Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 June 2016
59. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she will encourage, facilitate and incentivise job creation and replacement and new job opportunities in the manufacturing and services sectors over the next five years; if she expects the job market to grow in line with demographics during this period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15823/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government sets an ambitious target to have an additional 200,000 at work by 2020, with an unemployment rate of 6 per cent. Achieving this ambitious target is premised on a recovery in employment growth by enterprises across all sectors of the economy and in particular will be dependent on our success in driving export led growth and growing the additional indirect jobs stimulated by the activities of exporting enterprises in the wider economy.
A key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which 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 155,000 more people at work than when we launched the 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 estimated at over €20 billion last year. Employment in EI and IDA supported firms has grown by over 60,687 since 2012.
Enterprise 2025, the Government’s long-term enterprise policy was launched in 2015. 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. 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.
In terms of future demographics, research conducted in 2013 by the Central Statistics Office offers a number of projections of future working-age population based on various different assumptions. Projected fertility rates remain low and so, based on this factor alone, population growth will occur at modest rates over the next five years. The most significant factor to determine the future size of working-age population will be the level of net immigration and the Government has set a target to attract back 70,000 emigrants over the period to 2020. Our success in achieving this target will be determined to a great extent by the country’s future economic performance.
Enterprise 2025 sets out the manufacturing and services sectors in which Ireland has comparative advantage and that contribute the greater proportion toward exports. These sectors account for a significant proportion of the enterprise agency client portfolio and include ICT (hardware and software), Health Lifesciences (that includes pharma, biopharma and medical technologies), International Financial Services, Internationally Traded Services, Engineering/Industrial Products and Agri-Food. New areas of opportunity and untapped potential are highlighted in Enterprise 2025.
The agencies of my Department, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices will contribute significantly to achieving the ambition for employment creation set out in Enterprise 2025. 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.
