Written Answers Nos. 65 - 74
65. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects innovation and technology to remain a feature of economic development over the next five years; the supportive incentives that are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38576/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to the importance of innovation and technology given the key role that it plays in underpinning economic recovery and maintaining Ireland’s competitiveness.
In the past decade and a half we have made significant progress in our national innovation system which started from a very low base by international comparisons. We have successfully built up research capacity and now we have a significant reputation for research excellence along with an increasing base of R&D active enterprises. Supporting effective research that produces outputs of maximum impact for Ireland’s economy and society is crucial.
In this context, an Interdepartmental Committee for Science, Technology and Innovation, which is chaired by my Department, is in the final stages of preparing a successor to the national Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013. The new Strategy will outline our plan to ensure that we build on our significant achievements to date.
The availability of supportive incentives have been vital in our success to date in securing and growing Foreign Direct Investment, creating new companies, and providing a highly educated workforce. This new Strategy will allow us to build on these supports and will address issues such as: levels of public and private investment; enterprise RDI; the development of talent; optimising the transfer of knowledge between our public research system and enterprise; and collaboration within the public system, between the public system and enterprise and beyond that, collaboration at international level.
66. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he remains satisfied regarding the extent to which Ireland remains attractive as an investment location for foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38577/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am satisfied that Ireland continues to perform well in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) market. FDI in-flow to Europe has slowed in recent years but Ireland remains a strong attraction. There were 197 investments in 2014, equating to a 20% increase on 2013.
In its mid-year statement IDA Ireland announced that Ireland continued to win a strong share of global investment for Dublin and regional locations in the first half of 2015, despite intense international competition and economic uncertainty in Europe. In the first half of the year, IDA Ireland approved 110 investment projects, which will lead to creation of 9,000 direct jobs this year and over future years as the companies gradually roll out their investment plans. In the same period in 2014, there were 100 projects leading to 8,000 jobs. Among the companies publicly announcing investment plans in Ireland in the first half of 2015 include Apple, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Northern Trust, Facebook, Agora Publishing, Viagogo, Zimmer, ABEC Inc, and Zalando.
My Department’s Policy Statement on Foreign Direct Investment, which was published at the end of July 2014, sets out the strategic direction for FDI to 2020 and the key actions needed to enhance Ireland’s attractiveness and business environment in the context of intensified international competition for investment and talent. From the Policy Statement, IDA’s new 5 year IDA Strategy “Winning - Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019”, was published in February 2015 and sets out a plan for IDA Ireland to broaden its target sectors further and to seek out new markets over the next five years. It sets ambitious targets to boost Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland by over 40%, creating 80,000 new jobs in the economy over the next five years.
IDA Ireland aims to win 900 individual projects over the next five years, increasing its investment target by over 40%. This will be based on an ability to respond to client needs efficiently, effectively and ahead of the competition.
In relation to its global strategy, North America will remain the key source market for FDI, while also targeting market share growth in Europe and increasing returns from regions such as Asia-Pacific. A strong emphasis in the strategy is on bringing first time investors to Ireland from all three markets. IDA will continue to target high growth companies. New opportunities arise for Ireland from the rapid growth in technology. Some of these opportunities are within our existing sectors and focus on areas for convergence including Internet of Things, Big Data, Smart Ageing and Internet security where IDA Ireland will work with our clients to maximise investment. There are also a number of new sectors where IDA Ireland has assessed a potential ‘good fit’ for Ireland, these include energy services, asset-led FDI, arts and culture and property FDI.
The Government’s commitment to maintaining Ireland’s attractiveness as an FDI location is further illustrated by the establishment in Budget 2016 of the Knowledge Development Box (KDB). The KDB will add a further dimension to Ireland’s ‘best in class’ corporation tax offering. Effective from 1st January 2016, it will be the first and only box in the world to meet the OECD’s ‘modified nexus’ standard and will provide long-term certainty to taxpayers at a time when many international businesses are re-evaluating their structures and investment choices to compete and succeed.
67. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects the knowledge development box to facilitate ongoing investment in job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38578/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA competitive, innovative enterprise base is at the core of Ireland’s future economic development and growth. As part of the co-ordinated whole of Government Action Plan for Jobs process, the recovery in jobs and exports to date is in large part due to the considerable improvements in the business environment for enterprise. The enterprise sector has led the economic recovery, with our enterprises and entrepreneurs innovating, developing and improving their products and services to meet the needs of customers in markets across the globe. I expect that the measures announced by the Minister for Finance in Budget 2016 last month, including the introduction the first OECD compliant Knowledge Development Box will further strengthened the attractiveness of Ireland as a place for innovation, entrepreneurship and investment – delivering sustainable job creation and growth.
By being the first country world-wide to offer an OECD compliant Knowledge Development Box (KDB), Ireland is offering certainty to global and Irish owned enterprises. Ireland’s KDB rate is 6.25 percent (half of the corporation tax rate of 12.5 percent) is internationally competitive.
The Knowledge Box, as announced in the 2016 Budget speech, will support and encourage investment in research and development in Ireland and the increased the protection and exploitation of intellectual property arising. The OECD nexus approach sets out the principles and guidelines under which income arising from IP assets can qualify for a lower rate of tax under a KDB initiative.
The KDB complements the existing suite of initiatives and supports available to companies that undertake R&D activities in Ireland across the lifecycle of research and development – including R&D tax credits, RD&I grant supports, support for technology acquisition (S291A), significant state investments in National Research Centres and knowledge transfer infrastructures, and advisory supports for accessing Horizon 2020 funding – providing a competitive proposition for business investment.
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects the economy to develop throughout the regions, thereby increasing job opportunities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38579/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra69. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects further job creation in areas not previously the beneficiaries of major investment to avail of increased opportunities in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38580/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 68 and 69 together.
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs Initiative was launched by Government in February of this year. The purpose of this initiative is to identify a range of actions over the period 2015 - 2017 aimed at facilitating each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels in each of the regions.
The objective of the Regional Action Plans is to strengthen and develop regional collaboration by encouraging local authorities, regional bodies, higher education institutions, the private sector and communities to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their area. The aim is to capitalise on regional strengths, assets and areas of competitive advantage in order to support businesses in each region to start-up, succeed, expand, and export.
To date four plans (Midlands, South West, South East and Mid West have been published. The West plan will be launched later this month, with the remaining three (Border, Mid East, Dublin) currently in development and due for launch as soon as possible.
Each regional Action Plan includes a series of practical actions to support enterprise growth and job creation in the region, within clear timelines for delivery. As is the case with the national Action Plan process, it is the cumulative effect of delivering the actions in the regional Plans that will make a real and lasting impact on the business environment and jobs in the regions.
The primary objective of these plans is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020 and to ensure the unemployment rate of each region is within one per cent of the State average. Key targets in the Regional Action Plans published to date are to increase the number of entrepreneurs/start-ups in each region by a minimum of 25%, improve the 5-year survival rate by 25% and improve scaling performance of companies by 25%. Earlier this year IDA Ireland launched its 5 year strategy for the period 2015 to 2019 which aims to create 80,000 new jobs in the economy over the period and increase investment into each region by between 30% and 40%.
The regional Action Plans will be supported by investment of up to €250 million over the next five years, including €150 million for a property investment programme by IDA Ireland, and up to €100 million for three separate competitive calls which are being administered through Enterprise Ireland. The Enterprise Ireland funds will be distributed through three new competitive calls - a €5m Community Enterprise Initiative, to stimulate and support enterprise and job creation throughout the country at local, community and regional level - a €5m fund open to groups of Local Enterprise Offices who come together to bid for funding for projects to support job-creation initiatives in their areas and a third, broader, competitive regional call, to support significant projects or initiatives to improve or leverage identified enterprise capability in the regions.
