Written Answers Nos. 93-102
93. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the potential number of projected jobs that will be created, and the number that will be created in each region, under Enterprise 2025, in each year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42067/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra94. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if job projections under Enterprise 2025 include employment forecasts once the transatlantic trade and investment partnership negotiations are complete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42068/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra95. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if jobs projections under Enterprise 2025 include targets already set out in Food Wise 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42069/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra96. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the potential number of projected jobs that will be created directly and indirectly relating to exporting enterprises under Enterprise 2025, in each year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42070/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra97. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the potential number of projected jobs that will be created in the tourism sector under Enterprise 2025, in each year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42071/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra98. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form, on an annual basis, the potential number of projected Enterprise Ireland jobs that will be created directly and indirectly under Enterprise 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42072/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra99. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the potential number of projected IDA Ireland jobs that will be created directly and indirectly under Enterprise 2025, in each year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42073/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 93 to 99, inclusive, together.
Enterprise 2025 sets out the potential to reach 2.180 million in employment and an overall unemployment rate of 6 percent by 2020. This is based on the premise of export led growth and the additional indirect jobs stimulated by the activities of exporting enterprises in the wider economy.
The ambition is predicated on taking the actions set out in Enterprise 2025 which are focused on supporting the productive sector, enhancing our relative competitiveness, leveraging existing comparative advantage in key sectors, addressing structural issues in the economy, improving productivity and the capacity of enterprises to innovate. Enterprise 2025 is a whole of enterprise strategy that leverages the potential across all sectors of the economy in manufacturing and services activities, both exporting and domestically oriented. The Government's efforts will be on achieving a step change in enterprise performance across the whole enterprise base.
Our enterprise development agencies will contribute significantly to achieving the ambition for employment creation set out in Enterprise 2025 (Table 1). Annualised targets have not been set out in the Strategy. The enterprise agencies will each set annual targets in the context of the overall ambition.
Table 1 Enterprise 2025 Employment Ambition
|
2014 (base year) |
2020 |
Net change (after rounding) |
Annual average 2015-2020 inclusive |
|
|
IDA Ireland |
175,000 |
216,000 |
42,000 |
7,000 |
|
Enterprise Ireland |
180,000 |
212,000 |
32,000 |
5,300 |
|
Indirect Jobs linked to the above |
- |
- |
65,000 |
10,833 |
|
Overall Ambition (Total Economy) |
1,914,000 |
2,180,000 |
266,000 |
44,333 |
IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland
IDA Ireland's strategy 2015-2019 targets the delivery of an additional 35,000 net jobs by 2019 which aligns with the Government's FDI Policy Statement. Extrapolated to 2020, the target contribution made by FDI will be 42,000 direct jobs or an average of circa 7,000 net new jobs on an annual basis over the period to 2020. The agency has targeted 14,000 gross job approvals for 2015, yielding a net increase in jobs approved of 7,000 for the year in the context of 160 new FDI investment projects approved.
Enterprise Ireland's strategy 2014-2016 targets the delivery of an additional 40,000 gross jobs over the period of the strategy. In the context of Enterprise 2025, the net jobs potential from Enterprise Ireland supported companies over the period to 2020 is 32,000.
Indirect jobs
It is anticipated that over the period to 2020, an additional 65,000 jobs will be stimulated in the wider economy indirectly, as a result of jobs created by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland client companies. The total contribution to the potential private sector employment growth on foot of IDA and EI client company activity will be circa 140,000 jobs.
Tourism
The Government's tourism strategy, People, Place and Policy: Growing Tourism to 2025 includes an overall target of 50,000 additional jobs in the sector by 2025. In the context of Enterprise 2025, the overall interpolated employment potential for the sector over the period to 2020 is an additional 30,000 jobs.
Regional employment
Enterprise 2025 does not set out the break-down of the overall job creation targets for the regions. A clearly stated ambition for the strategy is that by 2020, the overall unemployment rate in each of the regions will not be higher than 1 percentage point than the national unemployment rate.
The roll out of the Action Plan for Jobs at a regional level is being progressed by my Department and will drive delivery of the ambition set out in Enterprise 2025. To date, five (out of a total of eight) Regional Jobs Plans have been launched (Midlands, South-East, South-West, Mid-West, West) as part of a €250 million regional jobs strategy. Each of these Plans set out employment growth targets along with detailed actions to be undertaken on an annual basis. The Plans reflect a potential uplift in employment in the region of 10 to 15 percent overall in the period to 2020 consistent with the overall employment targets in Enterprise 2025 (over a 2014 base). The levels of employment growth actually achieved within that range will depend on factors including the level of support and collaboration within the local community for the Plan, and the level of collaboration between organisations in the region and the main Government bodies involved in the plans.
As part of its growth strategy, IDA has committed itself to increasing the level of investment into each region of Ireland by between 30% and 40%.
