Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 February 2012
93 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the statistical evidence that can be produced to indicate the number of new jobs that have been created so far by the jobs initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5799/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraJob creation is at the top of the Government's agenda. Since we came into office, we have been working hard to create the improved economic conditions which will support the maintenance of existing jobs and the creation of new ones.
The Government's Jobs Initiative, which was announced last May, was aimed at building confidence to encourage consumers to spend, providing opportunities for re-skilling those who have lost their jobs, and assisting people to get back to work. It is a cross-Government initiative and the impacts are being seen across a range of sectors.
It is not possible to indicate the exact number of positions which have been filled as a result of the measures which were taken in the Jobs Initiative, as there are indirect as well as direct impacts arising from the Initiative. However, there is no doubt that the measures introduced by the Government in May 2011 are contributing to both maintaining existing jobs and creating new ones.
For example, the measures in relation to reducing VAT and PRSI rates were credited by the Restaurant Association of Ireland with the creation of 490 new jobs in that sector within the first two months of the implementation of the Jobs Initiative. The Government has also brought in a visa-waiver scheme, which was announced in the Jobs Initiative, to further support tourism. Overseas tourist numbers for the first eleven months of 2011 were up 6.8% on the same period in 2010. The number of visitors from mainland Europe was up 8.5%, and visitors from North America were up 5.6%.
The Jobs Initiative targeted Capital spending at labour-intensive local projects, focussing on school works, local roads, energy efficiency and smarter travel projects. The Minister of State for Public Transport, Alan Kelly TD, indicated recently that work undertaken between May and October 2011 on sustainable travel projects has created over 14,500 days of employment for local contractors around the country.
The level of take-up and activity under the domestic retrofitting schemes to date is demonstrably supporting employment. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) reported in November 2011 that over 5,800 full time jobs were supported in this sector in 2011.
The JobBridge National Internship Programme was launched on 1 July last as part of the Jobs Initiative, and has already seen almost 3,700 interns start with host organisations up to 26 January, as well as a further 630 who transferred to JobBridge from the Work Placement Programme. A further 1,577 internship opportunities were available on the JobBridge website last week. Feedback from the Department of Social Protection indicates that the first cohort of interns to have participated in the scheme are already being offered full time positions in a number of cases.
Building on the Jobs Initiative, I am currently finalising an Action Plan for Jobs for Government. This Plan will be launched in the coming weeks and will set out a series of clear, actionable measures to support the creation and retention of jobs.
