Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
162. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department will be producing an action plan for jobs in 2020 or 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28715/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraBuilding on the extensive enterprise and employment supports that had already been deployed, the €7.4 billion July Stimulus Package was, as promised, a package of measures of sufficient scale that demonstrates the commitment this Government has to stand behind enterprises, limit the damage to our economy wreaked by this pandemic and get our people back to work. Indeed, it is bigger in scale than most budgets and it is being deployed at speed.
Having come through the initial economic shock with unprecedented levels of State intervention stabilising the economy, the focus is now on sustaining the recovery in the face of uncertainty and disruption while seeking to minimise permanent loss of economic activity and employment. As such, the next steps in our recovery journey will be mapped out in the October Budget and the subsequent National Economic Plan.
The National Economic Plan will set out a vision for what our post-COVID economy will look like. The plan will set longer term objectives for the economy post crisis and identify policies and strategies to achieve those objectives. While the focus of Government action up to now has been on protecting workers, households and firms, the plan will need to look to the future and show how our economy can be positioned to exploit opportunities for growth in emerging sectors and in areas such as new ways of working, while also addressing how we will prepare for the transitioning of enterprises and workers in response to technology and climate change developments. Ireland’s flexible and skilled labour force has traditionally been a strength of the country and reskilling and upskilling of the labour force in response to anticipated future skills needs a core element to be progressed under the plan.
The plan will be progressed over the coming weeks and I would expect it to launch in November.
In 2019, the Action Plan for Jobs series was replaced by Future Jobs Ireland, a whole-of-government framework to prepare Ireland for the challenges and opportunities ahead in terms of the transition to a digital and low carbon economy. Future Jobs Ireland was designed with the aim of integrating innovation and resilience into our economy and ensuring our enterprises and workers would be well positioned to adapt to the twin transitions.
The Programme for Government commits to updating the Future Jobs Ireland framework and will be taken forward as part of the implementation of the National Economic Plan.
