Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 29 Apr 2015

Vol. 239 No. 11

Action Plan for Jobs: Motion

Senator Hildegarde Naughton

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

noting that:

- 330,000 jobs were lost in this country during the tenure of the last Government;

- unemployment peaked at 15.1% prior to the effects of the present Government’s job strategy being felt;

- unemployment is on a steady downward curve; and

- jobs are being created in all sections of the economy and across every skill-set;

further noting that:

- 90,000 jobs have been created since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012 and 29,100 jobs in 2014;

- 24,000 new jobs have been created in agriculture, 23,000 in accommodation and food services and 16,500 in retail, health, construction and education;

- the unemployment rate is down to 10% from a peak of 15.1% in February, 2012;

- employment has grown in all 8 regions since the Action Plan for Jobs;

- full-time employment is increasing rapidly while, consequently, part-time employment decreases;

- as a result, GDP rose by 4.8% in 2014, making Ireland the fastest growing economy in Europe; and

- domestic demand grew in 2014 for the first time since 2007; and

agreeing that:

- the target of getting 100,000 people back to work by 2016 will be delivered this year;

and

- the Action Plan for Jobs has been an unmatched success in any Government’s history of job creation;

calls on the Government to:

- continue its concentration on employment as the most effective anti-poverty measure available;

- continue its implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs, including its regional strategy; and

- continue its drive to obtain full employment by 2018.

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. As the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, said yesterday, such was the scale of the crisis we inherited that we have lost nearly a decade of economic growth and job creation. I will not dwell on the performance of the last Government in terms of job creation. The 330,000 people who lost their jobs during its tenure in office are a lasting testament to its economic incompetence. It is lost in the verbiage that some pass off as economic analysis these days that this State was very nearly out of funds four years ago, with almost no money for salaries for our teachers, doctors and nurses.

Since 2011, it has been the task of the Government to repair the economy and public finances. In doing so, the concentration was on job creation. The strong growth in employment over the last four years has been due to a multi-annual strategy and implementation mechanism to enhance the operating environment for employers, namely, the Action Plan for Jobs.

It is no coincidence that unemployment peaked just as the action plan was unveiled and began its steady decline when its effects were felt. The evidence is incontrovertible. The plan is working and it has five main objectives: to support 100,000 additional jobs by 2016; to get Ireland back up to a top five ranking in international competitiveness; to build world-class clusters in key sectors; to build an indigenous engine of growth that drives up the export market share of Irish companies; and to stimulate the domestic economy and generate employment in locally traded sectors. The ambition to create 100,000 jobs by next year will in all likelihood be achieved by this year. Further examples of the success to date of the programme are almost 90,000 more people at work since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. The unemployment rate is down from 15% to 10%. In 2014, over 140,000 people left the live register to take up work. Ireland's competitiveness ranking internationally is steadily on the rise. Indigenous exports and foreign direct investment are at record levels.

Exports grew in 2014, with notable increases recorded in exports to China, Japan, the US and France. Exporting firms created 15,000 net additional jobs in 2014. Each of those jobs spurs another in local trade and business. Enterprise Ireland, which works with Irish-owned exporting companies, added more than 8,000 of these new jobs, meaning Irish companies are at the heart of our recovery. The OECD has stated:

The APJ’s most striking innovation in the Irish public policy context is a co-ordination mechanism that ensures high-level political buy-in and oversight, whole-of-Government engagement and the establishment of quarterly targets underpinned by a robust monitoring system. These are important steps towards addressing long-standing gaps that undermine successful policy implementation.

The OECD rightly calls it a significant positive development and stated it “marks an important innovation in Irish governance”.

I will address one aspect of the proposed amendment to the motion, namely, JobBridge. An independent evaluation of the JobBridge scheme conducted by Indecon economic consultants in 2013 found that three in five participants secure employment after their internships. The evaluation found that 61% of interns progressed to paid employment after completing their internships. This 61% progression rate for JobBridge is one of the best in Europe, where progression rates for similar internships average at just 34%. Indecon's evaluation also found that 96% of host organisations would recommend JobBridge to another employer. Some 89% of interns stated that JobBridge had given them new skills. Interns also benefited from increased self-confidence and the opportunity to gain quality work experience and establish a network of contacts. Following discussions with the Labour Market Council, a third independent evaluation of JobBridge will be conducted later this year.

The scheme is voluntary. Nobody is forced to do it. The commentary by some of the Opposition makes it sound like indentured servitude. Approximately 97% of JobBridge inspections found that the requirements of the scheme were met. In any such programme there will always be unscrupulous people who will try to take advantage, and such practices are taken very seriously by the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton. Those found in breach of the scheme's terms and conditions are prevented from further participation.

I refer to another Sinn Féin amendment to the motion. I agree that the issue of regional development is important, and it is the reason the Government has included specific measures aimed at balanced regional development in this year’s Action Plan for Jobs. I had the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, come to the Seanad last autumn and I questioned him on the Industrial Development Authority’s failure to adhere to its own regional development targets. It is unacceptable that all concentration is on Dublin and, to a lesser extent, Cork. All Members of the House, Government and Opposition, are concerned about this issue. The message has been heard. The Government has allocated €250 million over five years for the purpose of stimulating job growth in the regions.

The Opposition will join me in welcoming today's live register figures, which show that the unemployment rate has continued to fall for the 41st consecutive month and that unemployment has dipped below 350,000 for the first time since 2009. Far too many people remain unemployed and the plan the Government has implemented has shown how it can be tackled in the years to come. If we stick to the plan, we can be confident that full employment will be achieved by 2018.

Senator Maurice Cummins

I have pleasure in seconding the motion. As my colleague, Senator Naughton, mentioned, 330,000 jobs were lost during the previous Government's tenure. As the motion mentioned, unemployment peaked at 15.1%. Since the Action Plan for Jobs, unemployment has been on a steady downward trend. Jobs are being created throughout the length and breadth of the country. We were all worried about the boom being confined to Dublin, Cork and, possibly, Galway, and not filtering around to the rest of the country. As Tip O'Neill said, "All politics is local". I can see the strong growth in employment in my native city, which was hit harder than most in the country. Since the collapse of TalkTalk, Glanbia has opened a wonderful facility in Waterford port, creating jobs. In the past few weeks Sun Life has announced jobs and NearForm has created 100 jobs in Tramore. Another 100 jobs were created last week in Portlaw and Genzyme is advertising for more employees. This morning, there was a wonderful announcement by Bausch & Lomb regarding 125 extra jobs and 150 construction jobs.

Senator Mary M. White

Congratulations.

Senator Maurice Cummins

We have our advance factory, which is complete and will be marketed and filled with employees in the not too distant future. We have seen progress in the regions, and, as Senator Naughton mentioned, it is not before time. The plan was put in place by the Government and we can see the creation of jobs. The Action Plan for Jobs is a multi-annual strategy and implementation mechanism to enhance the operating environment for employers and has five overreaching strategic objectives, which it seeks to achieve by implementing each instalment in its multi-annual series. The first of these is to support 100,000 additional jobs by 2016. When this goal was stated during the last election campaign, people on the Opposition side, including all parties and the Independent Members, said it was pie in the sky and unachievable. Not alone is it achievable, but we are going to break the target. We have already created 90,000 jobs and there will be another 40,000 by 2016. It is a strong measure of the commitment and priority the Government has given to job creation.

