Wednesday, 13 May 2015

Written Answers Nos. 73-99

Universal Social Charge Payments

Ceisteanna (73, 74)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

73. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons who only pay universal social charge at the 1.5% rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18787/15]

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

74. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of persons who pay universal social charge at no higher than the 3.5% rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18788/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 74 together.

The 1.5% USC rate is applicable to the first €12,012 of an individual's income. Where an individual's total income for the year does not exceed €12,012, they are exempt from the Universal Social Charge (USC), thus there are no cases that only pay USC at the 1.5% rate.

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the number of income earners who pay the USC at a top rate of 3.5% is estimated to be in the order of 223,700 in 2015. In addition, a further 57,000 income earners only pay a USC rate of 3.5% by virtue of being over 70 years of age and having aggregate income of less than €60,000. These figures  are estimates for 2015, using the latest actual data for the year 2012 adjusted as necessary for income, self-employment and employment trends in the interim. They are provisional and may be revised. A married couple or civil partners who have elected or have been deemed to have elected for joint assessment are counted as one tax unit.

The Revenue Commissioners estimate that a further 222,000 income earners pay USC at a top rate of 3.5% by virtue of being a medical card holder and having aggregate income of less than €60,000. However, as there is no medical card 'marker' on Revenue records, this figure is a derived rather than an actual estimate.

Consumer Protection

Ceisteanna (75)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

75. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his plans to protect consumers whose loans are sold to third parties; when he expects legislation in this regard to be enacted and operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18797/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

Borrowers whose loans are sold to unregulated entities will be protected by the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2015 which is currently being drafted. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure that consumers retain the protections they had prior to the sale of their loan.  This Bill will require entities dealing with the consumer to be authorised by the Central Bank and subject to its Codes of Conduct. Dealing with the consumer is credit servicing and the definition of credit servicing is broad. Owners of loan books who deal directly with consumers, that is, who are servicing their own loan books, will be regulated. Otherwise they can have the loan book serviced by a regulated credit servicing firm.

The Bill was published in January and second stage of the Bill was taken in the Dáil on 4 February. Since then, my officials have been in contact with the Central Bank and with the Office of the Attorney General to further progress the legislation. The Bill will continue its progress through the legislative process and I look forward to further discussion of the Bill at Committee Stage which has been set for 27 May.

Financial Services Regulation

Ceisteanna (76, 79)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

76. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of payment institutions regulated in the State; the names of same; the date each one was licensed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18803/15]

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

79. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications for licences to operate as payment institutions that have been received by the Central Bank of Ireland in the past two years; his views on the opinion expressed to the Irish Ambassador in Britain that companies were having difficulties in obtaining licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18856/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 79 together.

I am advised by the Central Bank that there are currently eleven payment institutions regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in accordance with the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009. Please see appendix 1 for further details. Furthermore, at the start of 2013 the Central Bank had three applications for authorisation in progress. During 2013, the Central Bank received a further two applications and during 2014 the Central Bank received a further three applications. Of these eight applications, three applications were returned to applicants due to dormancy (i.e. absence of response from the applicant for 6 months or more), one was withdrawn by the applicant, two were authorised and the remaining two continue to be processed.

As part of my role as Minister I meet with a wide range of members of the public and representatives of industry, some of which may outline regulatory issues which they have encountered. In the context of my responsibility to ensure an effective legislative framework for financial regulation I may from time to time raise certain issues in discussion with the Central Bank of Ireland or elsewhere. Furthermore, under Section 32L of the Central Bank Act 1942, as amended, the Central Bank is required to prepare an Annual Performance Statement relating to its performance in regulating financial services. In that context, my Department is currently working with the Central Bank in seeking to improve the parameters for reporting on performance contained in that Performance Statement.

I note that, as set out in 'IFS 2020: A strategy for Ireland's International Financial Services Sector', in an Irish context 'the Payments Industry is a highly successful sub-sector of the International Financial Services Industry which has seen considerable growth in recent years'. Officials within my Department strive to ensure that the regulations which are in place operate as envisaged and in this regard they continue to monitor the appropriate legislation.

Finally, I welcome the recent political agreement which was reached on the proposal for a revised Payment Services Directive with the conclusion of trilogue negotiations.  