In the case of all three funding calls, a collaborative approach, tangible jobs impact, enterprise start-up and scaling are amongst the criteria against which applications will be measured. The Community Enterprise and LEO Initiatives are closed and applications are currently being assessed. An expressions of interest phase for the broader Regional call has concluded and is informing the development of the competitive call, to be launched shortly.
The IDA property funding will be used to invest in IDA’s portfolio of Business and Technology parks and ensure there is sufficient availability of utility-intensive strategic sites and Advance Building Solutions to attract investment to the Regions.
70. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he and his Department have identified those areas most seriously affected by job losses in the past eight years; the action taken, or proposed, to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38582/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which this Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports and provide a solid foundation for future growth. Irish industry has to been to the forefront of the economic recovery, with our enterprises and entrepreneurs innovating, developing and improving their products and services to meet the needs of customers in markets across the globe.
The goal of this Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018. This whole of Government effort has been integrated into the Action Plan for Jobs process which aims to strengthen the enterprise base, support entrepreneurship, improve competitiveness and support regional development. Since the launch of the first plan in Q1 2012, 126,000 more people are at work - exceeding the original target of an additional 100,000 jobs by 2016.
Over the last eight years, in relation to jobs in clients of IDA and Enterprise Ireland, while there were at total of 34,980 full-time jobs lost in the 5 period 2007-2011, this trend of job losses has been reversed over the last three years with full time employment growing by 34,000 between 2012 and 2014 and an additional 4,750 part-time jobs have been created over the period. We have worked hard at local level to promote entrepreneurship and growth and to attract new investment to the areas that suffered most in terms of job losses, including for example through establishment of specific groups such as the South East Forum and Action Plan in 2011 to focus on the needs of that region, which had an unemployment rate among the highest in the country at that time. In the case of the South East region, the unemployment rate fell from 20.1% in 2012 to 12.0% at the end of 2014.
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs Initiative was launched by Government in February of this year. The purpose of this initiative is to identify a range of actions aimed at facilitating each region to achieve its economic potential and raise employment levels in each of the regions.
The objective of the Regional Action Plans is to strengthen and develop regional collaboration by encouraging local authorities, regional bodies, higher education institutions, the private sector and communities to come forward with innovative ideas to boost job creation in their area. The aim is to capitalise on regional strengths, assets and areas of competitive advantage in order to support businesses in each region to start-up, succeed, expand, and export.
In launching the Action Plan for Jobs Regional initiative earlier this year, the Government announced that funding of up to €250 million will be made available over the next five years to support job creation through enterprise growth in the regions. It is the intention that IDA Ireland will deliver a Regional Property Programme of €150 million and a further sum of up to €100 million will be made available through Enterprise Ireland over the next five years to support innovative and collaborative approaches to support job creation across the regions.
The Regional Action Plans will cover the three-year period 2015-2017 to allow for the process to take hold and develop, and to capture a more medium-term ambition for the regions. However, the Regional Action Plans will be flexible and dynamic to allow additional actions and ideas to be added as they emerge over the period of the Plan.
My intention is to publish the 2016 Action Plan in mid-January 2016. My Department is currently developing the 2016 Plan and is engaging bilaterally with Government Departments to identify actions to ensure that the 2016 Plan is as ambitious and impactful as possible and keeps us on track to achieve our goal to have 2.1 million people in employment by 2018.
71. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which access to working capital continues to be made available to small and medium-sized enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38583/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis Government has clearly identified SMEs as drivers of innovation, job creation and growth. We have acknowledged that these businesses have a significant role to play in the sustainable recovery that is now underway in the Irish economy.
Since 2011 Government policy has focused on supporting SMEs in accessing an appropriate supply of financing from both bank and non-bank sources. The Action plan for Jobs process has specifically targeted access to finance issues as being central to the welfare of business. A number of key policy initiatives have been developed which are contributing to the evolution of a more robust and effective platform for the financing of SMEs. These include:
- Establishing the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) which will provide up to €800m of funds. Up until the end of July almost €45 million worth of SBCI loans have been provided to over 1,600 Irish SMEs. The SBCI has also recently announced a €50m SME finance initiative alongside Finance Ireland which will drive competition in Irish SME lending and further announcements are expected shortly.
