Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 June 2006
159 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if inward investment trends are indicative of future economic well-being with particular reference to present and future employment needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24111/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraInward investment into Ireland by foreign companies has played a critical role in the performance of the Irish economy over the last two decades, and our ability to attract the world's leading firms will continue to be an important aspect of our future prosperity. In this respect, Ireland has many reasons to be optimistic for the future. IDA Ireland recently announced strong results for 2005, with the successful negotiation of 71 new business projects with new and existing clients, involving a total investment over the coming years of more than €760 million. The IDA reported a net gain of jobs of 3,412, the highest net gain since 2000.
Of course, with an economy characterised by very high employment levels, the quality of jobs is increasingly a more important measure of Ireland's success in attracting FDI than the number of jobs. As such, it is encouraging that of the jobs created, half were very high quality, requiring third-level or higher qualifications, covering a range of disciplines. The IDA also report that this strong performance is continuing into 2006.
In recent years this Government has been placing a greater emphasis on the development of indigenous companies, to ensure that our economic prosperity is built on as wide an enterprise base as possible. We continue to make significant efforts to enhance our framework competitive conditions, and to develop new areas of competitive advantage, such as by developing our R&D base as envisaged in the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation. Our focus is on the creation of new jobs which are concentrated in high value added, knowledge based companies that offer greater security in the face of intense international competition. To this end, the enterprise development agencies have been mandated to work with companies to develop management capabilities, workforce skills, capacity for innovation and for research and development, to build productivity and to support the development of strategies for market entry, development and growth.