Unemployment has decreased from 15.1% to 10%, and it will decrease further. There has been a significant decrease month on month and quarter on quarter, and please God it will continue. It is all down to the prudent policies the Government has adopted on job creation, getting the structures right and dealing with export-oriented businesses rather than relying on the construction industry. We are broadening the base in many areas. Exporting firms have created 15,000 net additional jobs in 2014, and each of these jobs spurs another in locally traded businesses. The small businesses that are setting up and creating one or two jobs are very important in every town and village in the country.

The OECD review of the Action Plan for Jobs is very positive and when it was launched in February 2012, it was described as a most welcome and important initiative. It focused on private sector-led export oriented job creation by getting framework conditions right and continually upgrading the business environment is a sound approach. The focus on building and strengthening linkages between the domestic SME and multinational sectors is welcome. When our SMEs are put together with the multinational sector and develop accordingly, they will prosper. The rigorous quarterly monitoring and reporting system is another significant and positive development in the area.

The disruptive reform in 2015 is the national talent drive. There have been six disruptive reforms. I do not know why they are called "disruptive" reforms, because they are very positive reforms. These actions aim to strengthen employability of learners and enhance employer engagement at all levels, link up with the institutes of technology and universities and draft a new skills strategy. The Government will increase higher education ICT graduates by 60% between 2015 and 2018. This is a very important area, given that we need to update the skills and have the skills for the jobs that are being created.

In 2018, some 74% of ICT skills demand will be met through domestic supply. This will require the return of many of our talented migrants. One of the main barriers to their return is our tax system. The Government is committed to easing the burden of people at work, which, in turn, will create greater finances to fund services. I commend the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, and the Government on their efforts in this regard. It is a good news story, although I accept we have a lot more to do. The Government made addressing this issue its number one priority and, based on the figures mentioned here this afternoon, it is succeeding.

Senator Mary M. White

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to the House. I would like to respond to the Government's spring statement in the context of the truth about the lives of people in Ireland today. Last week, I organised a public meeting on the mortgage and debt crisis, at which there were many outstanding speakers, including Ms Noeline Blackwell from FLAC and Mr. William Prior from the Phoenix Project. During that meeting, some shocking truths came to light. I am sure that the Minister, in terms of his constituency work, is aware that people are frantic with worry about their personal circumstances. Many of the people who attended the meeting did so because they needed help. They also expressed huge appreciation of the work being done by FLAC and the Phoenix Project.

The cost of renting continues to increase. As people are now opting to rent rather than buy, this means there is no security of tenure for those wishing to set up a family home. During the period of irresponsible banking, 30 year mortgages were given to people in their 50s. This means these people will paying mortgages into their 80s. These are the types of issues raised at my public meeting. The personal consequences of debt to individuals and families is enormous. Stress is a major factor in understanding the response pattern of those who are struggling with multiple debts, which is now a fact of life for some people. Not alone do people have large mortgages, but they have mounting household bills, including water charges and property tax, car loans and credit card debt. Each mortgage holder has their own story to tell. Any increase in mortgage interest rates will result in a worsening of their situation.

One of the main issues of concern was the purchase by vulture companies of mortgages, leading to huge distress, uncertainty and anger as banks take losses but refuse to listen to or accept offers from mortgage holders. Solutions are designed to help banks at significant cost to families. During the meeting, people spoke with great passion and anger about the Government's failure to listen to them. It was said that there are people going without food, many of whom are ashamed to admit their mortgage problems. People believe the Government is turning its back on them while at the same time presenting itself as the poster boy or girl of Europe in terms of recovery.

How can we speak about spring statements on recovery and plans for the future when the Government is not facing up to the reality of the present? I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has put his heart and soul into his portfolio. There is no doubt about that. Hundreds of thousands of people have emigrated over the past number of years since commencement of the recession. While I accept that unemployment has decreased to 10% and that it is expected to reduce further into the future, 160,000 people have been out of work for more than 12 months. This represents a major social and economic challenge, which will not be solved by the JobBridge scheme alone. Long-term unemployment can lead to de-skilling and result in people becoming detached from the labour market. Avoidance of long-term unemployment is important to the achievement of a reduction in the overall unemployment rate. The experience of other countries facing high unemployment in the 1980s was that long spells of joblessness increased the probability of permanent skill loss and an exit from the labour force, thereby increasing unemployment.

Foreign direct investment is treated with kid gloves. As we all know, every tax incentive possible is provided in this regard. The multinationals want only to locate in large urban areas where there is exceptional telecommunications and transport infrastructure while indigenous companies operate in every corner of Ireland. We must ensure a level playing field between indigenous industry and foreign direct investment. I may not be adequately articulating the point I wish to make on this issue. The Centra store in Killorglin and small business in Border counties such as Monaghan must be given the same status as foreign direct investment. I know the Minister will understand the point I am trying to make. This issue is not being properly addressed. While much help is being provided to indigenous industry there are many instances in which this is factious. While everything is packaged well for the multinational, the small and medium-sized enterprise sector gets only a bit of this and a bit of that. I am not in saying that being disrespectful of the Minister because as I said earlier he has put his heart and soul into his portfolio. It would be remiss of me not to say that.

Senator John Kelly

I, too, welcome the Minister to the House and compliment him on all the good work that has been done in this area by him and the Government. As previously stated, while the detractor said it could not be done, unemployment has been reduced from in excess of 15% to under 10%. It is hoped this figure will be further reduced through the use of schemes such as JobsPlus, JobBridge and so on. I do not propose to reiterate all of the statistics quoted by Senators Naughton and Cummins. They speak for themselves. I would like instead to focus on rural Ireland. During the Celtic tiger era, economic growth in rural Ireland was judged on the basis of the number of houses built. Unfortunately, in many parts of Roscommon, Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo and many other counties far too many housing estates were built. In my own town of Ballaghaderreen, there are at least 200 houses that are unoccupied and will never be occupied because there was never a need for them in the first instance.

There is a big difference between economic growth in the cities as distinct from rural Ireland. During the past three or four years since I came to Dublin, there has been no sign of the recession here. However, when I go to my home town at the weekend, all I hear from people is doom and gloom because nothing is happening there. I know that the Minister has committed to a return to full employment by 2018 but I would like to know how he proposes to address the issues arising in that regard in towns like Ballaghaderreen, Castlerea, Boyle, Swinford, Charlestown and so on. In this regard, I make the following suggestion. Consideration should be given to the zoning of a substantial tract of land around Knock Airport as a tax-free zone, as was done in the context of the Shannon free zone, one of Ireland's earliest tax reduction initiatives administered by the Shannon Free Airport Development Company.

It was one of Ireland's earliest tax reduction initiatives. In order to establish an operation in a free zone, a licence is required from the Customs-Free Airport (Amendment) Act 1958. This licence is issued by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Employment. We should focus purely on job creation. The IFSC was set up primarily as a job creation measure. I know there would be issues of displacement if, for example, one set up an industry in a tax-free zone where there was a similar industry that was not in a tax-free zone. It could impact on the latter industry. I am aware of many industries that we could bring to those areas. It is in the Minister's gift. He can decide what industries can come to a tax-free zone. I know of one company that manufactures affordable houses in China and would gladly come to Ireland if there was an incentive for it to do so because labour is so cheap in China that it would need something like this. I ran this idea by two county managers in Mayo and Roscommon and both of them agreed that there would be serious merit in considering this because one is then talking about creating a hub of employment around Knock Airport where people from Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and even some parts of east Galway would be able to avail of work. I would appreciate it if the Minister would consider what I propose.