Appendix 1

List of Payment Institutions authorised in Ireland 1.

Payment Institution	Trading as	Date of Authorisation
CBN Ireland Remittance Centre Limited	CBN Remittance Centre	29 Apr 2011
Chase Paymentech Europe Limited	Chase Paymentech Europe Limited	01 Nov 2009
CurrencyFair Limited	CurrencyFair Limited	08 Apr 2010
CUSOP (Payments) Limited	CUSOP	01 Nov 2013
EU Money Transfer Limited	EU Money Transfer Limited	01 Feb 2010
FEXCO Corporate Payments	FEXCO Corporate Payments	01 Nov 2009
Fire Financial Services Limited	Fire Financial Services	04 Jun 2010
First Merchant Processing (Ireland) Ltd	AIB Merchant Services	01 Nov 2009
InterPay Limited	Transfermate	29 Apr 2011
Primafinance Limited	PrimaFinance Debt Solutions	11 Dec 2013
Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited	Western Union Payment Services Ireland Limited	01 Nov 2009

1. Data were extracted from the 'Register of Payment Institutions who have been granted an authorisation pursuant to Regulation 18 of the European Communities (Payment Services) Regulations 2009 as at 06 May 2015', which can be accessed at http://registers.centralbank.ie/DownloadsPage.aspx

Property Tax Exemptions

Ceisteanna (77)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

77. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the number of applications made for exemption from local property tax, in respect of pyrite damage in categories 2 and 1, the progress made and the number of successful applications in each category. [18828/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they do not capture details in relation to the category of damage certified per each individual exemption application and they are not therefore in a position to provide the level of detail requested by the Deputy.

Since the introduction of LPT, over 2,000 applications for pyrite exemption have been received by Revenue. The exemption can only be allowed in circumstances where the residential property has been assessed by a suitably qualified person and where a certificate confirming "significant pyritic damage" has issued to the property owner.

Of the applications received by Revenue, almost 800 cases were found to be ineligible while the balance of over 1,200 cases was accepted on a self-assessed basis. The accepted cases are subject to review as part of Revenue's overall compliance programme, which will require any property owners who have not already supplied a copy of the confirming certificate to do so as supporting documentation. Where the confirming certificate is not produced, Revenue has no alternative but to refuse the exemption.

Vehicle Registration

Ceisteanna (78)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

78. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the reason the vehicle registration tax export repayment scheme charges eligible citizens €500 administration, deducted from repayable vehicle registration tax, when exporting a car; the amount of revenue this charge raised in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18832/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

As the Deputy is aware, section 135D(4)(b) of the Finance Act 1992 currently provides that an administration charge of €500 is deducted from the amount of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) refunded upon the export of a passenger motor car under the VRT Export Repayment Scheme.

The VRT Export Repayment Scheme was introduced in the Finance Act 2012 to provide for a repayment of VRT upon the export of passenger motor car from the State. Up until the introduction of this Scheme individuals exporting vehicles had no way of recouping the residual VRT contained in the vehicle.  An administration charge of €500 was initially necessary in order to recoup the significant investment necessary in setting up the technological platforms for operating the refund scheme and the interface with the third party to which the export examinations have been outsourced.

However, now that the necessary systems are in place and the scheme is operating effectively, I believe that there is an opportunity to reconsider the level of the charge with a view to a reduction in the context of this year's Finance Bill process. I will instruct my officials to examine the level at which the administration charge is set. Any new rate at which the administration charge may be set must continue to reflect the significant ongoing administrative and enforcement costs of the Scheme.

The administrative charge raised €728,000 in 2014. 

Question No. 79 answered with Question No. 76.

Mortgage Interest Relief Expenditure

Ceisteanna (80, 81, 82)

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

80. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the estimated loss to the Exchequer of mortgage interest tax relief on rental income in 2014. [18857/15]

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

81. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a breakdown of the estimated cost to the Exchequer of an increase of mortgage interest relief to 100% of rental income. [18858/15]

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

82. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance the total tax intake on rental income in the years 2010 to 2014. [18859/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 to 82, inclusive, together.

