Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Action Plan for Jobs is designed to deliver measures right across Government to protect existing jobs and support the creation of new ones. It is a key instrument in our objective to transform the economy from one that became over-dependent on property, construction and debt to one focused on enterprise, innovation and exports. Because it involves a very large number of actions across different spheres, the impact of Action Plan for Jobs has to be assessed both in respect of the successful delivery of individual measures and in the broader context of its impact on enterprise and jobs.

The 2012 plan successfully delivered more than 90% of measures on time. They included many important reforms designed to enhance competitiveness, improve access to finance, support enterprise and develop employment in sectors of opportunity. In many cases, the full impact of these changes will take time to evolve. However, significant objectives have been realised, including new supports for first-time exporters and women in business, new sources of credit, reductions in PRSI and so on.

In respect of the economic impact of the plan, there are a number of encouraging indicators of strong performance in our export-oriented sector. Despite a difficult domestic and external economic environment, 2012 saw significant net job creation by Enterprise Ireland and IDA-supported companies, building on the positive results of 2011 and following successive years of significant net job losses. The value of exports of goods and services increased by just over 6% year on year in the first three quarters of 2012. The most recent quarterly national household survey figures published by the CSO for the third quarter of 2012 show there was a net increase of almost 12,000 in private sector employment, driven by the export-oriented sectors. Ireland also improved its ranking by two places in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index, and by four places in the IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook.

While these are positive signs, with growth forecast downgrades in many of our key trading partners and continuing fiscal and banking consolidation, many challenges lie ahead. However, the Government is determined to deepen the thrust of reform in the 2013 action plan for jobs, which I will bring to Government for approval shortly, prior to its publication.

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