Senator Gerard P. Craughwell

I move amendment No. 2:

"To insert the following lines after 'calls on the Government to':

- 'immediately end the use of zero-hours contracts in all sectors;

- take immediate steps to address the cost of childcare, which is crippling young families;'."

I believe in offering credit where credit is due and I fully acknowledge the work the Government has done. I am not here to criticise in any way the work that is being done by the Government. Without doubt, coming from where we were, the Government has achieved a lot.

However, we have achieved a lot on the backs of workers in the private and public sectors. Through no fault of the Minister or Government, the type of employment that is being created is unstable and uncertain and lacks any sort of commitment from the employer to the employees. In particular, I am talking about the zero-hours contract which has become the scourge of employment. Even in the public sector, nurses and teachers and lecturers in institutes of technology are being employed on zero-hours contracts, which is simply not good enough. It is not real employment. I know the Minister is bringing forward more Bills in the not too distant future and I sincerely hope he will address that issue.

Having recently become a grandfather, I have become acutely aware of the cost of child care. Any thriving economy must find a way to meet the costs of child care for those who wish to avail of work. The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015 was debated here a couple of days ago. One of the issues concerned getting people back to work. I do not know how anybody expects someone to go back to work on low wages when one looks at child care costs running at between €1,000 and €1,500 per month. As the economy improves, it falls on the State to start providing decent child care facilities for those who wish to work. If we were really doing our work right, there would be a crèche beside every national school. I know that where education and training boards have provided crèches for adults going back to college, they have been a tremendous success. Unfortunately, the last Government cut the funding for those crèches. I think the Minister has an opportunity to do something here, so I call on him to do that. I do not have an awful lot more to say. I am not in any way disputing anything that has been said by the Government side other than to add those two points to it.

An Cathaoirleach

Is Senator Barrett seconding the amendment?

Senator Sean D. Barrett

I second the amendment. I welcome the Minister, the debate and the success at this time. Few people have been more active in the field of start-ups up and down the country than the Minister and great credit is due to him and his agencies. I have just come from a meeting of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis. I hope that when that report is complete, it will make a contribution as well to the future economic development of the country because that was a major disaster that cost €64 billion. The Governor of the Central Bank estimates that the net cost might be €40 billion but it is €40 billion for which we could have found alternative uses. Mistakes were made in housing, banking, the construction sector and the auditing and regulation of those activities which imposed huge costs on the rest of us. When the report comes out, the reform agenda that came up in 2011 must focus on those sectors. In his optimistic vein, the Minister highlights many areas where we have been doing very well but it was a handful of sectors and a relatively small number of people who imposed such terrible costs on the wider economy from which we are now starting to recover, which is so welcome.

Approximately 60% of people now go on to third level education of some kind. This is a major asset in attracting industries here. It is an optimistic one because for the €3,000 fee the student pays and the €8,000, on average, added by the Government, one gets an international ranking in education for €10,000 or €11,000 which would cost €40,000 to €50,000 were one to attempt to buy the same ranking in education in a place like California. The fact that all these extremely talented young people will be entering the labour force must be an advantage to the country. They will be a significant asset to the country.

There is one gap. The Minister's colleagues have been edging towards it in trying to develop policies. We have about a dozen apprenticeships in this country. There are hundreds of apprenticeships in Switzerland, Norway and Germany, which are very prosperous countries. In these countries, these apprenticeships are within firms and many of the people recruited to firms become chief executives and occupy senior positions. It is something we have been missing out on.

Every single policy must be compared with alternatives. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has a major role to play in this regard. We can never go back to throwing money at problems, particularly at election time. There are techniques of evaluation and cost-benefit analysis which should be used. I would like to see all the alternatives put before the people. We should put the studies up, possibly have a six-month period to discuss what the cost-benefit analysis is and then make the choice rather than rely on the haphazard way decisions on public expenditure were sometimes made in the past. When one makes mistakes like that, one is left with a bundle of debt and there is no asset and no income from it, so we cannot go down that road again. It is part of reforming ourselves.

In a country where 98% of post is delivered the next day, I am not sure we need the new post code system. I have not seen any cost-benefit analysis of it. I hear that we are the only country that does not have it. I speak as someone whose constituency includes voters in Northern Ireland where I can never remember the seven-digit code. From writing to constituents, I know that Clones is in County Monaghan and that there is a 98% chance that a letter will be delivered there the next day so is there a benefit from that particular project, about which another presentation was made yesterday? We cannot go back just because somebody thinks it is a good idea, that we should promote it and that it makes us the same as any other country. We made a lot of those mistakes in the past. Let us not do it again.

As the Minister is aware, I am opposed to the sale of Aer Lingus. Tourism, financial services and pharmaceuticals must be part of the development of this country. Routing people through Heathrow, as the Scots must do, does not seem to be the way we want those people to come here. I compliment Aer Lingus on having developed nine routes on the north Atlantic from a country of 4.6 million people. By contrast, there are no north Atlantic services from Scotland, which has 5.3 million people; none from Manchester, which has about 15 million people; and none from Birmingham, which has about ten million people.

Aer Lingus has generated 11 million passengers from its home population of 4 million while British Airways, the takeover airline, generates 38 million from a home population of 64 million. In 1948 the former Taoiseach, Sean Lemass, hoped, with a fleet of five Constellations, to get on the north Atlantic route. The incoming Government sold the aeroplanes and we did not get back to that route for ten years. There is a 40% increase in income per passenger and a 23% increase in volume of passengers on the north Atlantic route. That kind of development should be taken into consideration rather than some stockbroker saying we can sell this for €300 million and give half to the Troika.

I hope this developmental impact will influence people again because we have come out of a very dark era. Let us promote the growing, dynamic sectors. Lemass was of the view, even in the 1940s, that aviation was a growth sector. We need something similar this time around to go forward with the Minister and everybody in this House towards the full employment target. Nobody could disagree with that. I wish the Minister continued success in achieving that goal. He will have the support of these benches.

Senator Cáit Keane

I welcome the Minister. If we were giving out stars, the Minister would be the best boy in the class for jobs and work productivity, if it was measured.

Senator Mary M. White

Hear, hear.

Senator Hildegarde Naughton

Hear, hear.

Senator Sean D. Barrett

Hear, hear.

Senator Cáit Keane

We all talk about productivity and value for money which the Minister has achieved. Bad news makes news all the time but good news makes it only for five minutes. I will repeat some of what Senator Naughton said. There are 90,000 more people at work since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs. In 2014 over 140,000 left the live register to take up work. For every person who leaves the live register approximately €20,000 extra is made available for health services, education and everything else. It involves more than giving the person the dignity of getting a job, which is the best way out of poverty, because it does something for everybody else in the country in that the money gained in tax goes back into the system for medical and educational services.

Ireland’s international competitiveness ranking is steadily on the rise. Its international standing must be applauded as must the Minister for bringing Ireland back on track. People are now looking at the fastest growing economy in Europe. It is great to say that when one thinks we were the worst boy in the class a few years ago. The growth is now built on a steady footing, not construction. It is stable. Exporting firms created 15,000 additional jobs. Enterprise Ireland, which worked with Irish-owned exporters, added over 8,000 of those jobs.

