Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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We will commence our discussion with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, on An Action Plan for Jobs 2015.

I welcome the Minister and his officials and invite him to make his presentation.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the committee for the invitation and for supporting our work on the Action Plan for Jobs over the past four years. This is the fourth action plan. Members will be aware of the backdrop to this, which was to try to achieve a cross-government focus on employment. This is the central challenge we all face. The model has been successful for a number of reasons. It has motivated people across government to focus on employment and it has been monitored from the Taoiseach's office, which on a quarterly basis, gives additional impetus. It is an annual process and every year we have the opportunity to discuss with both industry partners and a wider base of stakeholders what needs to be done. That has always ensured fresh thinking in the plan.

The plan has made an impact. It had two simple objectives in the early period, the most significant one being the return of 100,000 people to work by 2016 and, second, as the Taoiseach has often reiterated, to become the best small country in which to do business by 2016. We have made substantial progress on both fronts. The latest numbers suggest 90,000 additional people are back at work and, significantly, in the context of previous queries by members when I have appeared before them, they will be heartened that over the past two years, all these new jobs have been full time. The number of new part-time jobs has declined over the same period.

We are improving steadily in the competitiveness rankings, which reflects the effort to improve the business environment that we took on. Initially, the focus was on export oriented firms and in the first three years, the plan was entirely driven by export growth through the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and tourism but, over the past 12 months, while exports remain strong, our agencies supported 35,000 gross new jobs leading to 15,000 net new jobs. Exports remain a big driver when one considers that for every exporting job, typically another job is generated elsewhere in the economy. However, we are experiencing a welcome return to growth across other sectors.

This year, like other years, we conducted an open consultation to take on the best ideas and we have focused on a number of four core issues. We have instituted regional enterprise strategies for the first time and this is being driven by my Secretary General. We intend to roll out these strategies within every region by July. We see it as a good opportunity not only to focus on the agencies, which I have done in delivering at regional level through local enterprise offices, LEOs, EI and the IDA but also to engage and, hopefully, elicit new responses to the challenge within the regions. To that end, we have made competitiveness funds available through EI and we have also decided that in six regions outside Dublin and Cork specific commitments will be made by the IDA to advance facilities and other property-based solutions will be a major core objective. That has been a significant issue.

The second concern is to focus on start-ups. Two thirds of all jobs in an economy are generated in the first five years of a company's existence. In the difficult years between 2006 and 2011, approximately 93,000 jobs were created by such companies.

I believe it is realistic to double the target for the number of people we will employ in start-ups over a five-year period which would involve increasing start-ups by 25%. It would also improve their survival rate by 25% and would see more growth to scale. The target is deliverable and is a big focus for this year. We will have a start-up gathering later in the year that will put additional focus on implementation in that area.

The third area is the skills challenge. We have often understood here that there is a war for talent in every country in the world. A lot of the new sectors which we must build are very high in their need for new skills and we need to ensure we equip people with those skills. Some of them involve new apprenticeships and is one key part of this year's activity. The first call for new apprenticeships in many years was made last January. This also covers other areas such as ICT and improving the skill-base across all areas. We have clearly signalled that as in other areas referred to, this might be considered as disruptive reform in that it has a huge impact across the board.

The final area is around the whole business environment, which has been a continuing theme. There have been many aspects to it this year. Perhaps the biggest, in terms of impact, has been the introduction of the Strategic Bank Corporation of Ireland. It has committed to provide €800 million in additional resources to SMEs which have found life difficult in the banking environment. The situation is improving but we still need to equip ourselves with more non-bank sources of funding.

The last matter I shall draw to the attention of the committee is largely a response to the urging of the committee. This year, for the first time we have put in place a more clear evaluation framework. We have identified ten areas against which we benchmark everything. That means every activity is being benchmarked and they are listed on page 19. It means every action taken is related back to its impact on some of these key indicators. A lot of people were keen to see to what extent our actions related to objectives that we are trying to achieve. One is never going to get an equivalency of action and impact, it is never as neat as that. The initiative creates a discipline around which we organise and interrogate proposals that come forward to us.

Seo í Seachtain na Gaeilge agus tá orm cúpla focal a rá as Gaeilge faoin bplean gníomhaíochta le haghaidh An Post. Táim lán-sásta go sroichfear an sprioc 100,000 post nua a chruthú i mbliana, bliain iomlán roimh an spriocdháta. I believe we will hit the 100,000 jobs a year before the target. Tá sprioc eile leagtha amach againn lánfhostaíocht buan a bhaint amach faoin mbliain 2018. We have now set ourselves a target of full employment, on a sustainable basis, by 2018. Ligeann nádúr bliantúil an phlean dúinn tosaíochta úra a chur ar siúl gach bliain. The annual nature of the plan allows us to introduce new priorities every year.

Is iad na tosaíochta nua i 2015 ná stráitéis fhiontair réigiúnach a fhorbairt i ngach ceann dár n-ocht réigiún. We are introducing regional enterprise strategies in all eight of the regions. Timpeallacht níos fearr a fhorbairt le haghaidh gnólachtaí nua tionscanta, ionas go mbeimid in ann líon na ndaoine atá fostaithe i ngnólachtaí nua tioscanta a mhéadú faoi dhó thar cúig bliana. It sets the target that within two years we will double the number of people working within start-ups. Tionscnamh náisiúnta talainne a fhorbairt chun cinntiú go mbeadh daoine ann leis na scileanna cuí chun éileamh na n-earnálacha fháis a chomhlíonadh.

We intend to have the skills to support the growth sectors we have identified. Ciallaíonn gach post sa bhreis saol ar ais fé lán-tseol arís agus níos mó airgead á chaitheamh sa phobal áitiúil. Is airgead breise é a bhaineann brú den chaiteachas poiblí, a chuireann airgead i bpócaí na ndaoine agus a chuireann feabhas ar sheirbhísí. Every job we create is a life back on track. It is extra spending in the local community and more money into the public services and public finances so we have the options of reducing tax burdens or improving the quality of services. The work we do on employment is absolutely central to the longer-term ambitions we hold as a nation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim fáilte roimh an Aire agus a fhoireann. Gabhaim fáilte freisin as ucht an éisteacht a bhfuil á thabhairt aige don choiste agus go bhfuil rudaí sa phlean nua seo a tháinig as an gcoiste seo. Tá fios agam nach bhfuil Gaeilge líofa ag an Aire agus mar sin cuirfidh mé mo cheisteanna as Béarla, ach beidh mé úsáid mo chuid Ghaeilge le linn coicíos na Gaeilge.

I welcome the Minister. The action plan for 2015 includes points raised by the committee over the past 12 months. These include the need for regional plans and advanced property solutions in the IDA. I wish to drill down several aspects with the Minister. In 2014 the labour force fell, which suggests emigration. We still have a problem with losing our talented people, the very people for whom the Minister seeks to have a recruitment strategy in this year's action plan. If the plan is as successful as the Minister would lead us to believe, why are people still leaving the country? Why is the talent we need to fulfil the objectives of the plan still leaving?

With regard to the CSO figures, of the 80,000 jobs the Minister claims to have created, 27,000 are one-person self-employed operations. They work in self-employment for at least one hour a week. During the lifetime of the plan will the Minister monitor how many of these 27,000 people manage to give employment to others and how many leave self-employment to move into the employed labour force? The number of full-time employee positions created is approximately 50% of the jobs being added. The majority of jobs seem to be part-time or in zero-hour contracts with little security. What strategy is in place to address these issues?

With regard to commitments on finance and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, I am on record as stating it is a mistake. We need competition in the banking market. This does not provide competition in the banking market. It does not make sense to give more money to the two institutions which work very closely together when we could have a new institution trying to shake things up. Several weeks ago, the Minister announced an extension of the credit guarantee scheme with regard to allowing companies to use it to buy out their borrowings from banks exiting the market. Has this come into operation?

