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

One should consider the potential of the US trade agreement. If it can be negotiated and successfully launched, the figures indicate that 500,000 jobs could be created across the European Union and, proportionately, 4,000 in Ireland. Obviously, this will take time to deliver. Similarly, completion of the trade agreements with Japan and Canada will be significant in terms of job creation. These agreements could lead to the creation of 2 million jobs in Europe. The completion of the digital market has been estimated to have had a very significant impact. A figue of up to 4% of GDP could be generated by having an effective digital market. Many of these initiatives have associated job targets, but they tend to be longer term, pending completion of a range of measures.

A fund of €6 billion has been earmarked for the youth guarantee scheme for the 2014-20 period. As the fund is for areas such as apprenticeships and job placement, the primary initiative will be with the Departments of Education and Skills and Social Protection. COSME has a budget of just over €2 billion and a formal set of proposals will be developed.

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