I agree with Senator Craughwell who spoke about child care. Senator Naughton and I were at the launch of Hands Up for Children today, which is all about child care. When I was on the old Dublin County Council I had the first local authority crèche in Ireland opened. It is not possible to get people back to work if there are no facilities for those who want to go back to work. The people who want to stay at home and mind their children need child care too. All the Ministers have to work together. I know the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, will put his shoulder to the wheel for child care along with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly.

The plan is working. I am delighted the Minister put it in place and that there has been an increase of over 1,200 jobs per week in the private sector over the past year. That is some achievement. A total of 11,200 left the live register to take up work in February 2015. I have a few more good things to say but in case I do not have time to say the bad things I will say it is not all rosy in the garden.

I met a man this morning who has a growing business. His productivity grew 16% last year. He wants to open a new business but he had one business in the downturn that went into liquidation. He paid €17,000 to the Revenue Commissioners last year and another €25,000 this year but he cannot get a tax clearance certificate even though he is willing and able to make an agreement. It is not that he will not have the money. He will employ three extra people and will take two people off the dole under JobBridge, a total of five people. The Minister will not believe this but he has come up against a huge problem. He has got a site on the Belgard Road and has got planning permission but has found out that because the South Dublin County Council did not ask for the development levies in 1981, he has been asked for development levies of €20,000. It is not a new business, it is a change of use, which would involve much lower development levies. He has been asked to prove that in 1981, no development levies were paid. We moved the old Dublin County Council to south Dublin. The files cannot be found and he cannot prove it. The legislation puts the onus on the individual who is starting the business to prove it. The Statute of Limitations has come against him. He is in limbo. His business is going to go down the Swanee as a result of red tape and people saying these are the rules and this is what one must do.

Senator Mary M. White

Foreign direct investment could help him.

Senator Cáit Keane

AIB is running an advertisement saying it will give a loan within 48 hours. The circle starts with the liquidation. The current business is not in liquidation but AIB did not respond within 48 hours. After ten days, he rang the bank and was told it means 48 hours after it leaves the desk of the person it was sent to. It can sit on that desk for three weeks. There is some tidying up that needs to be done. I have to work on the Statute of Limitations and the planning issue of 1981 because he has come up against this problem of development levies not being paid in 1981 and the onus is falling on a new business starting up to pay all the development levies. That is wrong. We have to tweak that legislation. It is the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. I heard about this only today but this man knows of others similarly affected.

I will finish on a good note. This is not the Minister’s fault or that of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation but the Minister's job is being made more difficult by planning, the Revenue Commissioners and the banks. If they all worked better with the Minister we would be doing much better. The Minister should keep up the pressure and the good work.

Senator Marc MacSharry

I welcome the Minister and offer him best wishes in his ongoing work in his Department. We are all in his corner in the sense of what he is trying to do. When we were in government the congratulatory Private Member’s Bills introduced used to crack me up. I do not blame any Senator because I know this has come from on high, from some official in the Department. The Minister probably first heard of it today too. They bore very little relationship to reality then and certainly bear very little relationship to reality now. For example, yesterday in Sligo, where I live, there was an announcement of 70 job losses in Elanco. The Minister is aware of this. It is a veterinary pharmaceutical company, which made a significant investment in the area very recently, and now there is a mixed message about its intentions. Last October, while trying to advance the case for foreign direct investment on the east coast of the United States, the Minister announced jobs in a company called JenaValve, also in Sligo. I am reliably informed that he will preside over an announcement by that company to lay off and cease operations in Sligo, in addition to the job losses yesterday.

Being from the north west most of my focus when speaking here is on the region but I would not want to jeopardise any other region. No matter who has been in government, and this is not to absolve the failures of previous Governments or to overly criticise or let the current Government away with its neglect of the region, we have never been provided with the necessary infrastructure to perform to our potential.

The brilliant IDA Ireland team in that part of the country includes Mr. John Nugent, a very significant player in bringing Facebook to Ireland when he was based in the US. Others include personal friends of mine and people I grew up with and they do an excellent job with IDA Ireland. They are world leaders in their field, as the Government so often says, and they are the envy of the world in terms of delivery. Consistently, governments, including this one, have made a mockery of their efforts to bring investment to that part of the country in their absolute failure to provide infrastructure and resources to allow those regions to perform to their potential. As people approach Sligo, there are 30 white crosses on the N4, marking the 30 people killed over the years. We have presided over motorways and two plus one highways and vital connectivity to Castlebar and Westport. Everywhere is entitled to a road but while we prioritise the links between Ennis and Galway and Cork and Limerick, we have cast aside the N4. This includes other governments - I am not letting anyone away with it - but I will not allow the current Minister away with it by saying the previous Government should have done this. I know that and I fought with the previous Government on this issue but the current Government is now in command and I will fight with it. It is the responsibility of the current Government.

The sum of the political parts of the Government in that part of the country do not have a significant say to get it over the line. As a lowly Senator, I know my place and I know I am not listened to by the Department. The Minister's special adviser is from Sligo and can vouch for everything I am saying. He and his family are familiar with what I am saying and will verify its validity. Some 350,000 people are unemployed and they do not give a damn about the spin announced in the spring economic statement. It means nothing to them and nothing to the 70 people in Elanco or the 15 to 20 people in the jobs announced from San Francisco last October in JenaValve, which is now pulling out of Sligo.

Some 43,000 people have jobs who did not have jobs last year. We are delighted with this, and well done to the Government, but governments do not create jobs, rather they create the atmosphere that creates jobs. If we do not have the infrastructure, we cannot do it. From speaking to IDA Ireland officials, it is not just a case of grant indication. Only 19% of IDA Ireland's budget is spent in the north-west region. That is not enough and grant indication is probably the last thing on the list. We have people skills and Collins McNicholas, a recruitment company that specialises in that part of the country, does an excellent job. Abbott and AbbVie Ireland can testify to how well and how easily professionals can be brought to work in any field.

The major aspect is access and when people are explaining, they are losing. As they set off from IDA Ireland headquarters in Dublin to bring people to Carrick-on-Shannon, Sligo, Donegal town, Ballyshannon, Bundoran or other areas in that part of the country, they must explain that when they come off the superhighway that goes all the way to Longford, there will be a problem for 60 miles because no Government gives a toss about people in the north west. No Government is able to think strategically and, instead of thinking of the region as the proverbial pain in the butt, take strategic positions and provide the region with resources to perform to its potential. That is all we want in the north west. Whether it is the Minister, his predecessor or whoever comes after him, we want to be provided with the resources for the infrastructure to perform to our potential. Then we will have an easier job attracting more like Elanco and JenaValve, which has unfortunately shed 100 highly paid jobs in the region.

Senator Michael Mullins

I welcome the Minister and I compliment him on the superb job he is doing. I am pleased to support the motion.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the Government in 2011 was the level of job losses and the economic cost of it in terms of supporting people when they are out of work and the loss of tax revenue to fund various services like the health service. The Action Plan for Jobs was the Government's statement of intent to address the issue and create the environment in which overseas companies could invest in Ireland and indigenous companies could grow and prosper. The Government has worked tirelessly to repair our reputation internationally and many trade missions were undertaken by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, most of which were led by the Minister. The results were dramatic. Some 90,000 jobs were created since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, of which 29,000 were created in 2014. The unemployment rate has reduced from 15.1% to 10% and the plan to create 100,000 jobs by 2016 will be achieved in 2015.