In relation to Question 18857/15, I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that landlords may deduct interest on money borrowed to purchase, improve or repair residential property from the gross rent when computing their rental profits for tax purposes on that property. Interest can only be deducted during the period in which the property is let and the deductibility of interest in computing taxable rental income from residential property (insofar as it would otherwise be allowable) is limited to 75% of such interest. Information on interest relief for rental property is based on all claims for such relief in tax returns: Form 11 or Form 12 for individual taxpayers. Interest relief associated with corporate landlords is not captured on the relevant corporation tax CT1 return and is therefore not available. Based on personal income tax returns filed for 2010 to 2012, the latest year available, the estimated amount of tax foregone by allowing a deduction for interest on borrowings to be offset against rental income is as shown in the following table. This includes the cost for both residential and commercial properties.

Year	Cost € million
2010	672
2011	691
2012	577

These estimates are based on assuming that tax relief was allowed at the top income tax rate of 41% (the applicable rate in the years in question) and the figures provided could, therefore, be regarded as the maximum Exchequer cost in respect of those taxpayers.

In respect of Question 18858/15, it is assumed the Deputy is proposing to increase the 75% limit to 100%. In that regard, the Deputy should be aware that the estimated full year saving arising from the restriction of the interest deduction to 75% when introduced in the April 2009 supplementary budget, was put at €95 million. It is likely, therefore, that the cost of restoration of the deduction to 100%, would be of the same broad order of magnitude.

In relation to Question 18859/15, I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the amount of gross domestic rental income declared on income tax returns was €4.3bn for 2010, €4.1bn for 2011 and €4.0bn for 2012 (returns for tax years 2013 or 2014 are not yet available). The rental income declared in respect of corporation tax was €548m for 2010, €520m for 2011 and €526m for 2012. However, as rental income is aggregated with all other incomes for the purposes of tax assessment calculation, it is not possible to specify the total tax intake on rental income alone.

Property Tax Yield

Ceisteanna (83)

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

83. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Finance the total property tax income from landlords in 2014. [18860/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a breakdown of Local Property Tax collected from landlords as requested by the Deputy is not available.

The Deputy may be interested to note that general statistics on Local Property Tax are available on Revenue's website at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/lpt-compliance.html.

Banking Sector

Ceisteanna (84, 85, 86, 87)

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

84. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if a cost-benefit analysis has been carried out on the merits of retaining Allied Irish Banks in the State sector, in view of the failed record of the management of this bank while in private ownership. [18870/15]

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

85. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide an update on the benefits of retaining Allied Irish Banks as a State asset, including the reported current value of the bank, and its important role in determining the net national debt of Ireland. [18871/15]

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

86. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider retaining Allied Irish Banks in public ownership, with the bank's annual profits being used to defray the national debt, and to support Irish capital infrastructure, over the coming decades. [18872/15]

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

87. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider retaining Allied Irish Banks in public ownership until a Government with a new mandate, after the coming general election, has had an opportunity to evaluate all aspects of the role and history of this bank in the Irish economy, and to avoid future controversies resulting from an early sell-off. [18873/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 84 to 87, inclusive, together.

I have stated on numerous occasions that it is Government policy that we will not remain a holder of our banking investments in the long term. Given our high debt to GDP ratio, we do not have the luxury of holding all of these investments indefinitely and I envisage receipts from the gradual sale of these investments helping to play their part in reducing the State's overall debt burden in the coming years.

The Irish banking system is now in a much stronger position than it has been in recent years. Profits are recovering, balance sheets have been restructured and we have started the process of returning cash to the taxpayer following the huge investments that were made over the 2009-11 period. 

Much of the banking-related work in the Department of Finance this year will focus on AIB. Given the scale of the State's investment some €20.8 billion and the range of options available to recoup value from the bank, officials within my department are working with AIB on reconfiguring its capital structure. Goldman Sachs International has been appointed to provide financial advice to the Department  in this regard.

The focus will be on ensuring that the best decisions are made regarding potential capital restructuring options and sequencing in order to maximise the return of cash to the State from our AIB investments over time. While this is just the start of the process, it is an essential first step on the road to recovering value for the taxpayer. All options remain on the table and it is too early to specify what steps will be taken next or to put a timeline on decisions.

