Vol. 405 No. 6
38 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline his Department's assessment of the effects of the Gulf War on the employment situation in Ireland; the expected level of job creation during 1991; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I do not believe it is possible to identify or isolate the effects of the Gulf War on employment in Ireland. Any adverse effects on employment in the short term are more likely to arise primarily from wider economic factors such as recession in the UK and the US and slowdown in growth in other markets; some of these factors are, of course, influenced by the war, through uncertainty and through exchange rates, interest rates and oil prices.
The combination of these circumstances, and some practical effects of the conflict such as restrictions on travel by many overseas company executives, may cause a delay— hopefully short term — in the implementation of some job creating investments. Because of the present uncertainty, it is not possible to make a firm assessment of the effect on the job creation targets in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. However, when the uncertainty caused by the war is removed, I would not foresee any long term consequences for employment in Ireland.