Much remains to be done and the Government has no intention of resting on its laurels. The revised action plan has some significant targets and it is good to see the recovery is slowly beginning to spread to the regions, although not all parts of the country have seen a drop in unemployment levels. A point I like in the revised action plan is that, by 2018, everyone who wants a job will be in a position to obtain one. This will see full employment by 2018 and 40,000 additional jobs will be created this year. The ambitious plan to attract 160 new foreign direct investment projects in Ireland is welcome. I also welcome the investment in 1,250 extra ICT places.

We all hope the plan to invest €3.6 billion under the State capital investment programme will spread jobs throughout the country and bring much-needed employment to some rural areas. The 18 planned overseas trade missions led by the Minister will hopefully be successful and I welcome the fact that the Minister is planning to support 945 participants on management development programmes in the coming year. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood event of business in rural communities and we must do everything possible to support them and reduce the level of red tape and bureaucracy that makes life difficult for them. In the initial plan, red tape was to be reduced by 25%. Perhaps the Minister can comment on how the plan is going in that respect.

I would like to see an urgent roll-out of the new apprenticeship scheme in response to proposals from key sectors. We must be innovative about how we can quickly address the shortage of skilled personnel in many sectors of the economy. I hope many young skilled people who have gone abroad will return over the coming year to fill some of the shortages. Broadband in rural areas is a major issue and I am pleased to see action No. 52 of the revised plan promises a tender for the delivery of high-speed broadband to all parts of Ireland that cannot be served by commercial operators in 2015. Planning was also mentioned and action No. 221 commits to allowing An Bord Pleanála to accept electronic applications and appeals, which is to be welcomed.

Community enterprise centres have made a great contribution to job creation, providing incubation and start-up facilities. There is one in my town of Ballinasloe, run by the Ballinasloe Area Community Development, which currently employs 190 people. I hope many of the businesses will grow and move from the centre and provide employment in our region. I am keen to see further investment in these centres. The Minister might clarify the position in respect of the funding of professional managers for these centres. One or two other centres may emerge if funding was put towards the provision of a professional manager.

Retail businesses, including small shops and pubs, are going through a tough time, in particular cash businesses. The banks are treating them appallingly. Recently in the Seanad I raised the matter of the prohibitive cost of lodging cash. Were it not for the credit unions, many of these small businesses would not survive.

I cannot let this opportunity go without welcoming the significant job announcements that have been made in Galway city and in some parts of our county in recent years. I very much welcome the Apple investment in Athenry, which, I hope, will draw in some further development. However, the east of the county is still an employment blackspot. The town of Ballinasloe has lost 1,000 industrial jobs in the past decade. I appeal to the Minister to keep the pressure on Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to market Ballinasloe as a fantastic location for industry. It is located in the centre of Ireland on the motorway, an hour and a quarter from Dublin Airport, Shannon Airport and Knock Airport. There is plenty of availability of land for industrial development. We have an excellent infrastructure for broadband and public transport. We have an available workforce, good schools, excellent recreational facilities and housing for families to locate there. This is an area that I am keen for the Minister to concentrate on.

Most people in the country aspire to have a well-paid job and to provide for their families. The Government needs to continue to focus on job creation and promoting a spirit of entrepreneurship. I urge the Minister to continue to support small business and to continue to facilitate further investment in tourism products and our greenways. We expect to have 7 million visitors in Ireland this year.

An Cathaoirleach

Senator, you are way over time.

Senator Michael Mullins

I hope that will bring far more economic activity and job creation into rural parts of our country.

Senator David Cullinane

I welcome the Minister. It would be churlish of any of us in opposition not to accept that we have seen significant numbers of jobs created in recent years since 2011. This Government and this Minister took over an absolute mess that was left by the previous Government. Hundreds of thousands of people were unemployed. Far too many of our young people emigrated. We have lost possibly a generation of young people and they may or may not come back. We hope that many of them do. I know the Minister is focused on creating jobs to position the country to encourage as many of them as possible to come back.

I commend the Minister on the efforts he has made in the south east. We still have a long way to go nationally and in the region I represent, but we have had some significant wins in recent times and these, too, must be commended. Today, more jobs were announced for Bausch & Lomb in Waterford city and I understand more jobs are to be announced in Waterford in the coming weeks and months.

As the Minister is aware, the city was hit hard during the recession. Large numbers of manufacturing jobs were lost. There was much discontent among the Waterford people for a long time because those jobs would not be coming back to the city. Therefore, to see any number of jobs coming back is obviously a boost for all of us. I am keen to put on the record my appreciation of the work the Minister has done in leading a task force and working group for Waterford and the south east in the past three years since the disastrous job losses in TalkTalk in 2012.

Having said that, there is a long way to go. While I have commended the good work done, it is important for those in government not to indulge in over-congratulation or slapping themselves on the back. Certainly, no champagne corks should be popped. The reality is that we still have far too many people unemployed - I expect the Minister will accept that. We have many people in low paid jobs. Some 20% of all workers in this State are in low paid positions and 19% of all workers in the State experience in-work poverty, which is a major problem. We have a difficulty with precarious work, part-time work, low contract hours, under-employment and exploitation in some of those areas, as the Minister well knows. We have discussed many of these issues on the Order of Business and in the Minister's presence at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation as well as in the House on several occasions. Moreover, the Minister will beware of the plight of the Dunnes Stores workers, who represent only one example of the experience of many workers on low pay and low hour contracts who feel they are being exploited by profitable companies. We also have a difficulty with access to services for some people in work, which is a driver of in-work poverty. Child care is one of these difficulties. Lack of affordable housing is also an issue.

While it is important for those of us in opposition to recognise that progress has been made and to acknowledge and celebrate it - every job created should be celebrated and I have done so - I was astounded yesterday when I heard the Minister for Finance make what I saw as rather outlandish commitments on job creation. He said: "we will pass the 2 million people in employment mark next year, replace all of the jobs lost during the downturn by 2018 and, in total, between 2015 and 2020, add 200,000 new jobs." The reality is that 69,300 net jobs have been created in the past four years. A total of 26,900 of these were created in 2014. If the commitments of the Minister for Finance announced on Tuesday are to be met, then the Government's record on job creation would have to increase annually by 50%. That is rather outlandish. I wish the Government the best of luck in its efforts in reaching that bar, but I believe it has been set far too high. I believe it was part of the spin and over-sell that we got from the Government as part of its so-called spring statement.

The Minister maintains that our young people are coming back and I hope many of them do. However, the facts and the reality tell a different story, unfortunately. There are 60,900 fewer people aged between 20 and 34 years in employment since Fine Gael and the Labour Party took office. These are facts - the Central Statistics Office figures. The Minister talked about job creation in the State. We hear from IDA Ireland and the enterprise agencies about Ireland Inc. and how it is important that we create jobs. Obviously, it is and we need to create jobs. However, another major problem relates to regional disparities. This was one of the reasons in 2013 I published the south east economic development strategy. I was keen to be part of the solution. I wanted to come up with ideas or proposals and not simply sit back, criticise the Government and declare that we have to create jobs. I was keen to go out, talk to stakeholders and develop policy and realistic credible deliverable proposals that could be implemented and that would help to create jobs in the region, and that is what I did. The reality of the regional imbalance is a concern. Employment in the west has fallen by 4,800 in the year to December 2014 and by 5,000 in the south west. The numbers in employment in the Border region have fallen by 1,300 since this Government took office. While there have been modest increases in employment in the south east, we are still 3.5% above the national average, which is very high.