Some banks which may not be exiting the market are selling their portfolios none the less, and are forcing small and medium enterprises to sell their loan portfolios to investment funds which will have no regard for the employment at stake. Can we extend the credit guarantee scheme further to include banks staying in the market but actively selling their loan portfolios?

A total of 80,000 people have been on the live register for three years or more, which is the duration of the Action Plan for Jobs.

How have they missed out on all this success? Is specific attention being paid to people who have been on the live register for that long? Are they part of the 86,000 who are on activation schemes? Are they churning around various schemes and not being given the chance to access the labour market?

I welcome the regional plans. I am sceptical about them but will wait to see them. What element of co-ordination is under way to ensure the plan we get in the midlands, which will be the first plan, is not replicated in other regions? Is there co-ordination to ensure the unique selling points of each region are being delivered on and are not been replicated? There is no point doing the same thing in every region and then the USPs being lost in that process. Is there a central point for the creation of all the regional plans?

Action 52 mentions that there will be a broadband tender in 2015 to get high speed broadband to places where it is not available. Will the Minister elaborate on that because the national broadband plan published by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, some weeks ago mentioned a deadline of 2020 for a connection to every area which does not have high speed broadband. I am fully in agreement with the Minister in terms of self-employment and the need for start-ups but we will not have a start-up culture in this country until we get broadband right. If Romania, which has a very dispersed rural population, can have one of the biggest animation businesses in the world because it got its broadband right, surely we can get ours right also.

There is a commitment to cut red tape. If we are to be the best place in the world to do business in 2016, what specific items of red tape will be cut? Has agreement been reached on what the Minister defines as red tape and what business might define it as? Other people or, for the want of a better description, former social partners might define red tape as rights. What is the position on getting agreement on what constitutes red tape among all sectors because the lack of agreement often stops red tape being removed?

Bhí ról ag Údarás na Gaeltachta chun tionscadal idirnáisiúnta a thabhairt go dtí ceantair Ghaeltachta. Rud atá ráite le tamall anois ná nach bhfuil a lán cumhacht nó a lán airgid ag an Údarás chun sin a dhéanamh. Cé atá i gceannas comhlachtaí thar lear a mhealladh go dtí na ceantair Ghaeltachta? Cé atá i gceannas stráitéis fostaíochta a chruthú sna ceantair Ghaeltachta? An bhfuil stráitéis spéisialta ann? Tá an Aire ag toiliú stráitéisí réigiúnacha. An mbeidh an Aire in ann stráitéis spéisialta a dtoiliú le haghaidh ceantair Ghaeltachta? Bheadh na stráitéis seo cosúil leis na stráitéisí réigiúnacha atá á dtoiliú.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Calleary for his comprehensive set of questions. It is true that the labour force fell and that we still have emigration. However, the latest figure we have is to April of last year and it shows a 30% decline, so emigration fell from approximately 34,000 to roughly 21,000. I believe the figure has come down since, and is still on the way down, but we await the figure to bear that out.

The only credible response to emigration is job creation. If we can continue to grow employment at this pace and with the targets the IDA, the local enterprise offices and Enterprise Ireland have set, we can deliver full employment over the next four years. The IDA and Enterprise Ireland targets, combined with a reasonable recovery in those other sectors, will deliver that for us but we must keep a sensible set of policies to deliver it. That is the response to emigration and I would have the ambition that we would see zero emigration over that four-year period.

In regard to the self-employed, we track how many remain as one-man bands and how many grow.

We track some of them. Most of the local enterprises grow to having more than one; typically they are two to three person enterprises. Equally, we see this with the competitive start funds and HPSUs. They are tracked and all have the capacity to grow more and, by and large, they deliver this. Some do not grow as rapidly as we would like, but we are tracking them and intend to become more forensic about it.

We believe survival and scaling are crucial. The CSO provides a good analysis of the cohort of start ups each year and how they grow. Interestingly, in that really tough period half of them perished, but the other half created 93,000 jobs. We are becoming more forensic and also trying to gear our policies to drive growth through mentoring. We are reviewing our mentoring strategies and, as part of the regional strategies, very keen to build more enterprise hubs to give start-ups a chance of surviving. One of the things we will be looking for in the regional bids is that they add value and create an environment in which these enterprises can grow.

If one looks at the QHNS and the increase in employment in the two years 2013 and 2014, all of the extra employment is full-time. The figures for part-time work actually declined. I do not accept, therefore, that the majority of jobs are part-time. In so far as we have data, they prove that most of the growth is in the level of full-time employment. Yes, there are 450,000 people working part time, but part-time work has always been a feature as it suits some people. However, we are growing the level of full-time employment. That is one of the features. In the last quarter it is interesting that there was a sharp fall in the numbers working part time. That is a pattern in a recovery that is picking up. Businesses might initially only take on people part time which then grows.

We are looking at zero hour contracts. The Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, issued a consultancy contract which the University of Limerick won. It will examine the extent of the problem in Ireland.

The Deputy is being less than fair to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland. It is true that it is working initially through the pillar banks. In the first quarter it has signed up to deliver €400 million through them. However, the rest of its 2015 programme is to develop new products and new entrants. It definitely has a mandate to attract and support new entrants to the market. As that is a key part of its mandate, it is not just about the flow of money, as it were. As it is a wholesale bank, in the short term it is putting money through the established network, but its ambition clearly is to move well beyond this. It has set out its stall. They are longer term loans of up to ten years. They will be at a lower coupon rate and have a higher risk appetite. We will now have an arrangement whereby the credit guarantee can be a part of this, and I hope one can have an enhanced set of offerings. Obviously, it is working its way through.

We have a credit scheme. We are drafting the legislation, but, as I told Deputy Peadar Tóibín previously in the House, it has proved more complex than we had hoped. However, we have got over the problems with it and I expect it to move along quite swiftly. It will include any existing bank or new entrant; therefore, we are not confining it to existing banks. I hope, if there are new vehicles, it can be extended to them also. Clearly, that is our intention.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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On that point, I had discussions with the Minister's officials. Let us take the example of a bank that is in the market and selling a portfolio of loans and a customer who is responsible for a loan and trying to obtain finance from another bank but cannot get it.

The bank is staying in the market. It is cleaning up its loans and clearing out underperforming loans but the customer's loan is the kind that seems to be falling between the cracks on this. The bank is not actually exiting the market but it is selling off its loan book.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I will examine the position and will ask my officials to talk to the Deputy further on it. It cuts both ways. Some of these investment funds have bought the loans quite cheaply and on some occasions they are willing to enter into reasonable restructuring arrangements. We are keen to try to fill the gap in so far as we can. I will get an official to track down some of the examples the Deputy has mentioned so that we can see whether we can accommodate them.

In regard to being three years or more on the live register, it is a striking feature of the QHNS that in the past two years, some 75% of the people who have left the live register have been long-term unemployed, while 25% have been short-term unemployed. Therefore, there is an impact on the long-term unemployment rate as reported in the QHNS. Back in 2012, the Pathways to Work programme specifically targeted long-term unemployed people. It targets and tracks this cohort and has set a target of getting all of these people back into work. They are consciously tracked within the programme. This is one of the areas where the programme is ahead of target, in terms of the progress it is making with that group. The Deputy is right, we always face the danger of people falling between the cracks when we get a shift in sectors. There is not an easy fit between the skill base of the old sectors in decline and the new sectors. This is an area that will require sustained work and we need to refresh the instruments for doing that continually. The call for apprenticeships this year will, I hope, provide a significant opportunity and we must ensure we help people progress to those opportunities.

