Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
227. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total number of new jobs created in the manufacturing sector in the past twelve months; his targets in this regard over the next year; the extent to which these jobs are likely to be spread throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31959/23]
View answerEmployment in the manufacturing sector in Ireland has increased from 280,500 jobs in Q1 2022 to 292,400 jobs in Q1 2023, an increase of 11,900 jobs (+4.2%) and all of these additional jobs were located outside Dublin.
Table 1: Number of employed persons (ILO) aged 15 - 89 years in NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector C (Manufacturing) and by NUTS3 regions, Q1 2022 and Q1 2023, 000s
|
'000 |
|||
|
Q1 2022 |
Q1 2023 |
Change Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 |
|
|
Border |
20.7 |
24.4 |
3.7 (17.9%) |
|
West |
37.9 |
39.7 |
1.8 (4.7%) |
|
Mid-West |
34.3 |
40.2 |
5.9 (17.2%) |
|
South-East |
25.4 |
28.1 |
2.7 (10.6%) |
|
South-West |
53.6 |
49.2 |
-4.4 (-8.2%) |
|
Dublin |
52.4 |
48.9 |
-3.5 (-6.7%) |
|
Mid-East |
36.3 |
42.7 |
6.4 (17.6%) |
|
Midland |
19.9 |
19.3 |
-0.6 (-3.0%) |
|
State |
280.5 |
292.4 |
11.9 (4.2%) |
Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS), Central Statistics Office, Ireland.
The Irish manufacturing sector has performed strongly and has successfully weathered a number of shocks in recent years including Brexit, COVID-19, and the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Irish exports continue to perform well with goods exports increasing 25.8% in 2022.
Building on this strong performance and improving Ireland’s competitiveness position is a key economic priority for Government. As a small, open economy, Ireland is particularly vulnerable to external shocks. Consequently, we continuously strive for improvement, so that we remain a highly competitive economy.
As part of Project Ireland 2040, the National Development Plan sets out the Government’s over-arching investment strategy and budget for the period 2021-2030. It is an ambitious plan with significant public investment across all sectors and regions of Ireland which will improve our resilience to future economic shocks.
As part of the National Development Plan, the Government has committed to an investment package of €165 billion over the years 2021-2030. In Budget 2023, the Government provided €12.4 billion for capital spending on vital infrastructure which will help reduce supply-side bottlenecks and boost the productive capacity of the economy. This will see continued growth in investment across housing, health, and transport, as well as a major step-up in climate related investment.
The recently published White Paper on Enterprise recognises in particular two major global transformations that are currently underway: the move towards a climate-neutral society by 2050, with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions; and the digitalisation of the economy. Government will work to support businesses in the manufacturing and services sector in reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and improve their energy efficiency in the coming years through a range of initiatives, including grants and loans. While the transition to a net zero economy will not be easy, it also presents incredible opportunities for Ireland, specifically in the area of renewable energy production. Policy will also ensure Ireland is at the forefront of the digital manufacturing, managing and coordinating resources to deliver on the aspiration of the 2020 Industry 4.0 Strategy to become a world leading hub at the frontier of Advanced Manufacturing.
The changing global environment requires a flexible, agile approach, and our FDI policy will evolve to take advantage of the new opportunities this transformation will bring, whilst also providing continuity as an investment destination. We will ensure our domestic manufacturing and services sectors are supported in terms of resiliency and opportunity to grow and scale. We will focus our efforts on developing an integrated system wide approach to create an ecosystem that accelerates start-up growth and scaling, that includes access to finance; investments in R&D and innovation; access to skills; and an appropriate regulatory environment as well as a tax system that encourages investment in start-ups and scaling.
The steps taken by the Government in recent months along with the measures outlined in the Government’s National Development Plan and White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 means we can be optimistic about maintaining and improving the competitiveness of the Irish economy in the long term.
