the end-September deadline. These greatly informed the final APJ2015 strategy which was launched on January 29th last.
That Action Plan for 2015 has a strong focus on regional development and earlier this month the Government launched a €250 million plan to accelerate jobs growth in towns and villages across the country. Action Plan for Jobs - Regional is aimed at encouraging communities and agencies in each region to work together to support job-creation. The Regional Action Plans will be developed for regions, with Longford alongside Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath. As part of the development of the plans we will consult with businesses and representative groups and local authorities in Longford together with the Education and Training Boards and other relevant public and private sector bodies in the county. A Framework document (www.djei.ie/trade/competitiveness/regionalenterprisestrategies.htm) has been published to explain the approach to be adopted. The first of these plans will be published in the coming weeks for the Midlands and the Action Plans for all other regions will be published or in development by July. The first Regional Action Plan will cover the Midlands and is currently being finalised by my Department. Like the national Action Plan for Jobs process, a great deal of the value of the Plan will be in the contribution made by all stakeholders, with the sum of the parts making a greater impact than the individual elements could do on their own. The Action Plans will be flexible and dynamic to allow additional actions and ideas to be added as they emerge.