We have a long way to go. Earlier I raised the matter of low paid jobs and in-work poverty. Unfortunately, many of those jobs are occupied by women. The fact is that 60% of low paid workers are women and 50% of all females earn only €20,000 per annum or less. We must acknowledge the inadequacy of existing legislation to protect vulnerable workers who have no guarantee of hours and no consistency of weekly income.

In an effort to be constructive, Sinn Féin published a Private Members' motion which recommended banded-hour contracts, full implementation of the EU part-time working directive, proper collective bargaining, trade union recognition and having a legal right to go from part-time to full-time work if the hours are available. These issues have been supported by the Labour Party. A number of weeks ago a Labour Party Deputy organised a cross-party briefing on all of these issues. We presented ICTU's proposals to the Government in the form of a Private Members' motion and it was rejected.

While I commend all of the good work that has been done, I ask the Minister to look more at regional development and accept we have much more work to do with regard to job creation, and with regard to low pay, particularly precarious work, underemployment and low-hour contracts. We have a significant job of work to do to protect workers in those vulnerable sectors. The Government should also look at the regions and see what more can be done to create jobs outside the urban areas. Those created in urban areas are welcome and should be celebrated, but if we are serious about making sure that everybody benefits from the upturn and we do not have a two-speed two-tier economy between urban and rural, or Dublin, Cork and Galway versus the rest of the country, we need much more regional-focused policies.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I am glad the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is here for this debate which is central to the country's economic recovery. Much has been said by many speakers on all sides of the House about where we are at in the country at present, and while recovery is being driven partly by some of the policies of the Government, much of it is being driven by people willing to take risks by establishing their own businesses or creating an additional job in an existing firm. This must be welcomed. While one can blame the Government for not creating enough employment or for all the jobs being lost, it is not the Government's job to create jobs; it is the Government's job to create the environment to provide jobs. While some progress has been made and reference has been made to this, I want to touch on a couple of points.

Over the past 25 or 30 years the average median rate of unemployment in Ireland was approximately 10.86%. The highest unemployment rate was back in 1985, when the country had 17.3% unemployment. The rate was also high before the Government took office due to the economic downturn and the crisis. Half of the jobs lost before that were due to the construction sector which hollowed out as a result of the banking crisis. According to the April figures, we are at approximately 10%. One could say the figures are massaged to an extent by the approximately 86,000 or 87,000 people on various schemes. Some of them are happy to be on schemes as they hope it is a means to an end or a platform for a better future. The viability or non-viability of these schemes is a debate for another day.

With regard to the role of the Government in economic recovery, many jobs have been created but the Government is not necessarily responsible for job creation, apart from in the public sector. If its record on job creation in the public sector since coming to office was examined, it would not be very appetising because 30,000 jobs have been removed from the public sector since 2011. This was done through redundancies and other exit schemes for employees, who have not been replaced. If the Government was serious about rolling out job creation in the public sector, this is an area which could be further utilised.

Employment in the private sector has risen and State agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Shannon Development and, in particular, IDA Ireland have been to the fore in creating many of these jobs and assisting companies to create them. With regard to regional disparity in job creation, according to the Nevin Economic Research Institute, NERI, report published a few weeks ago, 94% of all the jobs created through the State agencies in 2014 were in Dublin or the commuter belt. I understand from these figures that only a couple of hundred of these jobs were supported in the north west and a greater number of jobs were lost than created in the south east. A total of 125 new jobs in the south east were announced today and we all welcome this. It is great news. We will have job gains and job losses, and the role of the State is to balance the scale on an upwards trajectory, which is not easy.

The Minister's Department is one of the key Departments in defining where we go as a country over the next 25 years in terms of geography and demographics. According to Teagasc and CSO figures, 60% of the population will live within 25 miles of the eastern seaboard by 2025. This will hollow out rural Ireland. The Department has an obligation to implement a regional development strategy to benefit the regions and clearly this is not happening. Economists may argue that foreign direct investment companies now look at basing their enterprises in cities rather than countries. If we want to go ahead with this fine, but if the State has a role in providing the environment to create jobs then by extension it also has a role in providing the environment to make it attractive for those companies to locate in the regions.

My age group has left my county of Donegal. The only people left are those who are unemployed, who have a job in the State or who have a mortgage. Those who have the option of leaving have left and many of them have emigrated. Over the past four years, 145,000 people have left the State with a third level qualification. Many of them may not return. I hope they will. People say one has an option to leave and one will see the world but if one establishes roots in another country, one will not return. We must decide whether we are serious about the critical issue of balanced regional development. We are either serious about providing money to the regions or we are not. We must look at how we spend money, value for money in the economy and the fairness in where money is spent with regard to capital investment. A fundamental reason many companies do not go into the regions is to do with broadband. A total of 30% of the properties in the State have inadequate broadband and they are all located in the regions. This needs to be addressed. The Government must take this by the scruff of the neck and decide on these fundamental and core objectives.

The OECD published a report on Ireland's employment trajectory over the past six months and its recommendations were startling. They were all based on what I have just said about the inadequacy of Government policy in supporting the regions. I know great work must be done, but it is our job to come here and raise issues on which we think there should be a focus. While a rising tide may raise all boats, if we leave Dublin develop at a much faster pace than the rest of the country we will be left with a two-tier recovery and this will only lead to what is projected in the CSO figures, whereby people move from west to east and if one wants to have a holiday home in the west fine, but one will live, work and have a mortgage in Dublin . This is not what-----

An Cathaoirleach

The Senator is way over time.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill

I apologise. It is not where we should be going.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank the Senators who participated in the debate, particularly Senator Hildegarde Naughton, who moved the motion.

We are in a difficult transition; that is the reality. A number of Senators commented on the circumstances when we started out. The reality was that most people were scared out of their wits that their job would be the next to go. That was the environment we were living in. Some 330,000 jobs had been lost. Roughly 20% of the private sector was wiped out in the space of a couple of years. In the case of construction, well over 60% of jobs were wiped out. That has had a huge impact, especially in the regions.

To echo Senator Craughwell, I would be the first to recognise that the effort to rebuild a new economy out of the ashes of the old has been extraordinarily tough on people. I refer not only to the fiscal decisions but also to the employment impact and the pressure on wages. However, we can see that the journey we have travelled is the right one. We can look back on our track record over recent years and see the approach we have taken, a whole-of-government approach, was correct. We knew there was no silver bullet. It was about getting every single Department to state what its part of the jigsaw could do to enhance enterprise growth and create jobs. The work in education is crucial as we seek to consolidate and regrow our economy. The same applies to the work in the Department of Finance in respect of banking and access to finance and the work in the infrastructural Departments across the system, such as the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. We have to continue to work.

We built on the track record we have achieved. We are setting an ambitious target of full employment by 2018. I do not agree with Senator Cullinane when he suggests the Minister for Finance’s projection yesterday that 40,000 new jobs will be created each year over the coming years is unachievable. That is the target we have set for this year, 2015, and we will achieve it. Over the past two years, we delivered 90,000 jobs. That is in excess of 40,000 per year. Therefore, I believe we can achieve the target. At the start of this journey, people said it was unachievable to deliver 100,000 jobs by 2016. We will deliver them 21 months ahead of target.

