Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 November 2016
204. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of new jobs created in the manufacturing sector in the past 12 months; her targets in this regard over the next year; the extent to which these jobs are likely to be spread throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33188/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government’s key instruments to support job creation. The Action Plan for Jobs process is working. Since the first Plan was launched in early 2012, there are 176,800 more people at work bringing total employment in the State to 2,014,400 by end of June 2016.
The goal of this Government is to support the creation of an additional 200,000 jobs by 2020 with 135,000 outside Dublin. This is a whole of Government effort and is delivered through our integrated Action Plan for Jobs.
The CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of employment data. The most recent figures available are for Q2 2016. According to the CSO, the numbers employed in the industry sector increased by 9,600 in the year to the end of Q2 2016, bringing total employment to 257,300 people.
The annual jobs target is agreed in the Action Plan for Jobs – the target for 2016 is to help create an additional 50,000 jobs across all sectors and all regions. There were 36,000 additional people at work in the first six months of the year. The 2017 jobs target will be agreed in the context of the 2017 Plan which is currently being developed by my Department.
The Regional Action Plans for Jobs aim to have an additional 10% to 15% at work in each region by 2020. The first progress reports on the implementation of the eight Plans, covering the period to June 2016, are being finalised and will be published shortly.
I will be working closely with colleagues across Government over the coming months to ensure that the 2017 Plan is ambitious and impactful and keeps us on track to deliver on our 2020 jobs targets.
