I thank the Chairman for inviting me to attend to deal with the Estimates for our Department. As he knows, during the course of the year, the employment challenge has become the central theme of what we are about. We published an action plan for jobs which is, to a large extent, a unifying project across most of the work we do in our Department. The economy is going through a very difficult transformation, as we all know, and building long-term sustainable enterprises is the core of what we must do. We must do everything to make that possible. The action plan for jobs sets out what I believe are bold but realistic ambitions. One is to have net expansion in employment of 100,000 by 2016. The other is one to which the Taoiseach is particularly committed, namely, to make Ireland the best small country in which to do business by 2016. Those are no mean challenges for Government, not only in our Department but right across the spectrum.
Most Deputies were present when we debated the action plan for jobs in the Dáil but it is worth noting it is different in that it is joined up across all of government. It is not just one Department asking what is to be done about enterprise and then looking to the "enterprise Department". What happens in the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Health is just as relevant. Many different Departments can have a role in creating a vibrant medical devices sector or a strong alternative energy sector, or whatever. There are significant employment opportunities to be created where government works together and this plan seeks to get government to do that. In addition, let us be honest, in a time of scarce resources it enlists the broadest possible support, looking to the chambers of commerce, the unions and others to support and promote schemes that are available and get take-up on them in order to help projects get off the ground.
The other innovation in the plan is that there are timelines for every action. People are held accountable by the Taoiseach. This is a rigorous process, not a casual process. Even in the short life of it, it has made a significant impact in getting decisions across the line on time and, therefore, it is important.
The third dimension that is different about this is it is a learning process. We had an action plan for 2012 and I acknowledge people will ask why it did not do this or that but there will be action plans in 2013 and 2014. I am actively engaged meeting groups in different sectors across the country to learn from them where the shoe is pinching and what government can do better. That is an important dimension of the plan. Its themes reflect what it will take to ensure a strong enterprise sector in the economy and to make it easier to start up and succeed in business. The Minister of State, Deputy Perry, is very much at the heart of that dealing with start-ups and small business, the regulatory environment, prompt payments and one-stop-shops that deliver to small businesses and start-ups.
The second of five themes is lifting the performance of indigenous companies and the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, is very much at the core of that. We are working on how we get them to be more innovative; how we roll out the investment we have made in research and development capacity in our universities to business; how we create development capital funds that will allow companies to grow to scale instead of being bought out as they grow; and how we will deliver loan guarantees to companies that cannot access credit.
The third theme is deepening the impact of multinational companies. We need to always think afresh. One of our key strengths as a nation is the fact that we have strong clusters in many sectors, including ICT, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. There are strong multinational companies at the core of these sectors but, in the foothills, there are also many strong indigenous companies. The challenge for us is to deepen that connection, to get more indigenous companies into the supply chains of multinationals and to enhance the connection between multinationals and the research investment we have made in our higher education institutions. Almost half of foreign direct investment, FDI, relates to research and development and it is vital that we align the research and development effort to that challenge.
The fourth theme is looking to the sectors of the future, which will be an ongoing challenge over the years. The action plan for jobs has identified some sectors and what we can do about them in the short term but we need to think continually and draw in support from across government for the development of sectors where we have opportunities. Tourism is clearly one. The Government took a number of steps last year, which have had an impact. The tourism figures are good but there are many sectors and we need to be strategic about selecting them and making sure we deliver in them.
The final theme is competitiveness which has many dimensions. There is cost competitiveness but there is also the issue of the regulatory support and systems in place.
I am pleased to report that, following the first quarter, we delivered 96% of the actions we said we would and we still need to get three across the line. We have had a good year in the context of FDI and we can reflect on that as we go through the programmes. This year, as the Chairman said, we presented the Estimates in a new way. Having spent most of my political life on the Opposition benches, I know this is a major improvement. We are not only outlining the money we spend in each area but also the numbers of people involved, the activity levels, the impact indicators and the outcomes we are achieving. Some are showing good results but others can be challenged by the Opposition. It is important that members have an opportunity to challenge. Under the enterprise subhead, the figures were good for FDI and the IDA, with the best performance in more than a decade. We succeeded in stabilising employment and we exceeded expectations in some areas. For example, the number of high-potential start-ups was higher than we targeted but, in other areas, we did not do quite as well. Export performance continues to do well and it exceeds the growth of any other sector of the economy. Overall, across all the agencies, we have expanded employment over the past 12 months. There are approximately 5,000 more people at work in agency supported companies than this time last year.
Deputy Sherlock will deal with the second theme later but members will see from the Estimate that we have worked on the prioritisation of the research spend to try to get the best bang for our buck and to try to get more companies involved. The output indicators show that this year, approximately 1,200 companies were involved in one way or another with the research activities of our colleges either through the EI or SFI programmes.
The third theme is regulation. Perhaps it is less glamorous but it is hugely important when it comes to the challenge of being competitive. We need stronger competition in many markets and we need an effective Competition Authority. We have debated the strengthening of sanctions in the Dáil. I have announced that I am extending the strength of the authority to give it more effectiveness in delivering necessary enforcement and I have asked its officials to examine sectors where there is a need for studies to improve competitiveness. We are working on what we hope will be the best in class set of companies legislation. The legislation has 2,500 elements and it will come before the House.
It would be more interesting to hear what members have to say and to reflect on questions and seek to learn from their experience.