The Irish economy, businesses and workers have shown extraordinary resilience. Throughout the country, one can hear fantastic stories. Today's story about Bausch & Lomb is fantastic. Some 12 months ago, we were facing the entire closure of its plant, with 1,200 jobs on the line. Today we are seeing €115 million invested, with 175 more jobs back in the company. There are 150 people at work in the construction phase. This is because people recognised change had to be made. They accepted the change, difficult as it was, and now they have won the extra investment. That is a great story.

I accept Senator White’s statement that many legacy issues will remain. We have many difficult issues to address. What characterised this recession, unlike most others, was the huge legacy debt. We all know about the one in the public sector. The one in the private sector was equally great, both in business and households. That is a much harder type of recession to get through. We are working on that steadily.

I do not agree with Senator White's comment that activation measures will not reduce the rate of long-term unemployment. It depends on the figures one is looking at. Quarterly national household survey figures show we have made considerable progress in reducing the rate of long-term unemployment.

Senator Mary M. White

I referred to youth unemployment, in particular.

Deputy Richard Bruton

The rates of long-term youth unemployment and youth unemployment are coming down. There have been 30,000 fewer long-term unemployed over the past two years. We are having an impact but the Senator is correct that we have to build on the measures. However, I reject the suggestion by Sinn Féin that some of the measures, such as JobBridge, are not effective. Senator Hildegarde Naughton dealt with that.

I do not accept that foreign direct investors receive charmed treatment in comparison with Irish businesses. The reality in my Department is that 70% of the money I spend goes to SMEs. Only 30% goes to the multinational sector. Virtually all the initiatives we have been driving, be they to help start-ups, improve access to finance, make it easier to recruit, help people to find new markets overseas, build capability in companies through innovation and partnership agreements of different sorts, or build sectors such as the food and tourism sectors, are focused exclusively on the capability of our indigenous companies. We are determined to build an indigenous engine of growth. In the past 12 months, we have heard some fantastic stories. Irish companies such as Combilift, EPS in Mallow, Glanbia and Lakeland Dairies are fantastic and as good as any Mittelstand company in Germany. Irish companies have come through the recession toughened and they are looking way beyond the traditional markets of the United Kingdom and even the rest of Europe. They are now considering global markets and have global ambition. There are many of them throughout the country, in all regions.

Senator Kelly raised the role of smaller towns and suggested, in particular, a tax-free zone. The issue of tax-free zones is well outside my area so the Senator would need to take it up with the Minister for Finance. There have been mixed experiences of designated tax zones. We have seen their upside and downside. The one in Shannon, for example, was regarded as very innovative. Some of the other zones, which were created with the best of intentions, did not always have the intended impact and tended to drive towards construction rather than genuine, sustainable growth in communities.

The issue of child care costs was raised by Senator Craughwell, and he was right to do so. As we face the challenge of achieving full employment and maximising economic potential in the country, we will have to address child care costs in a more creative way. It requires money. Some €250 million is being spent at present on child care costs. This reaches approximately 100,000 children in total in just one year under the early childhood care and education scheme. Some disadvantaged parents get greater support over a more sustained period. As we seek to meet the challenges of creating a full-employment economy, this is one of the matters we will have to address.

I dispute the view expressed by Senator Craughwell, and repeated by Senator Cullinane, that the jobs being created are low-paid, unstable and uncertain. That is simply not the case. CSO figures show that all the jobs created in the past two years have been full-time. Part-time work is in decline at present. In the early part of the recession, there was a growth in part-time jobs. This trend is now subsiding and there is now strong growth in full-time employment. The jobs are being created in high-paid sectors. More than half are being created in high-paid sectors, such as those supported by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland and those in financial services. Of course, there is growth in lower-paid employment also. There has to be a balance. There is a recovery in the growth of high-paid construction jobs. Therefore, the comments of the Senators are not true.

We are examining the issue of zero-hours contracts. We set up a study specifically on that. We are examining the capacity to increase the minimum wage. What the Senators suggested is certainly not true. People keep repeating it. The jobs growth is very much built on very strong enterprises hunting down new sectors. It is a new economy.

Senator Barrett is correct on the neglect of apprenticeships. This has been a considerable area of weakness in the Irish industrial base forever by comparison with countries such as Germany and Austria. We do not have the tradition of investment in apprenticeships. The call that was made in January under SOLAS has been very successful. Some 86 proposals have emerged from coalitions of sectors to take up apprenticeships. Roughly 41 pertain to the construction sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, construction and natural resources. It is encouraging to see 24 in manufacturing. That is a really good number.

Another 26 are in business services, namely, financial services, IT, trade and distribution, sales and marketing while 18 are in more personal areas such as tourism, the arts and craft sectors. There is a good mix of emerging sectors which need to be supported.

I agree with Senator Keane that not everything in the garden is rosy. We are on a journey but we are successively cutting away things that obstruct the growth of businesses. That is one of the merits of the annual Action Plan for Jobs in that each year we look afresh at what can be done and we set targets in different areas. We delivered on the 25% red tape reduction, with €300 million saved by business as a result of various red tape reduction measures by my Department.

With regard to community enterprise centres, we intend having a competitive call under our regional strategy for enterprise initiatives and this will be open to established community enterprise centres or private sector groups or any groups who are willing to form. There will be an open call to create stronger centres that can support start-ups. That is a very important part of our work.

Senator MacSharry highlighted the job losses in Sligo, which is very disappointing. I refer Senator MacSharry to what happened at Stiefel in Sligo, where a company facing closure re-invented itself and it is now in a growth phase. It has recently won a leading mandate from a multinational as a result of the work of the people in that company. We are committing to advance facilities in Sligo. The IDA performance in the north west is exceptionally strong. I do not have the numbers with me but I think it is approximately a 20% growth in the employment base in the past two years. That is a really strong performance in the north west. I refer Senator Ó Domhnaill to that information. However, we need to do more.

I thank Senator Cullinane because he has been banging on the door about the need for progress in the south east. I absolutely agree with him on that. He has acknowledged today that we have made progress and need to continue along that line. I have dealt with his fear that what we have set out is unachievable. I believe the targets we set out are achievable. However, if we want to create a sustainable full employment economy, we cannot rest on our oars. We will need to see significant change in the way we create and generate challenge. That will present challenges in our universities and in the apprenticeship system. Those institutions will be challenged because they are the boiler house of the future of our economy. It is about a war for talent and it will be a challenging period for people working in those institutions to meet the growing demands and to open themselves to the changes that will be created by the growth sectors we hope to develop. It is interesting to read the IDA strategy or the Enterprise Ireland strategy and to note how central to that sector is the creation, development and retention of talent. There are many areas where we need to continue to be very reforming. It is disappointing to hear some people say, in the context of public pay, that there can be no linking or demands for productivity. Productivity in education means better outcomes for kids. We have to continually looking at how to achieve better outcomes.

Senator Ó Domhnaill is correct in that we have had to cut back public service jobs to fit the resources available. One could look at that from another perspective and see how strong the private sector recovery has been, with 90,000 extra people at work. That is a net figure, taking out the reduction in public sector jobs. We are in a position to rebuild public services in a very guarded and careful way and to restore some of the money that people in the public service had to sacrifice and to reduce taxes. If we continue to take a prudent approach and build those new commitments on the back of genuine employment creation and high productivity performance, we can deliver it.