- The development and promotion of an innovative SME State Support online tool to provide an individual with a list of the possible government business supports available to their particular business;
- Amending the Credit Guarantee Act 2012 and introducing a more flexible Credit Guarantee Scheme. This includes amending the scheme to provide funding to SMEs whose banks are exiting the Irish market. In addition there will be legislative changes made shortly that will enable the development of a more flexible Credit Guarantee Scheme with longer loan duration, more products and finance providers, rebalance the risk between the State and financial providers to make it more attractive to the latter and flexible pricing provisions.
- The finalisation and publication of the review of Microfinance Ireland (MFI) introduced changes that make it easier for small businesses to access funding directly from MFI.
In addition to the above the Credit Review Office will review applications for credit made by SME or Farm borrowers who have had an application for credit of up to €3 million declined or reduced by either Bank of Ireland or Allied Irish Banks, who feel that they have a viable business proposition. The Credit Review Office also examine cases where borrowers feel that the terms and conditions of their existing loan, or a new loan offer, are unfairly onerous or have been unreasonably changed to their detriment.
As the economy moves into a new phase of growth there is an opportunity to further develop a policy agenda that addresses some of the structural constraints in the financing of the SME sector, such as the need for improved payment practices in Ireland. Trade credit is one of the most widely used sources of funding by Irish firms and the highest in the Eurozone. Trade credit is a crucial component of financing for many SMEs and disruption to the supply chain flow of payments can often be the deciding factor between solvency and bankruptcy.
The economic crisis has presented significant challenges across enterprise in Ireland, but for SMEs in particular the issue of late payments is of critical concern. Late payments in commercial transactions have an adverse effect on businesses by straining cash flow, adding financial costs and fuelling uncertainly for many businesses.
A recent initiative to improve payment performance and improve cash flow between businesses is the launch of the Prompt Payment Code (PPC). These initiatives, together with the late payment legislation, demonstrate the Government’s ongoing drive and commitment to encourage a prompt payment culture in Ireland. Companies providing goods and services need cash flow certainty and are entitled to expect that their payments will be made in a timely manner.
The PPC is about companies demonstrating a real commitment to responsible business practices which in turn leads to achieving competitive advantage in the market place. Government is leading by example and all Government Departments, their agencies and public sectors bodies have signed up to this Code. For the Code to work it is essential that businesses, big and small, make this important commitment to a prompt payment culture in Ireland.
My Department continues to work with other relevant Departments and agencies through the State Bodies Group chaired by the Department of Finance to ensure that appropriate financing for growth options are available to viable SMEs. This will require a clear focus on how best to maximise the benefits to SMEs of the evolving financial landscape in Ireland and the adoption of actions that contribute to developing a more diversified and competitive financial system, capable of financing the growth potential of Irish SMEs.
The Government will continue to monitor that availability of credit through biannual surveys of SMEs to ensure that they can continue to start, scale and succeed from Ireland and that they are in a position to drive our economic recovery and create further jobs.
72. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which support is being offered to facilitate job creation in the indigenous sector over the past eight years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38584/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnterprise Ireland is the agency under my aegis to help companies throughout Ireland start and scale, innovate and remain competitive on international markets, now and in the future. Its vision is that Irish enterprise will be a powerhouse of economic growth and job creation. The manufacturing and internationally traded services companies that Enterprise Ireland works with are a vital source of employment in every county in Ireland and are spread across a wide range of sectors.
In January of this year EI reported that its client companies created 19,705 new jobs in 2014. These companies continued to see year-on-year jobs growth in 2014 and they created 8,476 net new jobs - the highest net gain in the history of the agency. This employment growth demonstrates the direct impact that increasing exports has on jobs in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland supported companies now directly provide employment for 180,072 people, comprising 156,202 full-time and 23,870 part-time workers.