Tax Collection

Ceisteanna (88)

Dan Neville

Ceist:

88. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding a notice of tax liability in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18882/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they have ascertained the position regarding the source of income of the person concerned and have made arrangements to provide a letter to him confirming that he has no liability to tax.

Waterways Issues

Ceisteanna (89)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

89. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the structural condition of a crossing at a canal (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18864/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (Deputy Simon Harris)

The channel mentioned by the Deputy is a tributary of the River Galey which in turn forms part of the River Feale Catchment Drainage Scheme maintained by the Office of Public Works. The OPW is currently making enquiries to determine who is responsible for this bridge.

Company Law

Ceisteanna (90)

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

90. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there is any upcoming legislation to amend the rules whereby private companies, with a significant or large number of workers and a high level of commercial activity in important markets of the economy, must produce and disseminate public accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18877/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Government has given approval for the drafting of a Bill to transpose the provisions of the new Accounting Directive (Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC).

The principal effect of the Bill will be the amendment of Part 6 of the Companies Act 2014. The drafting of that Bill is advancing in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and it is my intention to bring it to the House at the earliest opportunity as the deadline for transposition is 20 July 2015.

The focus of the Directive is on small companies, so most of the changes in the Bill will affect small companies. Small companies qualify for audit exemption. As the thresholds for small and medium companies are considerably increased, the number of companies that will exceed those thresholds will be reduced. Therefore, the number of companies that qualify as large companies will be fewer. For the remaining large companies, the requirements for production and publication of accounts will remain largely unchanged and the Bill will reflect that.

However, the transposition of the Directive may have implications in this regard for unlimited companies. My Department and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are examining how best to give effect to those features of the Directive in the forthcoming Bill.

Employment Rights

Ceisteanna (91)

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

91. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to amend the Protection of Employees (Part-Time) Work Act 2001, and any other relevant employment legislation, to enable part-time workers to request full-time work and contracts. [18876/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Gerald Nash)

Ireland’s robust suite of employment rights legislation contains strong safeguards for part-time workers.

The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 implemented EU Council Directive 97/81/EC into Irish law. The purpose of the Directive was to implement the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by the European cross-industry organisations UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC. The Act provides a wide degree of protection for part-time employees, including the general protection that a part-time employee shall not be treated in a less favourable manner in respect of his/her conditions of employment than a full time employee.

Section 13(5) of the 2001 Act contained provisions in relation to the preparation and publishing of a Code of Practice by the Labour Relations Commission in relation to the steps that could be taken by employers for the purposes of Clause 5.3 of the Framework Agreement. Clause 5.3 of the Framework Agreement provided that, as far as possible, an employer should give consideration to a request by workers to transfer from full-time work to part-time and vice-versa. The Labour Relations Commission prepared this Code of Practice, based on the provisions in Section 13 of the 2001 Act, following consultation with the social partners. It was deemed to be a Code of Practice and implemented, in 2006, by the Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice on Access to Part-Time Working) (Declaration) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 8 of 2006). Under Section 42(4) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, the Code is admissible in evidence in any proceedings before a Court, the Labour Court, the Labour Relations Commission, the Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Equality Tribunal.

The Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 provides that fixed-term employees may not be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees, unless the employer can objectively justify the different treatment. Any justification offered cannot be connected with the fact that the employee is on a fixed-term contract.

The 2003 Act also establishes a framework to prevent abuses arising from the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts. The Act provides that where an employee has been on two or more continuous fixed-term contracts, the total duration of those contracts may not exceed four years. After this, if the employer wishes to renew the employee’s contract, it must be an open-ended contract unless there are objective grounds justifying the renewal of the contract for a fixed term only.

The Unfair Dismissal Act 1977 as amended contains a provision aimed at ensuring that successive temporary contracts are not used in order to avoid that legislation. It provides that where a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract expires and the individual is re-employed within 3 months, the individual is deemed to have continuous service for the purposes of that Act.

I have no plans at this time to amend these provisions.

NSAI Inspections

Ceisteanna (92)

Micheál Martin

Ceist:

92. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware of the delays in providing approval from the National Standards Authority of Ireland for products being produced; that these delays are resulting in Irish businesses losing contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18887/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The responsibility for the EU Directive 2007/46/EC governing motor vehicles type approvals lies with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and its Agency, the Road Safety Authority.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the Irish approval authority for this and related Directives.