I understand the Deputy's fear that we might have a one-size-fits-all enterprise strategy in the regions, but that is not our intention. We have a regional manager of Enterprise Ireland or the IDA in charge of each region. These have a mandate to do the preparatory work in the region, to identify within each region the actions that will come from the education and training boards, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland and to bring in the stakeholders to consider what new actions can be taken. We will have a competitive call for funding and will look not for replicas of previous ideas but for the best ideas from each region. We expect them to build off regional strengths. We are trying to structure the strategy in a way that it is not a replica of previous strategies. The strategy must from be bottom up if it is to succeed. From the IDA perspective, there will be some top-down input in that it has to look at the identification of sites for advance facilities. Essentially, these are identified around magnets, such as institutes of technology or similar.

On the broadband question, I understand the tender is to go out in 2016 and that work is under way so that we can have a tender by the end of the year. Much of the mapping work has been done.

In regard to red tape, it is not in any way an eroding of people's rights. We would see the Workplace Relations Commission, where the same delays are no longer being encountered, as providing a saving. Also, the new companies legislation means that from June of this year, people will be able to set up a company with one director and with no requirement for an AGM. One document sets out the company. This is a saving, as is the cutting of the threshold for an audit for such a small business. These are the sort of savings we are after. We have identified in the plan interactions between the State and business, where we feel going on line or adopting a new approach will improve effectiveness and reduce compliance cost. However, this in no way alters the policy objectives underpinning the setting up of a company.

On the role of Údarás na Gaeltachta, it is intimately involved in our entrepreneurship roll-out and both through our implementation group and the regional implementation group. We see the údarás as a central player and stakeholder.

Its remit is stronger in certain regions than others, but we see it as a crucial player, so we are integrating it into that process.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Tá fáilte roimh an Aire agus a fhoireann. Fáiltím roimh an méid Gaeilge atá á labhairt aige inniu.

Tá difríocht idir na huimhreacha maidir le poist nua a chruthaíodh sa tír seo agus figiúirí an Phríomh-Oifig Staidrimh. Dar leis an bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh, cruthaíodh 69,300 post ó 2011 go dtí seo. Tá difríocht mhór idir sin agus an méid atá ráite ag an Aire agus chun an sprioc a bhaint amach - is é sin le rá go gcruthófar 100,000 post roimh 2016 - beidh ar an Rialtas 34,000 post a chruthú. Go dtí seo, tá 17,000 post cruthaithe acu gach bliain. Beidh air an méid sin a mhéadú faoi dhó. Beidh sé sin an-deacair ar fad.

Scríobh an Taoiseach alt sa pháipéar inniu. Dúirt sé go mbeadh an Rialtas ag iarraidh lánfhostaíocht a bhaint amach faoi 2018. Is é an uimhir a thug sé mar gheall ar lánfhostaíocht ná 2.1 milliún duine. Dar leis an bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh, tá 2,152,000 i bhfostaíocht faoi láthair. Mar sin, dar leis an bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh tá níos mó duine san earnáil sin anois agus dar leis an Taoiseach tá an figiúr níos lú. Is í an fhadhb atá agamsa ná go bhfuil difríocht 55,000 duine idir an méid atá an an Phríomh-Oifig Staidrimh ag rá agus an méid atá á rá ag an Rialtas. Ní difríocht bheag atá i gceist.

Go dtí seo, is é an fhadhb atá mise ag díriú isteach uirthi ná an méid duine atá ag obair ar phá íseal. Tá leath de na hoibrithe in Éirinn ag saothrú €25,000 nó níos lú in aghaidh na bliana. Tá an líon duine ar chonarthaí náid uaireanta an-mhór. Tá Éire ar na tíortha is measa mar gheall ar an líon duine atá ar na conarthaí seo. Táthar tar éis tagairt a dhéanamh le tuarascáil atá á dhéanamh ag an Roinn mar gheall ar seo agus tá coimisiún ann. Is í an fhadhb atá agamsa leis an gCoimisiún ar Phá Íseal ná nach dtugann sé bochtanas san áireamh ar chor ar bith. Díríonn ar an íosphá amháin agus níl thugann sé aird ar na fadhbanna eile a chruthaíonn bochtanas sa tír seo. B'fhéidir go mba cheart don Roinn féachaint ar an tuarascáil a scríobh daoine sa Bhreatain mar gheall ar an gcoimisiún ar phá íseal ansin. Ceapaim go bhfuil Páirtí an Lucht Oibre sa Bhreatain tar éis an tuarascáil sin a ghlacadh freisin. Tá cúpla earnáil sa tír atá fós ag fulaingt mar gheall ar chúrsaí dífhostaíochta. Táimid ag caint faoi daoine atá faoi 35 bliain d'aois. Tá titim 60,000 tar éis teacht ar an earnáil sin. Is titim uafásach mór é sin. Má thugtar na scéimeanna gníomhachtaithe saothair in áireamh, agus iad siúd atá níos sine ná 65 bliain d'aois atá dífhostaithe, táimid ag caint faoi 448,000 duine atá dífhostaithe sa tír seo. Ciallaíonn sé sin go bhfuil 20% de na daoine dífhostaithe. Tá fadhb uafásach mór fós os ár gcomhair. Bhíos ag féachaint ar an straitéis fiontar réigiúnach. An bhliain seo caite, dúirt an Rialtas sa phlean gníomhaíochta a bhí aige ag an am go mbeadh an straitéis i bhfeidhm roimh Mheitheamh na bliana seo caite.

Anois táimid tar éis fáil amach nach raibh sé i bhfeidhm ar feadh an bhliain ach amháin i gceantar amháin. Is é an ceantar sin ná an lártíre. Tá an Rialtas céim taobh thiar dá féin ó thaobh an sprioc sin de. Níl aon sprioc ann maidir leis an méid post atá an Rialtas chun a chruthú sa chrut seo freisin. Thit líon na ndaoine atá fostaithe san iarthar agus san iar-dheisceart an bhlian seo caite. Thit líon na ndaoine atá ina gcónaí sa réigiún BMW, Border, midland and western region, le ceithre bliain anuas freisin. Tá dul chun cinn déanta ó thaobh na figiúir ón IDA de. Tá siadsan ag feabhsú ach fós, go dáta, níl an Rialtas nó an IDA ag baint amach an sprioc a bhí acu ar chor ar bith. Tá an Rialtas i gcumhacht le ceithre bliana anuas ach níl an sprioc sin bainte amach ar chor ar bith.

Bhí mise i dteagmháil le roinnt oifigí LEO, local employment offices, timpeall na tíre. Dar leo, tá fadhb úafásach ann ó thaobh an méid daoine atá ag obair iontu. Tá na sean-conarthaí fós faoi díospóireacht agus faoi phlé. Níl sé socraithe fós cé tá ag obair sna hoifigí seo. I gcás trí cinn dóibh, ní raibh ach beirt ag obair iontu. Tá sé sin do-chreidte ó thaobh feidhmiú pholasaí an Rialtais sna réigiúin de.

Níl aon tagairt ar chor ar bith do chúrsaí trádála nó do chúrsaí fiontar treasteorainn. Bhí cruinniú ag an coiste seo agus coiste fiontar cúpla mí ó shin. Bhí díospóireacht iontach againn ar conas ar cheart dúinn an dá geilleagar a chur le chéile. Níl tagairt ar bith dá leithéid san action plan atá ag an Rialtas.

