Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

The Government's jobs initiative of May 2011 was aimed at restoring confidence in the economy, providing opportunities for re-skilling those who had lost their jobs and assisting people in getting back to work. Key measures in the jobs initiative included halving the rate of employer's PRSI on earnings up to €356 per week, a reduction in the lower rate of VAT on certain goods and services, targeted capital spending on labour-intensive projects and the introduction of the national internship scheme, JobBridge. Additional education and training places were also provided for those who were seeking to upskill. The jobs initiative was a whole-of-Government initiative and any formal evaluation of its effects would have to be conducted on that basis. However, the impact of the measures in the initiative is being seen across a range of sectors. The quarterly national household survey shows a year-on-year increase of 8,700 in the numbers employed in the accommodation and food service sectors. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has estimated that the additional €30 million allocated to the better energy programme under the jobs initiative supported the creation and retention of an extra 2,000 jobs for the duration of 2011. Over 8,400 interns have commenced placements under the JobBridge programme since it was launched in July of last year. Feedback from the Department of Social Protection indicates that 1,196 of the 3,131 people who have already completed JobBridge have gone directly into employment with the host organisation or elsewhere. Over 3,500 people recently graduated from the first round of Springboard programmes which were put in place in 2011 and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, recently announced a further roll-out of the Springboard initiative with an additional 6,000 places in 2012.

The Government has built on the jobs initiative this year with the action plan for jobs. The action plan has set a target of supporting 100,000 net new jobs in the economy by 2016.

See this speech in context