Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2016
25. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the confidence levels among Dublin businesses falling for a third consecutive quarter in 2016 according to Dublin Chamber of Commerce surveys; her 2017 job creation targets for IDA and Enterprise Ireland in the greater Dublin area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38952/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraConfidence levels among Irish businesses are an important factor in Ireland’s economic performance. The usual way of gauging business sentiment at a point in time is by way of survey. The reliability of survey results depends on many variables such as sample size, timing of the survey and questionnaire design.
The Dublin Quarterly Business Trends Survey referred to involved surveying 222 businesses in August 2016. Given the timing of the survey, just post Brexit, it is likely that the UK’s vote to leave the EU was a contributing factor in the results of that survey, particularly as there were a number of questions specifically on Brexit.
More recently a survey released on 23 November, at the Enterprise Ireland/Deloitte CEO Forum, found that 96% of Irish CEOs are planning to expand over the next 12 months, while 86% are confident of revenue growth in their companies in 2017. It also found 73% of CEOs citing Brexit as an opportunity for more Irish companies to export to Europe.
My own view is that, on balance, business confidence is broadly stable at the moment. We will continue to work across sectors and regions to drive opportunity, exports and jobs growth.
While IDA and Enterprise Ireland do not publish regional targets, the Dublin Regional APJ aims to increase employment in the Dublin region by 10-15% over the period to 2020, delivering 66,000 additional jobs.