Ó thaobh an cruth réigiúnach de, níl sé soiléir agus b'fhéidir gur féidir leis an Aire sonraí a thabhairt dom maidir leis, an bhfuil an Rialtas chun níos mó airgid a chur isteach nó an bhfuilimid ag caint faoin méid airgid atá ann sa Roinn agus é á chur i dtreo éigin eile. Ní raibh aon rud ann maidir le stráitéis "cnuasach" a chur i bhfeidhm. Sna blianta ó shin, bhí ar an Rialtas na comhlachtaí pharmaceutical a chur sa deisceart. Bhí siad ag féachaint ar Meditech a chur in iarthar na tíre. Bhí an Rialtas ag díriú ar chnuasach a chur le chéile. Is é sin ná gnóthaí atá cosúil lena chéile a chur i reigiún áirithe lena chéile. Níl aon tagairt ag an Rialtas dá stráitéis ón taobh seo de. Le blianta anuas freisin, táimid ag caint faoi chúrsaí ríomhtráchtála. Is é atá i gceist le seo ná daoine ag dul ar a gcuid ríomhairí chun rudaí a cheannach. Tá ar a leithéid 75% den airgead sin ag dul thar lear. Is fadhb úafásach é sin. Tá leak ann agus is leak mór é. Sa todhchaí, éireoidh sé sin i bhfad níos measa. Tá siopaí ar sráideanna timpeall na tíre ag cailliúnt an airgead sin. Tá sprioc ann ó thaobh vouchers agus an scéim sin de ach níl aon athrú tagtha ar an méid achmhainní atá ag dul isteach san earnáil sin ar chor ar bith bliain i ndiaidh bliana. Deirtear gach fán gcéad a d'fhéadfaimis a shábháil sa tír seo, cruthaíonn sé seo €40 milliún sa bhliain.

Más féidir leis an Aire na ceisteanna sin a fhreagairt ar dtús, beidh mé an-bhuíoch.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has asked a number of questions. We are using the CSO data as the authoritative data. The CSO has confirmed that the net figure of 90,000 is the relevant one for the period since the first quarter of 2012. Obviously, the agencies collect other figures. We publish the figures which are independently audited not by the agencies but by means of an independent survey. They are consistent. In the past three years we have seen a net increase of approximately 27,000 in the numbers of full-time and part-time jobs supported by IDA Ireland and a net increase of approximately 17,000 in the numbers of full-time and part-time jobs supported by Enterprise Ireland. The total figure of approximately 44,000 is consistent with the CSO's target. Obviously, there is independent tracking also. For example, Bord Fáilte tracks the tourism sector. The different sources of employment numbers are consistent in their patterns. We have defined full employment as 2.1 million people at work. I think the latest number is 1.938 million. It is clear, therefore, that there has been a substantial increase in employment as we aim to deliver on the target. It is credible that we can do this. If we are to be consistent in meeting our target, we have to reduce the unemployment level, which has decreased to 10% from 15%, to between 5% and 6%. We are factoring in a need to reduce the rate of emigration to zero.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Cén comhréir atá in úsáid ag an Rialtas mar gheall ar full employment? An bhfuil leibhéal de 100% i gceist? De ghnáth, deireann daoine go bhfuil full employment bainte amach nuair atá ráta dífhostaíochta de 4% sroichte.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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It is the same as in the medium-term economic strategy. Full employment will have been reached when the unemployment rate is between 5% and 6% and there are 2.1 million people at work.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Go hidirnáisiúnta, deireann daoine go mbaintear amach full employment nuair atá leibhéal dífhostaíochta de 3% nó 4% sroichte.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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That is not the case.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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B'shin an méid a dúirt daoine ó Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath liom.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have established the Low Pay Commission with a low pay rather than a poverty mandate. Its job is to have an evidence-based system for increasing the minimum wage as the system can absorb it. Obviously, there is a balance to be struck by it in looking at employment creation on the one side and increasing the minimum wage on the other. That is the balance that will be struck by the fine group of people who are involved who will look at the evidence. Having it evidence-based is the correct way to proceed. As the Deputy knows, the Taoiseach has flagged that an input will be made in July. If this creates issues or problems for employers, mitigation will be looked at as we move towards the budget. Obviously, the Government will be keen to implement the independent proposal made to it. Growth in living standards and employment numbers, both of which we need to see, can go hand in hand. Much of what we are doing involves trying to improve productivity and facilitate business innovations that allow higher living standards to be achieved.

Before I respond to what the Deputy had to say about younger people, it is worth focusing on the strong evidence on the pay front. The average salary in IDA Ireland-supported employment is approximately €55,000. The average salary in Enterprise Ireland-supported employment is approximately €42,000. A very considerable part of the growth in employment is coming from these companies. We know the average pay of many of those who have benefited from the employment increase because we actually record these figures. If one examines the CSO's indications for the sectors that are growing, one will see that employment is growing in many high paying sectors, particularly professional services, information and communications technology and high-end industry.

Of course there is some growth in employment in sectors that are traditionally lower paid, such as the hospitality sector.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Is í seo an dara tír is measa san OECD.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Even in those areas one is seeing pay increases. There is a mixture of low and high pay, but that is as one would expect. It is well beside the point to pretend that this is in somehow an increase in low-paid employment. Much of it is in very highly paid professional services, such as ICT. Much of the growth areas are in strong sectors with a good, firm, solid base. It is worth taking a look at some of the recent announcements. Since the turn of the year we have had such announcements in Fermoy and Dundalk, as well as Combilift in Monaghan, Lakelands in Cavan, Apple in Athenry, Airbnb in Dublin and Northern Trust in Limerick. These are all in high-paying, good, solid sectors offering long-term prospects. It is particularly good to see the strength of companies like Combilift, which are combining with other companies to make a pitch to the new apprenticeship scheme. We will see such companies using the education and training boards to fuel the next phase of growth. That is what we need to see and it is something that we are encouraging very much.

I hope something was not lost in translation but I think Deputy Tóibín was concerned about the prospects of people aged under 35. There is no doubt that emigration has hit that age group most strongly but unemployment levels are falling in those age groups and we are seeing growth there. There is now solid demand for employment in a lot of new sectors. We are seeing recovery right across areas, including construction, that were traditionally driving emigration. It will take time to get emigration down but it has dropped by 30% in the last 12 months. The data show that and it is a significant and healthy step.

In a small open economy one needs to examine the net emigration figure. People are leaving and coming, which is a feature of the Irish environment. We want to ensure that on balance there are more people coming than leaving. That is the target we are trying to achieve. Our ambition for full employment is the only credible approach. The sort of policies that will make that a reality include a focus on enterprise, competitiveness and innovation, particularly in these Irish-based companies. These are still the drivers we will need to ensure growth and, indeed, tax policy is consistent with that.

The IDA has set targets for a 30% to 40% increase in the number of projects in each region. The IDA admits it did not hit the target on the last occasion but as we have discussed in this committee on a number of occasions it is steadily growing that. Back in 2011, it was just 23%, while last year it was up to 37%. There is traction, therefore, and that continues to be the case, as can be seen from some of the announcements since the turn of the year, particularly the one in Fermoy. Anyone who has visited Fermoy will know what a great boon that was, as is the Athenry decision. There is a proven track record given that the IDA is putting nine advance facilities into each of the regions. It is a proven model whereby the IDA can win projects and it will also enhance its ability to deliver this target.

The employment base in the LEOs is a combination both of the existing county enterprise boards, as they were, and the new local authorities.

We are continuing to work with each of them to ensure there is a proper complement of staff. We also have sanction for some recruitment within the LEO network where we will be filling posts and we will have a graduate programme under which we will supplement the LEOs with graduate placement.