Employment Forecasts relating to TTIP
The agreement of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has the potential to have an additional positive impact on job creation in Ireland, dependent on the final shape of such an agreement. According to assessments made by the EU Commission, a comprehensive EU-US trade agreement could over time boost EU GDP by 0.5% bringing significant economic gains as a whole for the EU. This converts into 400,000 jobs across the EU. An independent study commissioned by my Department, carried out by Copenhagen Economics, estimates that these benefits in Ireland will be proportionally greater than in the EU as a whole. The report suggests a boost to GDP of 1.1%, growth in Irish exports of almost 4%, increases in investment of 1.5%, and an increase in real wages of 1.5% and estimates somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 additional export related jobs for Ireland.
The Copenhagen Economics assessment also suggests that Irish SMEs will be particular beneficiaries. Many of these are part of European supply chains where their exports, feed into Europe's exports to the U.S. In these negotiations, Ireland will seek to have opportunities created in the agreement where we have clear strengths, and we will seek to defend our interests where we have sensitivities.
As an economy that lives and grows by the freedom to trade, we have first-hand experience of how trade liberalisation has continually shaped and reshaped our economy. We have used openness to trade in the past, and will continue to use it, as an instrument for structural reform, modernisation and development, creating new opportunities for innovation and stronger productivity growth with higher skilled jobs throughout the economy.
Food Wise 2025
The successful implementation of Food Wise 2025 will have a direct bearing on realising the overall ambition for employment set out in Enterprise 2025, through the activities of exporting indigenous and foreign owned food enterprises, locally trading food enterprises, as well as the broader non-agency supported agri-food activities related to primary production. In addition to working with indigenous exporting and potential exporters in the food sector, Enterprise Ireland also has responsibility for the attraction of FDI in food and for working with foreign owned food entities as they develop their activities in Ireland. All of these activities are factored into the employment projections to 2020 set out in Enterprise 2025.
100. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation given correspondence showing a company offering a training rate of pay below the minimum wage, if he is aware of the prevalence of this practice; the steps he is taking to monitor compliance with minimum wage legislation; the number of cases that have been investigated by his Department in the past three years; and if his Department will investigate a case (details supplied). [42122/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith effect from 1 October 2015, the activities of the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court were merged into a new Body of First Instance, known as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
The WRC has advised that arrangements have been made for an inspector to carry out an investigation in relation to the matters raised. An appointment letter in relation to the proposed inspection of records and associated enquiries has issued to the employer in this case and an inspector will be in touch with the complainant to discuss the matter further.
Inspectors of the WRC are authorised to carry out inspections for the purposes of monitoring and enforcing compliance with employment legislation. Inspectors operate in a fair and impartial manner, carrying out inspections throughout the country. Inspections arise as a result of:
- complaints received of alleged breaches of employment rights,
- targeted inspection campaigns, and
- routine inspection enquiries.
The total number of inspections carried out in the past three years was: 2012 - 4,689; 2013 - 5,545; and 2014 - 5,591.
In 2014, non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act was established in 12.5% of the cases inspected and a total of €143,223 in arrears for employees was recovered.
In the course of 2014, a total of 104 inspections were carried out in the hotel sector.
The aim of the WRC is primarily to achieve a culture of compliance by informing employers and employees of their respective responsibilities and entitlements under employment law, and by working in close cooperation with them and their representatives. Where an inspector determines that a contravention of specified areas of employment law (including the non- payment of money due to an employee under employment law) has taken place, and the employer concerned has failed or refuses to rectify the non- compliance, a Compliance Notice setting out the steps the employer must take to effect compliance may be issued. Should the employer not appeal, and fail or refuse to comply with the terms of the notice, the WRC may initiate legal proceedings against that employer.
An inspector may also, in respect of a number of acts of non- compliance on the part of the employer, serve a Fixed Charge notice (similar to on the spot fines). Failure or refusal to pay the charge will also leave the person open to prosecution.
In cases which are not covered by the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, such as failure to pay the minimum wage, employment permit issues and offences pertaining to non-co-operation and obstruction, the Workplace Relations Commission can initiate criminal proceedings in respect of the offences involved.
101. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if any ongoing monitoring or review of the human rights situation in Colombia, as proposed at the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when it discussed the European Union free trade agreement with Colombia, will take place; and, if so, when it will take place. [42128/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra102. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the mechanisms in the European Union free trade agreement with Colombia that provide for the adoption of proportionate measures, up to and including termination of the agreement in circumstances in which democratic principles and fundamental human rights, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are not respected, have been invoked in view of recent events in Argelia in the south-western department of Cauca in Colombia, as well as the murders of three prominent human rights defenders (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42129/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.
The Government is concerned at the developments in Colombia in recent weeks. Ireland regularly discusses human rights issues with Colombia as part of our bi-lateral dialogue. Furthermore, human rights is also a priority for the EU and its member states and these issues are addressed in the context of the EU Colombia Human Rights Dialogue. I would also refer to the appointment of Deputy Eamonn Gilmore as EU Special Envoy to the peace process in Colombia and welcome the decision of High Representative Mogherini to assign him the role of spearheading the EU's support to the implementation of a peace agreement in the country. I refer the Deputy also to the answers today by my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, in relation to these matters in Questions Nos. 186, 187 and 189.