The NSAI accepts that in the absence of the appropriate approval a business is unable to register a vehicle which impacts on the ability to place the vehicle on the market or complete contracts for delivery.

The optimum processing and approval time for motor vehicles is two weeks

The processing time reflects the technical nature of the approvals process, the requirement on industry to build in an adequate provision for the automotive approvals timescale and the increased registration of new vehicles at the start of the year and at the mid-year registration cycle also.

These conditions, coupled with resourcing constraints, have led to current approvals times of approximately four weeks.

The timelines are dependent on submission of complete and accurate information accompanying the application. It may be prudent therefore, for companies to build in a contingency timescale to allow for clarifications and/or the provision of additional information.

NSAI recognises that the current lead times are the cause of concerns for the industry and has implemented actions to continue to reduce the processing time. NSAI went to tender for the provision of technical assessors, who commenced in January 2015 . However, it is not possible to rapidly increase processing capacity as the sourcing and induction of engineers takes a period of approximately 6 months before they become competent in the approvals process. While new personnel have been engaged through these outsourcing arrangements this has yet to fully impact on the processing times.

Taking the additional resources into account, and subject to whatever surges in applications that may occur, the NSAI continues to work towards the optimal processing time.

NSAI Staff

Ceisteanna (93)

Micheál Martin

Ceist:

93. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of employees in the National Standards Authority of Ireland, in each year from 2010 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18888/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The following are the whole time equivalent numbers of staff employed in NSAI annually from 2010 to 2015.

Year	Amount
31 December 2010	168.55
31 December 2011	168.28
31 December 2012	148.37
31 December 2013	141.29
31 December 2014	140.69
31 March 2015	140.40

NSAI Inspections

Ceisteanna (94)

Micheál Martin

Ceist:

94. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is aware of the difficulties faced by a company (details supplied) in County Carlow, as a result of the delay in approving products from the National Standards Authority of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18889/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The responsibility for the EU Directive 2007/46/EC governing motor vehicles type approvals lies with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and its Agency, the Road Safety Authority. The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the Irish approval authority for this and related Directives. The current processing times reflects the technical nature of the approvals process, the requirement on industry to build in an adequate provision for the automotive approvals timescale and the increased registration of new vehicles at the start of the year and at the mid-year registration cycle also.

These conditions coupled with resourcing constraints have exacerbated this situation with current approvals times of approximately 4 weeks. The optimum approval time target is 2 weeks.

NSAI recognises that the current lead times are the cause of concerns for the industry and has implemented actions to continue to reduce the processing time. NSAI went to tender for the provision of technical assessors, who commenced in January 2015. However, it is not possible to rapidly increase processing capacity as the sourcing and induction of engineers takes a period of approximately 6 months before they become competent in the approvals process. While new personnel have been engaged through these outsourcing arrangements this has yet to fully impact on the processing timelines.

In respect of Keltruck, there are currently 6 applications for certification with NSAI from this company, ranging from 1 week to 5 weeks. The NSAI are in constant contact with the company in order to prioritise their applications.

Job Creation Data

Ceisteanna (95)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation out of the total number of jobs created in the past four years, the proportion of those in manufacturing; and in the service sectors; the extent to which this country remains competitive in both sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18893/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact on employment in the economy, since the first Plan was launched in early 2012. The services sector is making the largest contribution to the achievement of the Government’s target of 100,000 more at work by 2016. Following a number of years of decline in employment from 2007, I am pleased to report that the manufacturing sector has also recorded increases in job numbers since 2011.

According to the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey, as of the fourth quarter of 2014, seasonally adjusted, the number of people at work in industry and services increased by 73,400, and there are 13,400 more people at work in construction, since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012.

In relation to agency assisted firms, the net increase in full-time employment since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs to 2014 is 25,665, of which there a was a net increase of 8,051 in manufacturing employment and a net increase of 17,614 in internationally traded services employment. This equates to just under one-third, or 31 per cent, of the net increase in full-time employment in agency assisted firms was in manufacturing and two-thirds of the net increase was in internationally traded services enterprises, since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs.

