Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 November 2015
107. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which the manufacturing and services sectors are each likely to expand over the next five years, thereby generating more job opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42240/15]
View answerA key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which this Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports and provide a solid foundation for future growth. We have 135,800 more people at work than when we launched our first Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, with a strong contribution from both manufacturing and services sectors across the economy to employment growth. Our export performance of manufactured goods and value-added services has been exceptional, with exports by Enterprise Ireland clients at a record of €18.6bn last year. Employment in EI and IDA supported firms has grown by over 40,000 since 2012. Enterprise 2025, the Government’s long-term enterprise policy was launched earlier this month. It is an ambitious strategy, with the objective of delivering growth over the next decade that is sustainable, led by strong export performance, builds on our sectoral strengths, and that is underpinned by innovation, productivity, cost effectiveness and competitiveness. The strategy sets out the key actions needed across government to build resilience into our economy so that we do not suffer again as we have done in the past number of years and has the commitment across government. As a small open economy, export-led growth will remain core to our policy focus, and we will continuously monitor our employment growth patterns in terms of an export/non-export ‘balance’ to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Enterprise 2025 sets out a clear statement of ambition. This includes having 2.180 million people at work by 2020, with the unemployment rate down to 6 percent. We are aiming to have unemployment in all regions not more than one percent above the national average. We are targeting the creation of an additional 140,000 direct and indirect jobs in agency assisted enterprises. Central to this jobs growth will be increasing the number of start-ups by 25 percent per annum, growing exports of Irish-owned firms at a rate of 6-8 percent per annum, achieving a 50 percent increase by 2020 and winning an additional 1,080 inward investment projects.
It is important to note that Enterprise 2025 is a whole of enterprise strategy, aimed at delivering opportunities across all regions and across all sectors, including both manufacturing and services activities. We aim to strengthen resilience in the enterprise mix; recognising the valuable and different contributions that different sectors make to economic growth - through exports, value-add, direct economic expenditures and/or employment. This whole of enterprise approach will strengthen our resilience in today’s global environment where the pace of change has accelerated and where competition for investment and mobile talent has intensified.
We know that sectors themselves are constantly evolving and that both manufacturing and services activities will continue to play a part in realising our ambition for sustainable full employment across Ireland. Enterprise 2025 envisages the creation of a range of employment and career opportunities across a broad spectrum of skills and across manufacturing and services activities. Our policies will continue to facilitate the creation of quality employment, taking into account the multi-dimensional aspects that define quality including: ensuring opportunities for advancement that involves workplace learning and development; ensuring that people are educated and trained to meet the needs of industry; recognising the opportunities presented by entrepreneurship as an alternative career path; and ensuring a system that facilitates flexibility without exploitation.
Enterprise 2025 is informing the more granular actions that will be delivered during 2016 through the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 process that is currently being developed.
