Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 November 2015
108. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his projections for job creation, by region, over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42241/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, employment has increased by over 135,800 across the economy as a whole and has exceeded the initial target set by the Government for 2016. All regions have experienced jobs growth, but the rate of progress in some regions is less than in others. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting job creation in 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.
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 targets for additional jobs to be created in each region in the period to 2020 are set out hereunder
|
Region NUTS III Level |
Job Creation Targets to 2020 based on CSO QNHS Q4 2014 Regional Employment |
|
Midlands |
Up to 17,000 |
|
South West |
Up to 41,000 |
|
South East |
Up to 31,000 |
|
Mid West |
Up to 23,000 |
|
West |
Up to 25,000 |
|
Border |
Up to 28,000 |
|
Mid East |
Up to 35,000 |
|
Dublin |
Up to 88,000 |
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.
The Regional Action Plans For Jobs have been developed in a genuine bottom up way with the committed involvement of not just the region’s public bodies but also many of its enterprises, business organisations and public representatives. The ambition of this Plan will only be realised through the collaborative effort of all these stakeholders to create a common purpose around entrepreneurship and job creation. The plans will be underpinned by robust reporting arrangements, with the publication of twice yearly progress reports.