Arising from the strategy for the manufacturing sector ‘Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020’, prepared by Forfás and the report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs Skills Report on the skills needs for the sector, both of which I launched in 2013, there are now a range of initiatives in hand by my Department and relevant Agencies to drive the Government’s jobs targets.

Manufacturing was a Disruptive Reform in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, with a range of measures designed to support industry growth including encouraging entrepreneurship, further improving our skills base, improving access to finance by SMEs and supporting indigenous companies and foreign-owned manufacturing companies to transform their businesses as part of a National Step Change Initiative. The Manufacturing Development Forum is helping to address the key issues arising from the Strategy recommendations. These initiatives are important to growing and sustaining the competitiveness of existing enterprises, to sustaining employment and to attracting new investment.

More broadly in terms of our competitiveness for manufacturing and services investment, as reminded recently by the National Competitiveness Council when they published the 2015 Cost of Doing Business Report, while we have made progress in improving our comparative position, there is still further progress required. Costs in Ireland have fallen across a range of business inputs since 2009, making Ireland more competitive internationally. This is reflected in our ongoing ability to successfully compete internationally for trade and investment and in our improving performance across a range of international competitiveness benchmarking reports – for example, we have moved from 24th to 15th in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook.

In the longer term, improving our productivity performance must be the vehicle through which we must improve our competitiveness and grow the economy. Relentlessly pursuing productivity growth, driven by investment in talent and innovation, and improving our cost competitiveness remain vital to us as a small, export oriented economy so as to grow jobs and incomes in a sustainable way over the medium and longer term.

Job Creation

Ceisteanna (96)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which job creation, in both the manufacturing and services sectors, continues to be spread throughout the regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18894/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Action Plan for Jobs since 2012 has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote job opportunities and employment growth in all regions. While every region and firm has yet to recover all the jobs lost in the downturn, the Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact with employment up in all eight regions of the country since the first Plan was launched in early 2012 (NUTS 3).

So as to ensure we recover all the jobs lost and establish sustainable platforms for growth for the future in the regions, as part of the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs I am leading the development of Regional Action Plans for Jobs. The development of Regional Action Plans, through a bottom-up process of stakeholder consultation, will identify those actions at regional level that can help achieve specific impacts in terms of jobs, sales and exports, entrepreneurship and startups, innovation and market penetration and access to talent. I have participated in stakeholder fora in every region over recent weeks and there is a consensus that to achieve these impacts there is a need to strengthen and deepen regional collaboration – that is through local authorities, regional bodies, and higher education institutions, the private sector and communities coming forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their area and working together to deliver on those actions. My Department is committed to working with stakeholders in the regions in identifying regional strengths, assets and areas of competitive advantage in order to support businesses to start-up, succeed, expand, and export so as to grow sustainable employment for the future.

The number of people at work in the mid-west is up by 2,400; in the west by 4,000; in the midlands by 8,900; in the south-west by 9,000; in the mid-east region by 9,100; in the border region by 11,300; in the south-east by 23,300 and in Dublin by 46,000. Over the same period there are 73,400 more people at work in industry and services, and 13,400 more people at work in construction

With regard to employment in Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies between 2012 and 2014, the manufacturing sector recorded increases of 10% in the Midlands, 9% in the Mid-East, 8% in the West, 6% in the South West, 6% in the Mid-West and 4% in the Border region since 2012. Overall, employment in the manufacturing sector increased by 5% between 2012 and 2014 to reach 185,545 full time employees in agency-assisted firms.

In the internationally traded services sector between 2012 and 2014, all regions experienced employment growth. Employment increased by 28% in the Border region, 18% in the South East, 16% in the South West, 16% in Dublin, 13% in the Midlands,10% in the Mid-West, 6% in the Mid-East and 6% in the West since 2012. Overall, employment in the services sector increased by 15% between 2012 and 2014 to 134,052 full time employees in agency-assisted firms.

Job Creation

Ceisteanna (97)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

97. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which innovation continues to play a major role in job creation, in both the manufacturing and services sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18895/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The importance of science, technology and innovation (STI) to Ireland is recognised by the Government as being crucial to growth in our indigenous and FDI sectors and plays a key role in job creation. Investment in STI is an essential component of supporting an innovative and enterprising economy. It assists in creating and maintaining high-value jobs and attracts, develops and nurtures business, scientists and talented people, ensuring Ireland is connected and respected internationally.

