Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As stated in my Department's statement of strategy for the period 2011 to 2014, one of our principal goals is to create a resilient Irish economy founded on sustainable and balanced growth and leading to significant increases in employment numbers. I stress that all of the economic policies of the Government, be they on repairing the banking sector or public finances or bringing down the costs of doing business, are designed to get the economy growing at a sufficient pace so that we can reduce the excessively high level of unemployment. The economic crisis has taken a heavy toll on the labour market. In particular, the collapse of the construction sector has had a detrimental impact on employment. I have some concerns that there may be a mismatch between the skills of some of those currently unemployed and the skills demanded in the expanding sectors of the economy. This is why retraining is so important.

As part of the formation of the Action Plan for Jobs 2013, the issue of long-term unemployment was examined in depth and the following schemes have been targeted at the long-term unemployed: the JobsPlus initiative, which supports the long-term unemployed in returning to the workforce; the momentum programme, which provides education and training places to the long-term unemployed; and youth work services, which address the critical issue of youth long-term employment, which accounts for over half of all youth unemployment.

In addition to the Action Plan for Jobs, Pathways to Work 2013, published in July, is a 50-point action plan that focuses on labour market activation. This plan focuses on more regular and ongoing engagement with the unemployed; greater targeting of activation places and opportunities; incentivising both the take-up of opportunities and employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed; and reforming institutions to deliver better services to the unemployed.

The Government has prioritised getting people back to work, and the recent labour market figures are very positive in this regard. The Quarterly National Household Survey results for the second quarter of this year showed the strongest job creation since 2008. Encouragingly this growth consisted of both full-time and part-time employment and was broad based across the various sectors of the economy.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In addition, the standardised unemployment rate reduced further in September, to 13.3%, which is the lowest level since March 2010, but still unacceptably high. The elevated long-term unemployment rate remains a concern to the Government; however, progress has been made. In the year to the second quarter of 2013, the long-term unemployment rate decreased from 9.2% to 8.1%.

We must now continue to build on the progress made over the past year as there is clearly still lots to do, and I want to assure the Deputy that addressing unemployment remains the main economic priority for the Government. My Department continually monitors developments in the economy, including in the labour market, with a view to providing appropriate advice. It also produces forecasts for the labour market, and the next set of forecasts will be published with the budget.

See this speech in context