The Deputy raised the issue of clusters. That is a challenge that is part of the regional strategy. The IDA will be seeking to build off the base of the institutes of education and the existing base of companies. Clearly it will work with the pharma industry, not only in the south but in the south east where there are strong medical devices and ICT in the west in several regions. As food is increasingly seen as a very strong cluster in certain regions it must be developed and we are seeing engineering particularly connected to agriculture which is a really strong cluster. The way to build those is by having the apprenticeship schemes and research and to develop support and clustering of those companies. One of the things we would hope to see emerge from the regional call is that there are serious clusters forming within regions around which a network can be built. While Enterprise Ireland and the IDA can, to a degree, from their own knowledge of their base identify the clusters, much of this is about getting people to come forward with their own commitments, to work together and to draw down funds on the basis of the quality of proposals that are put together. This is a way of developing new clusters or new networks or maybe just start up hubs or accelerators.

There are many things we could see emerge in our regions that would strengthen their capacity. It may be food hubs or design hubs. There are different ways in which we could play off the strengths of any one of those regions and their base of companies and their education base. Waterford Institute of Technology is outstanding. As it is located in the south east I know it better but there are some very strong technologies there from which one could see a greater regional impact emerge.

The Deputy raised the issue of online trading. This is a huge change that is occurring and it is impacting on the high street. We are putting in place online vouchers. The former county enterprise boards and now the local enterprise offices are encouraging more people to go online. The online route is a very successful strategy for many rural based businesses and is doing very well. I could show members dozens of companies which have transformed their performance and their prospects through very good online trading models.

I do not deny that we continue to have a problem in rural high streets. I am aware from people I meet that there is a change in the way people consume literature, music and even boutiques are changing. There is a huge change and it is posing serious challenges to some of our traditional high street activities. We have to innovate, there is no way of going back. One cannot tell consumers to change back to the way they were, we have to offer ways to adapt. Online trading and the smarter retail compliance portal which we are developing are ways of helping the retail sector to get through this difficult period. In time, consumer demand recovery will be a big part of this and we are gradually beginning to see that recovery spread. It is making an impact. It can be seen in certain areas of retail but, unfortunately, not on all parts at this stage.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Tá ceist amháin fós le freagairt ag an Aire. Sin an cheist faoi gheilleagar uile-Éireann agus trádáil treasteorainn. Níl aon tagairt sa tuarascáil ar cad atá le déanamh ag an Rialtas chun an geilleagair sin a láidriú sa todhchaí.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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On the cross-Border issue, last week we sat down with InterTradeIreland.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Sa tuarascáil, táim ag caint faoin An Action Plan for Jobs. Nílim ag caint faoi InterTradeIreland.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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InterTradeIreland is a central part of An Action Plan for Jobs and running really good programmes on a cross-Border basis.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Níl faic nua ann.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Each year these programmes support 3,000 companies, North and South, in terms of trade and facilitate the placement of graduates from one jurisdiction with companies in the other. This allows the companies involved to grow their business in the other jurisdiction.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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An pointe a bhí agam ná, má chuirim an cheist chéanna ar an Aire a bheidh ann i gceann cúig bliana, an freagra a bheidh aige nó aici ná "Intertrade Ireland" agus gur sin polasaí an Rialtais maidir le geilleagar uile-Éireann. Sin a bhí le rá ag an Aire cúig bliana ó shin agus cúig bliana roimhe sin arís agus arís eile. Níl aon dul chun cinn déanta maidir leis an dtionscnamh nó an sprioc sin.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not think that is true. There are many other cross-Border initiatives which are not being developed by InterTradeIreland. In the context of INTERREG, there are infrastructural projects under way. There are a number of areas in which collaboration continues to take place. Obviously, both sides have experienced difficulties in the context of funding. In the light of budgetary considerations, InterTradeIreland has encountered such difficulties. However, there is goodwill and also very practical support in encouraging companies in the South to trade in the North and vice versa. There is healthy growth in cross-Border trade, which is the ultimate test in what we are trying to achieve. There has been progress, but both economies must continue to grow. The growth figure for the North stands at 1.8%, which is a sign that there is increasing confidence. The cross-Border surveys we conduct indicate growing confidence and expectations among businesses that they are going to be able to take on additional employees and also increase their levels of spending.

We are doing all we can to provide support. Enterprise Ireland already provides placements - for example, under its leadership for growth programme - for Northern companies that want to develop the capabilities of some of their leaders. There is a great deal of practical collaboration. We are also taking a joint approach to many of the projects relating to Horizon 2020. Eight North-South collaborative projects have won funding in the first phase of Horizon 2020. It is our ambition to win €145 million for such projects overall. In the context of support for Horizon 2020, Enterprise Ireland has very close connections with its counterpart organisation in the North to ensure the joint approach to which I refer will be successful. The projects we have put forward jointly have enjoyed better success rates. There is a great deal of practical work being done and it is having an impact. It may be low key in nature, but it is extremely practical and delivering results.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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Níl mórán Gaeilge agam; therefore, I will speak in English.

The Minister is to be congratulated on the employment figures. Employment levels have improved hugely and the Companies Act 2014 is going to be of considerable assistance in reducing the difficulties experienced by start-up companies in seeking to commence operations. There are still problems when it comes to establishing new businesses. On previous occasions I have referred to the fact that the authorities in New Zealand have made it possible for a new business to establish operations in one day at a cost of less than €100. In Ireland a person seeking to set up a business must first approach a commissioner for oaths to make the necessary arrangements. On the second day he or she must go to the Companies Registration Office and, on the third, will be obliged to register for VAT and corporation tax. On the fourth, he or she will receive his or her company seal.

I understand it takes six days in total to get a new company opened in Ireland, whereas it can be done much more quickly in other countries. Singapore is number one for ease of doing business, while Ireland is number 13.

A disappointing omission from the plan is any reference to the issue of upward-only rent reviews. There was at least a mention of it last year, but it is not mentioned at all this time, even though it continues to be a huge deterrent to anybody wishing to set up a business.

The plan does include a reference to crowd funding, which offers a viable alternative to bank funding. It is possible to do something in this regard, but it will require legislation to ensure people will be confident to invest on this basis.

I have some concerns about the tradition of leaving old laws and regulations in place rather than automatically getting rid of them. The Government has a policy of seeking to remove legislation that no longer applies from the Statute Book, but that policy does not seem to have come as far as it should in practice.

An issue that attracts a lot of attention is that we in Ireland are very poor when it comes to language learning and skills. There have been several instances where foreign companies have set up here with the intention of taking on hundreds of staff only to discover that Irish people cannot apply because they do not have the required foreign language skills. That is a problem that remains to be addressed.

The Minister will not be able to solve all of these problems or solve all of them easily, but one issue he could address without delay is that of business start-up procedures. It should be possible to do more online rather than requiring people to do four, five or six things. The Minister has emphasised that increasing the number of business start-ups is a target for him. Something can be done here to help ensure that target will be met.

The Minister has heard me speak about the French system under which the same laws do not apply to small companies as are applicable to large companies. This means that a firm employing fewer than 50 people is not required to meet the same level of regulation as a company on the scale of Google, for instance. If we are to succeed in making Ireland the best place in which to do business, we must ensure it is easy to start a business.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the Senator's deep interest in these matters. If it would be helpful, I will send him the metrics tracked by the Companies Registration Office, CRO. To be fair to that office, it has cut the number of days involved in the process of setting up a business and increased the percentage of interactions that can be completed online. The progress in this regard is very impressive. The Revenue Commissioners, meanwhile, comes out as one of the best, if not the very best, in the world when it comes to ease of complying with the corporate taxation process and so on. I will ask the new head of the CRO for a report on what more could be done to move the process online. Between now and June, a major effort is being made to familiarise people with the new company set-up process. People will have to, over 18 months, opt for one or other of the new company structures. As a consequence, there will be something of a peak in work as we try to migrate people from the old, more bureaucratic system to the newer, simpler one. We might have to accept a slight blip in the numbers because of that large body of work, but it will be well worthwhile. The Senator has been very consistent on this issue and we will seek to come back to him on it.