In terms of their overall contribution to the economy, Enterprise Ireland clients account for over €22 billion in expenditure in the Irish economy and support more than 300,000 jobs (direct and indirect) in Ireland – this is equivalent to approximately 16% of the total workforce.
In order to help its clients achieve this, Enterprise Ireland uses a developmental approach across all aspects of clients’ needs, including business development, sales and marketing capabilities, innovation and R&D activity, technology development, continuous competitiveness and lean improvements, leadership and management development, and access to finance.
The outlook for new job creation in 2015 is positive and Enterprise Ireland’s focus will remain on ensuring that its clients have access to all of the necessary supports required to build on this momentum.
Table A overleaf contains figures for jobs created by EI over the period 2007-2014 and the amounts of various funding allocated by the agency for the same period.
The 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are now the First-Stop-Shop service through which all information on State supports for small and micro-businesses can be accessed. The LEOs are the local hub for enterprise support and deliver not just the range of supports that were available from the former CEBs, but also provide:
- An enhanced signposting service to other local and national supports, backed by protocols relating to information exchange, mutual contacts and client referrals with other key agencies (Revenue, Social Protection, and the Credit Review Office) including Local Authority business services; and
- Direct referral to the Microfinance Ireland and Loan Guarantee Schemes.
The LEOs can also provide funding for projects that meet certain criteria, in certain circumstances, and other non-financial ‘soft’ supports such as mentoring and training. Over the period 2008-2015, the LEOs / former CEBs received an Exchequer allocation of €226.470m, of which €129.245m was for Measure 1 (financial) and Measure 2 (non-financial) Capital supports.
At the end of 2014, total direct employment among the 6,058 LEO client companies stood at 31,326, of which 22,555 were full-time and 8,771 were part-time jobs.
The goal of this Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018. This whole of Government effort has been integrated into the Action Plan for Jobs process which aims to strengthen the enterprise base, support entrepreneurship, improve competitiveness and support regional development. Since the launch of the first plan in Q1 2012, 126,000 more people are at work - exceeding the original target of an additional 100,000 jobs by 2016. A key aim is to develop the full potential of our enterprise sector, building upon its assets and areas of competitive advantage.
We are currently preparing our Action Plan for Jobs for 2016, to continue to drive the necessary changes needed to drive growth. Additionally, the Regional Action Plan for Jobs approach that we are currently rolling out is fundamentally based on leveraging the strengths inherent in each region. Last year we launched the National Entrepreneurship Policy for Ireland. The key target contained in the plan is to double the jobs impact of startups in Ireland over the next five years. We are also currently drafting a new Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in order for our enterprise base to thrive.
We will shortly launch Enterprise 2025, which sets out a strategic framework for a competitive, export-orientated economy that can support full employment over the next decade.
All of these strategic pieces knit together to form a cohesive policy framework at the local, national and higher levels to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to encourage and support job creation and the continued economic growth that our country needs.
Table A - Enterprise Ireland
|
Job Gains (new jobs created) |
||||||||
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
|
Job Gains PFT |
14,615 |
10,522 |
7,443 |
8,193 |
9,076 |
12,861 |
12,532 |
14,873 |
|
Job Gains Other |
3,809 |
4,593 |
5,173 |
4,917 |
4,643 |
4,529 |
5,497 |
4,832 |
|
Job Gains Total |
18,424 |
15,115 |
12,616 |
13,110 |
13,719 |
17,390 |
18,029 |
19,705 |
|
Total Employment |
||||||||
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
|
PFT |
153,670 |
145,758 |
133,523 |
137,241 |
141,228 |
145,460 |
149,718 |
156,202 |
|
Other |
14,621 |
15,095 |
16,011 |
19,336 |
21,464 |
23,991 |
26,032 |
23,870 |
|
Total Employment |
168,291 |
160,853 |
149,534 |
156,577 |
162,692 |
169,451 |
175,750 |
180,072 |
Source: Annual Employment Survey figures for each year - 2007-2014.
