Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
1. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his policy regarding the manufacturing industry and the way it can be developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52080/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraManufacturing is a key priority of enterprise policy. Employment in the sector makes up 64% of Enterprise Ireland supported jobs and over 50% of IDA supported jobs. Manufacturing employment grew by 1.1% in 2011, an increase of almost 2,200 jobs. This reverses a trend of four continuous years of job losses, when almost 45,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing. The bulk of the growth was in foreign owned industry but indigenous manufacturing also increased slightly with 92,507 employed by Irish owned companies. Employment growth in Irish manufacturing companies has been particularly strong in the life sciences, food and ICT sectors, and we must continue to develop these sectors.
Both Enterprise Ireland and the IDA are continuously developing policy interventions to support the development of manufacturing companies and under the action plan for jobs, we are rolling out measures to improve productivity, extend innovation, enhance management skills, develop collaboration in new technologies and enhance access to finance.
The action plan for jobs also included a series of actions for developing manufacturing and specific sectoral opportunities within it. I have established a manufacturing development forum to set out a strategic vision for 2020 aimed at increasing employment in the sector. Its membership comprises key industry players. At its first meeting in June, I asked the forum to identify impediments to job creation in manufacturing areas and opportunities for immediate job creation.
The work of the forum is being supplemented by further research on a long-term vision and strategic plan for manufacturing in Ireland’s economy and an assessment of manufacturing skills needs of the manufacturing sector building on previous sub-sectoral work. To date, the forum has drawn up a comprehensive schedule of challenges and opportunities facing manufacturing and members of the forum have participated in workshops organised by Forfás to further develop particular issues relevant to the sector. I expect some interim findings from the forum before the end of the year. It is intended to publish a strategic plan for the sector in the new year and my Department and agencies will then progress the actions identified. I am confident these measures, combined with other Government initiatives to improve competitiveness, will ensure Ireland is well positioned to build and maintain a strong base of manufacturing activity.
I thank the Minister. I welcome the number of initiatives announced, particularly the manufacturing and development forum. Can the Minister outline the membership of it? While there was growth in employment in the sector last year, which is welcome, the QNHS survey showed a decline of 4,000 jobs between April and June this year in the manufacturing sector. Some 50% of IDA jobs are in manufacturing and I am concerned there is a concentration of those jobs in the pharma sector. We are moving into a period of challenge for the pharmaceutical sector, where products manufactured here are coming off patent. Is there a strategy in the Department to address that point and examine other opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector?
I also welcome developments in the indigenous sector, particularly in food. What element of co-operation exists between the Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of Harvest 2020 and how to maximise job opportunities in the manufacturing space? The Minister referred to 64% of Enterprise Ireland jobs. Can the Minister indicate how many are in micro-enterprises? I am thinking of small indigenous manufacturing companies that are in a position to withstand any international downturn.
The most reliable figures are the agency figures because seasonal factors come into play in respect of the QNHS. Since we entered Government, we have had a focus on the sector. It is growing, in sharp contrast to the history of the sector. There were misgivings in the area in 2006 when the manufacturing sector was having problems. There was inactivity in the Department and no action was taken by the then Minister to address the problems. Manufacturing continued to decline relentlessly. We are taking this sector seriously because it was overlooked in the past.
There is a so-called patent cliff in the pharmaceutical sector. The IDA announcements and their pattern suggest we have successfully identified other sections of the pharmaceutical sector where we are growing, such as bio pharma in particular. The key to success is to have spread and to diversify within the pharma sector. Within the 195,000 jobs, pharma accounts for 25,000. Medical devices add more but the sector does not face the same challenges to which Deputy Calleary alluded. There is no doubt the patent cliff will have an impact on sales because of the drop in sales once the drugs come off patent but we are sustaining employment successfully in the sector. Last year, there was no change in employment in the sector. We have succeeded.
Food is a sector of enormous potential and we look forward to the removal of quota as an opportunity. The large diversification of sales into export markets is really encouraging. I do not have the full membership of the body or the data on micro-enterprises but I will furnish them to the Deputy.