My Department and its agencies are focused on the development and support of internationally trading manufacturing and services firms in Ireland, and have a clear and steady focus on the potential and opportunities that exist and can be created by prioritising innovation and technology as a key driver of success. Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland provide a spectrum of innovation and science/technology development programmes that deliver financial, technical and experiential support to help companies become more innovative, encourage and support competitiveness, and help them grow their sales and exports in order to create a climate in which sustainable employment will grow and expand.

Evidence, from both the EU and internationally, shows that the Government’s strategy of accelerating the economic and societal return on our STI investment is paying off. Globally, Ireland is ranked:

- 1st in the world for the availability of skilled labour [Source: IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook];

- 11th in the Global Innovation Index 2014 out of 143 countries [Source: Cornell University, INSEAD and WIPO 2014]

- 13th in the world for university-industry collaboration on R&D [Source: Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014]

In addition, Ireland has improved its position for 2 years in a row in the European Commission Innovation Union Scoreboard according to the 2015 edition published just last week. We are now ranked 8th amongst the 28 EU Member States moving from 9th place in 2014 and 10th place in 2013. It is particularly encouraging to see that Ireland is the overall leader in two specific dimensions: Innovators – which measures how innovative firms are; and Economic Effects - which captures economic success stemming from innovation in terms of employment, revenue and exports.

Horizon 2020 Strategy Funding

Ceisteanna (98)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects the Irish jobs market to benefit from European Union support, by way of direct grant aid, or otherwise, from the relevant Commissioner in charge of research, innovation and science; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18897/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The current EU framework programme for research and innovation is Horizon 2020. It has a budget of close to €80bn. and runs over the period 2014-2020.

Horizon 2020 provides Ireland with valuable mechanisms for firms to further their innovativeness in products, services and processes. Irish companies who compete successfully for funding from this large research funding resource will boost their innovative capability and competitiveness which in turn this will deliver strong national economic impacts, including jobs.

The most recent data release from the European Commission shows that in the first 9 months of Horizon 2020, Ireland achieved success of €97 million. €19.1 million of this success was achieved by industry.

Ireland’s 2014 target for success in Horizon 2020 is €100 million (Action Plan for Jobs). Based on the results for the first 9 months, I am confident that we will surpass this target.

Equality Issues

Ceisteanna (99)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

99. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which women and men have had equal opportunity to take up jobs in the workplace over the past four years; the extent to which this is in line with international trends throughout Europe, or globally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18898/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

The Action Plan for Jobs since 2012 has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote job opportunities and employment growth for all, males and females. The Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) 2015 is a whole of government approach to economic recovery, export growth and job creation. The Action Plan for Jobs set a target to increase employment by 100,000 by 2016 and we are well on track to achieve that figure this year, ahead of the target. Much work remains to be done however to replace all the jobs lost in the downturn, and we are determined as set out in the Action Plan for Jobs and the Spring Economic Statement to have 2.1 million at work by 2018 and to get the unemployment rate below 8 per cent. It is important to record that almost 90,000 more people are at work since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. There was an annual increase in employment of 1.5% or 29,100 in the year to the fourth quarter of 2014, bringing total employment to 1,938,900. The increase in total employment of 29,100 in the year to Q4 2014 was represented by an increase in full-time employment of 39,600 (+2.7%) and a decrease in part-time employment of 10,500 (-2.3%). Unemployment decreased by 39,600 (-15.6%) in the year to Q4 2014 bringing the total number of persons unemployed to 213,600. This is the tenth quarter in succession where unemployment has declined on an annual basis. The long-term unemployment rate decreased from 7.2% to 5.7% over the year to Q4 2014.

Over the last four years, the number of males at work has grown by 59,000, while the number of females at work has increased by 22,700. Over the same period, unemployment amongst men has fallen by 75,600, and by 21,700 amongst women. Male unemployment decreased by 23,400 to 135,500 in 2014, while female unemployment decreased by 16,300 to 78,100 over the same period.

My Department, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices work closely with the Department of Social Protection and its offices at local level to promote available employment opportunities to those seeking employment opportunities, male and female, and to ensure employers have the best available data on skills available to fill job openings.