Vol. 516 No. 5
109 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has satisfied herself that the economy is poised to withstand the pressure in some sectors of industry to relocate to other low wage economies; the measure or measures, if any, to counter this movement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7684/00]
The emergence of global value chains – whereby companies locate each component in the most efficient location – is increasing the pressure on low value added, low skill jobs. In response to this pressure, there are sectors of industry which will have to relocate from Ireland if they are to survive and this is an inevitable consequence of the economic improvements of recent years. The jobs that will replace those lost to low wage economies will be increasingly knowledge based.
The Government is pursuing the transition to a knowledge economy by continuing its strong focus on education and training as the key to the economy of the future. This is being supported by initiatives such as Technology Foresight, under which £560 million is being committed to establish Ireland as a world class centre for research in biotechnology, and in information and communications technologies.
At individual company level, companies are being encouraged by the development agencies to migrate their activities further up the value chain of their particular businesses in order to better exploit the advantages of the Irish economy.
We must recognise that this type of industrial restructuring is now a permanent factor of all modern, dynamic economies and to ensure that the policies and programmes are in place to deal with it. To effect this change, Enterprise Ireland is focusing on developing the capability of indigenous industry so that it can sustain and grow its competitiveness – specifically supporting companies' investment in research and development, marketing operations and human resource development areas.