I dispute the figure quoted by Senator Ó Domhnaill that 94% of the jobs are in Dublin and in the mid east, as it is called. That is simply not true. More than half of all the jobs created by the agencies are outside of Dublin and the mid east. The Nevin Economic Research Institute, NERI, report is simply wrong in that it picked a short time period and used statistics in a certain way to try to create a certain impression. In any one year, some regions will show a decrease. The very same statistic could have been presented saying that the midlands, the south east and the north west accounted for 75% of the growth. However, because some regions saw a decline, the view is distorted. One needs a more extended period of time to see where the job creation is occurring. There is plenty of job creation outside Dublin but not in every region equally. That is one of the challenges. The Department is creating a regional enterprise strategy. We are taking up that issue which has been raised here, in the Dáil and in the committees. We are taking on that challenge. It will not be easy but we are going through a process of regional stakeholder consultations, one of which was held recently in the north west and which was very successful. We will have regional calls where €100 million in resources from Enterprise Ireland will be available for people coming forward with sectoral or start-up initiatives that could work in their region. Those meetings have been well attended and there is a commitment. It is distinct from the infrastructural issues raised by Senators Ó Domhnaill and MacSharry. I do not mean to denigrate those because, of course, we need better broadband, better roads, better infrastructure and better water services and these must be included in a development plan.

I am trying to ensure the creation of a stronger enterprise capability in our regions by exploiting the competitive strengths of regions. Drumshanbo is a good case in point where a food hub has been created which is playing to the strengths of the region. There is a training centre, a distillery, a brewery and all sorts of food-related activities in a cluster and they are doing very well. It points to the capability for building a hub of excellence in a fairly isolated area.

I thank Senators for their contributions. I fully support what they are asking which is to continue with the Action Plan for Jobs. It will be even more important in the coming years to have that broad-based approach. The one thing we cannot afford is to allow some sort of reform fatigue to set in or people thinking that reform was for the difficult times. Every growing business is continually looking at its processes, the innovation of its products and services and it is investing to build on that.

The issues raised by Senators, such as full employment by 2018, will be central to the work I will undertake over the remaining period available to me. I plan to deliver the roll-out of the regional strategy by mid-year, by July at the latest. I agree with the contention that employment is the most cost-effective anti-poverty measure. The risk of being in poverty is 37% for those out of work and it drops to 5% for those in work. If we can get more people out of the unemployed column and into the employed column, we will reduce the risk of poverty by seven and a half times. It has a massive impact on families. Full employment really should be a central policy. In my view, the purpose of the spring economic statement is to have a genuine debate about the sort of budget we want in 2016 but also about our vision for the country. For me, sustainable full employment by 2018 has to be at the heart of any vision. It is not just a narrow economic agenda. If we can get 200,000 extra people back at work, that is 200,000 lives back on track. It is 200,000 pay packages being spent in our communities, towns and villages. It is 200,000 workers contributing tax to allow us build the infrastructure and services.

The other side of the challenge is we must recognise that some of the success that we enjoyed and saw in the Celtic tiger years was not authentic. It was not only that it was built on construction, but also that it was not built on the sort of sustainable values upon which a community ought to build success. We have an opportunity over the next couple of years not only to be prudent but also to bring values to bear on the sort of choices we make. We must value enterprise and entrepreneurship, but we also must put in a process of solidarity with those who cannot achieve and support them. We need absolutely to commit to the sort of opportunities needed to equip people for the future, and all those require big changes. A full employment goal is a challenging one. It is a tough and challenging road for the next couple of years. However, it fulfils all of our ambitions, which is to ensure our families and their children have the chance to live and work at home if that is what they choose. It is central to what we ought to do.

As we approach next year in which we will hold elections, what needs to be at the core is the question of how we, as a community, sustain full employment. If I have one criticism for Sinn Féin and others, it is that I do not hear enterprise as any part of their vision of where this country is going. I never hear them say how one builds successful businesses that can grow, what the ingredients are to make that happen and how one celebrates those who make those businesses. That is very much a part of what we need to see as a country. We cannot reduce the difficulties, as if there is someone at fault for every difficulty. Difficulties are there to be solved, not to find someone to blame for them. Too much of the dialogue I hear in the other House is about finding someone to blame. Often, it is convenient persons, such as bankers, Irish Water or some whipping boy.

Senator Mary M. White

Professor Honohan blames the egregious behaviour of the bankers.

An Cathaoirleach

The Minister, without interruption.

Deputy Richard Bruton

As we look to resolve our issues for the future, the blame game will not solve it for us. It is about finding solutions to difficult problems. That is much more challenging and requires much more deep thought than we often have in the other House. In this House, maybe it is because it is built on the flat.

I thank the Senators for the contributions. We have created a moment of opportunity for ourselves. That is not to forget the difficult road we have travelled and the many who have been hurt on that road. However, there is a period of opportunity or a new phase ahead of us. We must seize that opportunity and put in place the right policies that will sustain us on that road, which can deliver so much of the aspirations of the people.

Senator Hildegarde Naughton

I thank the Minister for coming to the House today. What is clear is the success story he has within his Department and what the Government has done since we came into office in 2011. It is important we remind people of the difficulties that citizens had to go through since 2011. The only way we will eradicate poverty and achieve the services in areas such as health, education and housing is through job creation. The Minister outlined that clearly in his address.

The Minister is to be commended on his role, what he has done and the hard work throughout the country. The Action Plan for Jobs and the outreach into the regions will be critical. The engagement the Minister has commenced throughout the country with local enterprise offices, local authorities and stakeholders from all the regions will be key. If we want to ensure job creation, the right environment within the regions and the empowerment of local people, it is important that message goes out. For example, I saw what happened in Galway, the considerable goodwill there, and the suggestions of those who want to get behind their region and create jobs. The Government is creating that environment but local stakeholders have a significant role to play in this. The goodwill is there. Government, working closely with all these agencies, will be key in creating jobs throughout the country. I look forward to working with the Minister in his role.

Amendment put and declared lost.

Question put: "That the motion be agreed to."

The Seanad divided: Tá, 21; Níl, 13.

Tá

• Bacik, Ivana.
• Barrett, Sean D.
• Brennan, Terry.
• Burke, Colm.
• Coghlan, Eamonn.
• Coghlan, Paul.
• Comiskey, Michael.
• Cummins, Maurice.
• D'Arcy, Jim.
• Henry, Imelda.
• Keane, Cáit.
• Kelly, John.
• Landy, Denis.
• Moran, Mary.
• Mulcahy, Tony.
• Mullins, Michael.
• Naughton, Hildegarde.
• Noone, Catherine.
• O'Keeffe, Susan.
• O'Neill, Pat.
• van Turnhout, Jillian.

Níl

• Byrne, Thomas.
• Craughwell, Gerard P.
• Cullinane, David.
• Daly, Mark.
• Leyden, Terry.
• MacSharry, Marc.
• Ó Clochartaigh, Trevor.
• Ó Domhnaill, Brian.
• O'Brien, Darragh.
• Reilly, Kathryn.
• Walsh, Jim.
• White, Mary M.
• Wilson, Diarmuid.

Tellers: Tá, Senators Ivana Bacik and Paul Coghlan; Níl, Senators Mary M. White and Diarmuid Wilson.

Question declared carried.

An Cathaoirleach

When is it proposed to sit again?

Senator Maurice Cummins

Ag a leathuair tar éis a deich maidin amárach.

The Seanad adjourned at 7.30 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 30 April 2015.