Enterprise Ireland Allocation of Funds - funding for Enterprise Development
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
|
Capability Building €m |
36 |
46 |
39 |
36 |
31 |
27 |
27 |
26 |
|
Capacity Building €m |
26 |
79 |
22 |
17 |
14 |
16 |
19 |
22 |
|
Equity & Venture Capital Funds €m |
36 |
39 |
90 |
60 |
55 |
64 |
65 |
77 |
|
Technology and Science Infrastructure €m |
87 |
100 |
102 |
107 |
97 |
87 |
92 |
94 |
|
Total €m |
185 |
264 |
253 |
220 |
197 |
194 |
203 |
219 |
Source: Enterprise Ireland Allocation of Funds - Funding for Enterprise Development Table in each year's Annual Report.
73. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects European Union assistance by way of innovation and technology to directly benefit the indigenous business sector over the next five years; the likely effect on the economy as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38585/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe availability of European research and innovation programmes provides Ireland with valuable mechanisms for firms – indigenous and multinational - to engage in high-level international research to further their innovativeness and competitiveness. These programmes are also a critical source of non-Exchequer funding for this important economic activity.
The current EU Framework Programme for research and innovation, which is part of the drive to create new growth and jobs in Europe, is Horizon 2020 (H2020), which has a budget of close to €80bn. and runs over the period 2014-2020. 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.
Ireland performed excellently in the previous Framework Programme 7 (FP7) where over €620m. was awarded to Irish companies and academics. We have set ourselves an ambitious target of winning €1.25bn under H2020. In 2014, research proposals from Ireland to a value of €127m. were approved. We have therefore surpassed our Year 1 target – as set out in the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs – by 27%. The projects funded under H2020 will ultimately benefit indigenous industry by providing research capacity for innovation.
Our strategy to achieve our H2020 target is being driven by the H2020 High Level Group, chaired by my Department. All Departments and Agencies engaged in research funding are represented on the High Level Group and particular attention is being given to maximising industry participation in H2020.
The H2020 national support system is based in Enterprise Ireland and through a national office and a network of national contact points in the relevant programme areas of H2020, information and support is available to enterprise and researchers to facilitate their engagement with the opportunities available under H2020.
74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which it is expected that the skills available through those on the live register will be matched to the skill requirements of the workplace in respect of both the indigenous and the foreign direct investment sectors over the course of the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38586/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith the economy recovering and employment on the increase, meeting the skills needs of enterprises will be a critical factor to enable companies to expand and grow in both domestic markets and export markets. We have placed a strong focus on ensuring an adequate supply of skills and talent as part of the whole of Government Action Plan for Jobs process since 2012. The skills requirements of the economy are identified and met in a number of ways. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs plays a key role in advising the Government on current and future skills needs of the economy and feeds these findings into the education and training sector. The Group comprises representatives from relevant Government Departments and agencies, as well as from enterprise, workers and education and training providers.
Through the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Protection, the Government has introduced a number of programmes to improve the skills of those who are on the Live Register to ensure their skills are directly relevant to the needs of the labour market. These programmes include Springboard, Momentum, ICT conversion courses and JobBridge, all of which provide very practical skills and/or work experience based on the requirements of the enterprise sector. A recent analysis shows that 60% of all graduates who completed a Springboard course in the period 2011 to 2014 were employed or self-employed within two years of completing the course.
The Apprenticeship Council has also recently announced the development of a number of new apprenticeships to meet the current and future skills needs of manufacturing and services sectors.
For my own Department’s part, protocols have been developed between my Department, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices on the one hand, and the Department of Social Protection on the other, to maximise the recruitment by enterprise agency client companies of appropriately skilled people from the Live Register. Údarás na Gaeltachta has also entered a similar protocol with the Department of Social Protection. This initiative involves close sharing of information to ensure that where new job openings are available, there is an efficient and timely matching with people on the Live Register who may have the skills required for these jobs.
The measures I have outlined are part of the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy to ensure that as new jobs are created in the economy, people who are on the Live Register avail of those jobs to the greatest extent possible. Over 126,000 new jobs have been created since the start of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012.