The consolidation of legislation is a hugely complex process. We have put through the Bill to establish the Workplace Relations Commission and I thank Deputies and Senators for their patience in working with us on it. They saw how complex that legislation was and it did not involve a consolidation of labour law, which is a project that remains to be done. Consolidation is important in the longer term, but it can be very grinding work. One of our priorities was to have the consumer and competition agencies merged.

We wanted to have Forfás integrated into the Department and create a new dynamo in Shannon to drive the whole region. We wanted to get our workplace relations scheme up being to world class, with a much more efficient way of doing things. This has taken priority, if one likes, over the sweeping out of the attic of old laws and regulations. However, I take the Senator's point and the matter is certainly on my agenda.

The lack of language skills is a real problem. We have a competence in languages. From memory, approximately 38,000 students take languages in their leaving certificate examinations, obviously excluding Irish and English, which is a substantial part of the total cohort. While we have a significant number who have language competence, they do not appear to be able to fill some of the positions for which one needs a language. They do not speak the language and this appears to be a problem in meeting many of the language requirements of businesses. Where people have a reasonable competence to speak German, French or Spanish, with sales or technical capability, we are definitely setting targets to improve in this regard. Acquiring language skills is a longer term project and probably is within the education system. The aforementioned figure of 38,000 is not a bad number and it is probably a question of increasing the competence level of those 38,000 people to a level at which they could do more with the language.

As for small company exemptions, obviously they will be introduced this year with the Companies Act on the audit side, while the accountancy directive will have measures on the audit side. However, if we were to dilute labour rights for companies below a certain size, the Government would rightly be excoriated for so doing by Deputies Peadar Tóibín, John Lyons and others. There are some rights one cannot reduce by virtue of a company being small. It is difficult to identify measures if they are related to a company's size - audit being a good example - but if there are practical examples from the French, I would certainly be open to considering them. There is a limited amount of crowdfunding, an issue on which a group from the Departments of Finance and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation - the SME State bodies group - is working. I must obtain a report for the Senator on the progress it has made. Nothing made it this year into the legislative programme and while some would like to see tax advantages, they did not make the cut. However, it is certainly an idea to which we can be open. In other countries it is a small but interesting area. While it is not massive, it is one we definitely must keep in mind.

The question of upward-only rent reviews comes down to constitutional change. Were one to cut the rent paid to people who might themselves have debts, it is clear one would have to compensate them. With all of the other obligations taxpayers are trying to meet, taking up the slack for high rents simply has not been affordable. The Government has looked to the market to adjust and while I accept that it has not always adjusted, there has also been a good deal of progress in this regard.

I believe those are the issues which were raised.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Minister mentioned obtaining some information for Senator Feargal Quinn on the Companies Registration Office, metrics and crowdfunding. I ask him to forward a copy to the clerk, as we would then all receive a copy.

Feargal Quinn (Independent)
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I know the Minister's heart is in the right place and what he is trying to achieve. I simply believe more could be done.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus a oifigigh. Cuirim fáilte freisin roimh an gcinneadh a rinne an Rialtas agus an Roinn ó thaobh na pleananna réigiúnacha a ullmhú. Beidh siad i nGaillimh ar 23 Márta chun casadh le lucht ghnó an réigiúin agus le grúpaí agus eagrachtaí príobhóideacha agus poiblí chun láidreachtaí agus laigí an réigiúin a phlé. B'fhéidir nach bhfuil a fhios ag an Aire go bhfuil díospóireacht láidir ann sa dáilcheantar ó thaobh an bhóthair nua, cúlbhóthar do Ghaillimh. Tá sé rogha leagtha amach. Tá an cheist sin fíorthábhachtach ó thaobh infheistíocht d'iarthar na Gaillimhe de, don cheantar atá laistiar de Abhainn na Coiribe agus do Chonamara. Tá 70,000 duine ina gcónaí sa cheantar sin.

I very much welcome the regional jobs plan. Everybody has talked about the recent development by Apple, but we must also examine the role of the county council through the county development plan. My colleague from Athenry, Councillor Peter Feeney, very much led the concept of the Athenry-Oranmore economic corridor which he pushed as part of the county development plan. It is a region that is well served by motorway infrastructure, including the M6 to Dublin and the planned Cork to Tuam motorway which is under construction and will be very important in terms of job creation and future investment. The area is also well served by a 220 kV power line. It should be acknowledged that the county council was to the fore in pushing the concept of the strategic corridor. Not everything comes from the Government and the local authorities have a very important role to play.

Broadband has been mentioned and is part of the plan to be put out to tender. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, has laid out the plan which must be pushed to ensure it will happen. We have had so many launches of broadband strategies in recent years by successive Governments that there is an element of disbelief that this will happen. The previous national broadband plan did not work. While it looked good on paper and we debated it at county council level, it did not deliver proper broadband infrastructure to the most rural regions. The new plan must deliver; it must be rolled out, must be real and ensure rural areas receive a proper service. The Government must obtain permission from the Commission regarding EU state aid rules and the plan needs to be pushed to ensure it will happen quickly.

Does the Minister envisage any role for credit unions or will the strategic bank be sufficient in providing funding for SMEs? This issue has been debated here previously. Will he consider extra competition from the credit unions? There was a pilot project in Kilkenny. We have moved from over-reliance on the construction sector to a situation where we need to encourage house building. We have a very comprehensive Government plan on social housing and acknowledge the creation of more than 7,000 construction sector jobs in 2014 and the plans the Minister is preparing on the reduction of the social and affordable housing requirement to 10%, with the stipulation that the houses will actually have to be provided and that there will be no cash buy-out in lieu of responsibilities. Given that lending to developers is not an easy or popular concept, how will they obtain finance? Not everybody can decide in the morning to become a developer. Not everybody has the wherewithal, capability, knowledge and confidence to apply for planning permission and build 30 to 100 houses. Previously, developers would have funded new developments from the proceeds of the sale of existing developments and by borrowing. Does the Minister envisage any issue regarding having enough builders interested in building and being able to secure finance to fund projects?

I have consulted senior people in Galway regarding software engineers and there seems to be a worldwide shortage and an inability on the part of universities to provide places and produce graduates. Perhaps the standard of mathematics is too high. This issue must be examined. People may need to be directed, pushed, advised or incentivised to move into the area.

I look forward to the regional plans. An area like mine obviously has both strengths and weaknesses. The Government has targeted tourism in Connemara through the Wild Atlantic Way and the greenways, and the cuts to the travel tax and VAT have incentivised tourism development more widely. In Galway city and its outskirts, we have been fortunate to attract foreign direct investment which has been hugely beneficial this year and in previous years. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA have helped Galway to attract investment but it is also clearly a popular destination because it has the infrastructure and critical mass of population. We have also seen the beneficial impact of clustering on the region. I commend the Minister, his Department and the relevant statutory bodies for their work in this regard.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the support he has shown for the regional strategy. He correctly noted that bigger infrastructural players are also important to the development of the regions. We see the regional enterprise strategy as an annual strategy which drives enterprise capabilities but also offers opportunities to incorporate regional strategies into longer term infrastructural planning on the part of councils. We want to ensure enterprise priorities are part of the regional thinking of local authorities and the system of regional governance when it comes to infrastructure planning. In the short term we are working with what we have but in the longer term we will be able to make an input into deciding what infrastructure might be usefully developed. I recognise the work that the council has done in respect of the strategic corridor. One of the lessons of the Athenry example is that by working with the IDA and giving some thought to infrastructure, property and other types of solutions, we can strengthen the capacity of our regions. We want to see more people working to the same set of objectives in order to deliver wins in the regions. I was surprised at the disconnect that had developed in some cases between agencies and other stakeholders in the regions. This will bring the stakeholders together in a very tangible way, while also oiling the relationship with funds which they can jointly compete to deliver.

