I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 102 to 104, inclusive, together.
I am currently finalising an Action Plan for Jobs for Government approval which will set out a series of clear actionable measures across Government to support the creation and retention of jobs in a range of sectors.
In preparing the Action Plan, I have consulted with my Ministerial colleagues and with a wide range of stakeholders from the public, private and community sectors, to obtain their views on actions to support employment creation. I received over 600 individual ideas through this process. Some of these ideas can be actioned in the short-term and will feature in the Action Plan for Jobs for 2012. Other proposals can be delivered in a longer timeframe, or require further consideration. These will be examined further over the coming months.
To support economic recovery, it is important that we build a strong enterprise mix to ensure that Ireland is not overly reliant on a limited number of sectors for future growth. We must also seek to capture the opportunities afforded by the growth of emerging sectors, with a view to maximising the employment potential they offer.
Sectors which have been identified as holding particular potential for Ireland include Agri-food, Health and Lifesciences, Digital Games, Cloud Computing, the Green Economy, International Education and International Financial Services. The Government is also committed to supporting more mature sectors such as Tourism and Manufacturing to avail of new opportunities and improve their product offering.
As well as setting out measures to support the growth of these sectors, the Action Plan for Jobs will seek to address key factors which can act as obstacles to job creation and retention. These include issues such as costs of doing business, access to finance, administrative burdens on business, the need to improve company capability and access to new markets.
The Action Plan will be published in the coming weeks, following its approval by Government.