I acknowledge the challenge and importance of broadband. In terms of providing the last 30% with decent bandwidth, we are looking at covering 96% of the land area of the island to reach that 30%. The first 4% got 70% and the remaining 96% gets the other 30%. That is indicative of the scale of the challenge of delivering the network but it is crucial none the less.

We envisage that credit unions can be players in the loan guarantee scheme. Other issues of a regulatory nature have curtailed them at times, however. I understand that last week the Department of Finance attempted to introduce a matchmaker arrangement between developers, equity providers and bankers. It is some mixture of mezzanine finance, lending and equity. Developers probably got used to the model of 100% lending, which is gone forever. This matchmaking reflects an attempt to develop new models. I have not heard a report on the success or otherwise of the initiative.

There are players in this field, but we must match them with the sites that can be developed. It is regarded as a high priority and I hope it will prove to be a successful model. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, has introduced other instruments via the planning Acts, for example, applying flexibility in development charges to existing as well as new permissions.

There is a worldwide shortage of software engineers. We have set a target in this year's plan to increase the output of ICT graduates by 60% by 2018. This is one of the areas in which industry, universities and other institutes of education have collaborated well. They have good Springboard and graduate programmes in place and there has been good work experience and cross-fertilisation in the sector via the education network. However, even this ambition is not enough. In 2011, 45% of needs were met domestically. By 2018, we plan for this figure to be 75%. We are pushing up the percentage, but we are chasing a moving target that is growing larger.

The Deputy is right, in that more work is necessary on the choices people make in their careers. The extra points for mathematics led to a 70% increase in the number opting to take honours maths. We should start considering whether we could include other incentives, financial or otherwise, to encourage people to take courses that would undoubtedly fuel a great deal of growth in new sectors. Some work is being done on the impact of the Higher Education Authority, HEA. I am looking forward to meeting the team working on that project and gaining an understanding of the constraints on the HEA. Moving from one type of education to another quickly is difficult, but we must find ways to meet skill needs. I agree with the Deputy in that respect.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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It is appropriate to congratulate the Minister on the great achievement in increasing employment levels. There is an inherent problem in terms of attitudes towards foreign direct investment and indigenous industry. We have had considerable success in developing indigenous industry, creating jobs and so on and it should be made clear to the rest of the world that this is as important as encouraging foreign direct investment. Since the 1950s, it has been the "sexy" bit.

We must encourage more entrepreneurs. We know from studies that early stage businesses create the most jobs. There is some scepticism in Departments in that they do not trust entrepreneurs. I do not want present company to take this personally, but when it comes to social welfare, maternity leave and so on, the employer or self-employed person has stricter rules applied to him or her as if he or she is up to something in claiming maternity benefit. As such, there is a major job to be done in the social welfare system. The fact that starting a business or being self-employed is a demanding way of life is ignored. Businesses cannot survive otherwise; it is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. A string of penalties are applied to the self-employed but not to their employees.

We have to sort that out fast and get the message out that we want more business start-ups. We are doing the rapporteur study, the Chair has initiated the study on women entrepreneurs from this committee. It will highlight these points as we go along. The big, sexy companies like Glanbia are brilliant when they are expanding but they all started out small. I would like to see the Minister saying via megaphone that it is important to Ireland to develop our own indigenous companies, although we are delighted to have foreign direct investment and the 12.5% corporation tax rate is brilliant. We are standing on our heads to get them to come.

Regarding the self-employed, the Minister knows as well as I do that there are brakes on people from a social welfare point of view. The taxation system should be there to encourage more entrepreneurs. I must repeat that there is a negative attitude towards self-employed people in the Department. I am not being personal, there are very good people here, but others definitely feel the self-employed are up to something and do not trust them. It is a cultural thing and we have to get over it. When I was a teenager, to go into business or trade was seen as the pits, God almighty. It took us a good while to cop on that we needed it. It is still very much the attitude within the bureaucracy that they are up to something.

What can we say about indigenous industry? We want more Irish people whom we believe in and trust. How do we encourage them from a tax point of view? It is an even greater problem now, as the economy is turning, that people want to go and get good jobs in Google, Facebook and the likes. I was discussing it with my colleague, Connie Doody, who set up Lir Chocolates with me. She was wondering how involved in our society people working big jobs on big salaries in multi-nationals are. Are they so well paid and looked after? From my observation here in Leinster House, the management of people in the public sector does not seem to take account of the person. If someone goes into Google or something like that, management is going to be training them for the job, watching them develop. They need employees to do that. What is happening with the human person who comes in the door into the public sector? Are they encouraged to develop their career? Are they put into the job where they have the appropriate skill? We cannot afford to have a square peg in a round hole in private business. There is great potential for entrepreneurship in the public sector as well. We have had numerous examples of that and need more.

I congratulate the Minister on what he has done, although he dodged the emigration question a bit. I have been on to the Central Statistics Office trying to get the exact figures and we only have them up to April 2014. There are 1,600 people emigrating per week, 800 Irish and 800 non-Irish. Very few of them are coming back. The Taoiseach said last week that emigration has a devastating impact on our economy as we lose the input of people of talent and energy.

Finally, I will turn to the sidekick of the TILDA study in Trinity, in which the ESRI is looking at the effect of emigration on older parents and particularly the mothers, who see their children going off. It affects older people in particular to see their children going off and not wanting to come back. It affects their mental health and their happiness. Given all the ambition they had and sacrifices they made to send their children to university and to third level colleges, that must hurt. As the report says, it affects people's mental health and this leads to physical decline. We talk about the ones who emigrate, but what about the ones who are left at home, whose children have gone off? I presume emigration has decreased somewhat, but the official figures are still 1,600 a week.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank congratulate Senator White on her nomination for the Lower House. I do not know whether that is a step up or a step down.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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It will present more challenges.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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It is not an either-or situation between foreign and direct investment. The Senator would acknowledge that herself. She has a long history of supporting both sectors. There is a challenge in growing indigenous companies, but the last four years have been very successful.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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Very successful.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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This year, the net job increase in Enterprise Ireland companies exceeds that of the IDA. The gross increase considerably exceeds that of the IDA. We are seeing a new pattern evolve in what the Germans would call Mittelstand companies. Enterprise Ireland has played a significant role in that, developing the leadership for growth programme, which the Senator knows about. One sees the Combilifts, the McHales, the Keenans of Carlow-----

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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They are there for ages. That is a success of 30 years ago.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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They are growing. They are globally ambitious now. Combilift is a good case. It recently committed to a greenfield site and will increase its numbers by 200. We are seeing more and more of those companies. That is part of it. The other part of it, as the Senator rightly says, is start-ups. To be fair to my Department, 70% of our money goes to Irish businesses and 30% to foreign ones, so far and away the majority of our money goes to small start-ups, growth phasing, and scaling. To listen to the announcements, one might not think that was the ratio, but much of what we have done in the last while is aimed at start-ups. The tax relief available to start-ups has now been extended to all sectors. We are unique in Ireland in having competitive feasibility, competitive start, high-potential start-ups and equity investment from the State. One will not find that anywhere in Europe. We have 26 incubators in every institute of technology; we have the local enterprise network in 31 counties; we are reviewing the mentoring programmes; we have stripped out company law to make it much easier to set up a company, so that those start-ups have a much cleaner ability to form companies; and they have tax concessions for the first three years. Much has been done between microfinance and the young entrepreneurs competition last year, which received a staggering 1,100 responses. There is a great deal happening and people are seeing that Ireland is a good place to start a business but maybe it is too well-kept a secret and we should be promoting it more within-----

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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There are tax incentives-----

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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There are many tax incentives. For seed capital, as it used to be called, one can get tax relief on income tax paid of up to €600,000, so one could theoretically be investing-----

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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I am not saying that, I am just saying to get them to start up.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I know.

Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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It is easier said than done to make profits like that in the early years.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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It is slow. It is an educational process. It is about letting people see that to try and to fail is not the end of the world and getting more serial entrepreneurs. We also want to see more people supporting entrepreneurship in their own communities. I do not think official Ireland has some downer on the self-employed or small employers, but I take the Senator's point that we need to make that interaction, while absolutely legitimate, easier to do.

Our interactions, including the time it takes to get a work permit, the time it takes to get an employment case heard and the time it takes to form a company, are improving all the time. Within my Department I have set the expectation that we will continually improve those metrics because they are the key to the interface with small companies or those that might be forming.

I believe the Senator is looking at the gross figure for emigration and she needs to look at the net figure. There are always people who come and go, but the net figure, which hit a high of 35,000, is on the way down now; it was 21,000 at the last time it was recorded. The net flows are moderating, which is in accordance with us creating employment. The figures were at their peak when there was zero or negative jobs growth. Now as we see employment grow, they are coming down. The only way to get them down to zero is to have better employment growth and more opportunities at home.

The Senator raised a much bigger issue of developing talent in the public service. I would say the Secretary General would be better equipped to answer that. It has certainly been a difficult time in the public service. There have not been promotion opportunities and it has been very bottled up, which has an impact. However, to be fair there has been an extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit, if one wants to call it that, in being willing to change systems. That is happening throughout. I see it in my Department, with all the agencies we have merged. We have changed working relationships across the board. It is there in both the public and private sector. It perhaps is not acknowledged as much as it should be in the public service.

Today, on the day that is in it, we should acknowledge the success of Pfizer, which has undergone an extraordinary adjustment. I know the unions, SIPTU and TEEU, have been very influential in getting a deal across the line that has allowed those jobs to be secured in Cork. It is a fantastic indication that people with their backs to the wall have been flexible, whether they have been in the public or private sector. That has been one of the success stories of this very difficult time, indicating that people have had the ingenuity to solve difficult problems.

I am reminded of the former Senator, Mr. Joe Lee. I am not sure if members have read his book. He used to say all we wanted was a safe job in the public service, a bit of land or a job in the bank and that was the height of our expectations or ambition. We now have a very different generation who regard entrepreneurship as natural. They have the self-confidence that goes with that. I hope the policies we are putting in place will build on that.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Like the other speakers, I very much welcome the regional aspect of the Action Plan for Jobs. Has a date been set for the launch of the midlands one, in which I am obviously very interested?

On the talent bank and the national skills strategy, Senator White referred to the report on women in entrepreneurship. She gave me credit for initiating it, but in fact she initiated it and I supported her in it. A witness who appeared before the committee talked about the importance of salesmanship in everything that is happening here at the moment. She was very clear that it is not necessary to be the expert in order to get a company up and running. Someone with the skills and talent to get the company going can bring in what is needed. She made the point about salesmanship. The Minister referred to sales and language. I ask him to comment on whether we should focus more on it.

I attended the launch of the Startup Gathering last week. It is a tremendous initiative and I hope it will be very successful. What outcomes does the Minister expect from that through the Action Plan for Jobs?

Regarding what Senator White was saying about the Enterprise Ireland funding, is it possible for us to get details on the amount of investment in companies on a county-by-county basis? I recently came across a document indicating that more than 400 jobs had been created in County Offaly, which I represent, through Enterprise Ireland investment. I thought that was a fantastic figure but nobody is really talking about it, whereas if there was an FDI announcement of 30 jobs, it would be all over the newspapers.

Sometimes we do not recognise our own talent. These are the people who are working on the ground and developing, over decades perhaps, outstanding companies and who are aided and abetted by the State agencies and the Departments. From that perspective, it would be good for us to come up with some idea of, first, how we can get the word out about the outstanding indigenous companies we already have across the country and, second, how to reach out to others which might need a little more support. The Government has already done this in a way through the websiteactionplanforjobs.ie. This is a great idea as it brings together all the supports available to start-ups.

I have also heard comment on local employment offices, LEOs, and whether a consistent approach across the country is being applied or whether they are being left to their own devices with different budgets and emphases in different areas. It might be possible to clarify that. Finally, there is a question about the CEDRA report and how this fits in. There are some great recommendations in the report such as on rural economic development zones. Some counties have already been proactive on this. How will that report feed in so that we can see results very quickly? Marrying the regional strategy and the CEDRA report may be the blueprint for getting action into the regions very quickly.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have not set a date specifically for the midlands plan. It is at the front of the queue. However, we want it to be the best it can be. We are therefore not rushing it out too quickly. We want to ensure whatever we have learnt is applied. The national talent drive is crucial. With the establishment of the education and training boards, a big priority for this year is the engagement of both them and the higher education institutes with enterprise, and to improve their interplay. The jury is out on how successful this is. We had the apprenticeship call. I hope it is successful. We need to see more engagement by enterprise with our education system. There probably have been faults on both sides. The education and training system may have got a little detached and employers probably could not afford to maintain traineeships and apprenticeships. This bridge needs to be rebuilt. Rebuilding this bridge is a big issue and the Minister of State, Deputy English, is committed to it.

On salesmanship, Mr. Fitzgerald tells me that we have a call out for Springboard courses to help firms sell internationally and to develop related skills. This would be in the second quarter of this year. I agree that we are great at marketing but not at selling. Ultimately, people have to sell our products. We have undervalued this skill. We may look to go back to the well again next year in this area because it is probably underdeveloped.

The Start-up Gathering, at this stage, is modelled somewhat on the tourism initiative, The Gathering, except it is sectorally driven. Five sectors and five cities have been identified as well as the sort of programmes to be run. The initiative has a call out. The KPI, key performance indicator, if one wishes to call it that will depend on the quality of the call. Eoin Costello is very enthusiastic and he has a very good committee. We have put some money in and he has good sponsors behind him. It is something we should be doing to get the message out, not only internationally but at home, that start-ups are a part of what we are. It should be part of our DNA. The initiative, which dovetails with our implementation of the enterprise strategy, will have an impact. We discussed at our ministerial board how we can get more recognition for this kind of Irish based initiative. We are looking at how we could do it and we will revert to the committee on that.

I wish to thank members of the committee for their support for actionplanforjobs.ie. At every meeting I attend, I am struck by the small percentage of people who really understand what is out there for them. Some 90% have said they do not fully understand what is available and they want more information, so we are trying to make that easier.

We want to make local enterprise offices more consistent and every one of them will have to submit a plan that will be vetted by the centre of excellence in Enterprise Ireland. They are under a service level agreement and we will be seeking a consistency of approach. We also want to promote some innovation so we will be having a competitive call. In that way, those with good ideas who are showing ambition and innovation in partnering in their county, will win more resources. We hope the combination of consistency plus some incentive to do new things will be a successful approach.

The Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, will shortly be making an announcement on the Leader programme which is an element of it, as are the rural enterprise development zones. Members of the committee should therefore direct such questions to her Department, rather than mine. I hope that what we are doing at regional level will dovetail with some of these initiatives, even though we have a stricter focus on building enterprise start-ups.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister and his officials for attending today's meeting. The meeting is now adjourned until 1.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 24 March when we will be carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny on the general scheme of the Low Pay Commission (National Minimum Wage) Bill 2015.