Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

All the work which the Government is doing through the Action Plan for Jobs aims to transform our economy from one that became over dependent on property, construction and debt to one focused on enterprise, innovation and exports. The Action Plan for Jobs is focused on sustaining and creating employment for new entrants to the labour market and the unemployed, many of whom are under 25. There is strong evidence that the plan is working. The IDA has had the best two years in a decade for jobs growth while Enterprise Ireland companies are winning new markets and growing employment significantly. Over the past 15 months, the private sector has added 1,000 jobs per month.

While it is true that there are continued job losses in more traditional sectors that grew disproportionately during the credit bubble, such as construction, financial, insurance and administrative activities, we have seen an increase in employment in sectors targeted by the Action Plan for Jobs, including ICT, digital gaming, tourism and the agrifood sector.

Many of the jobs on offer in these sectors are particularly attractive to young people. In addition, the Government has a range of initiatives to support young people to prepare for employment through job experience and training. These include provision by the Department of Social Protection for over 85,000 job placement, work experience and back to education beneficiaries in 2012, and the JobBridge internship scheme, which has had over 17,400 participants to date, with over 60% of participants securing jobs after their internship. Some 6,077 interns were participating last week and a further 2,189 internships were offered by companies. In Springboard, over 200 courses are available throughout the country designed to meet current and future skills needs in Ireland and in the momentum programme, specific projects will also be available to those under 25 to assist them to enter or return to employment. Other initiatives include the ICT action plan, offering training and conversion courses for the ICT sector and the EU youth guarantee being developed by the Minister for Social Protection.

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My Department is also keen to support young entrepreneurs and, in this context, initiatives such as Enterprise Ireland's competitive start fund and new frontiers programme, along with the microenterprise loan fund, will all contribute to supporting young entrepreneurs. Last week, we commenced a consultation on how we can better promote entrepreneurship in Ireland and we will be looking in particular at the scope to increase youth entrepreneurship.

The Government recognises that there has been an increase in net emigration, particularly among young people, since the start of the recession. In the year to April 2012 net migration reached 34,000, of whom 26,000 are Irish nationals. This reflects the impact of the crash which over a three year period saw the loss of over 250,000 jobs in the private sector. The concerted drive to make employment a top priority across the whole of Government is helping to alter that outlook for employment. Employment in the private sector is now growing by 1,000 per month. The Government's aim is that, by continuing the process of transforming our economy step by step through the Action Plan for Jobs, we can provide opportunities for employment in Ireland.

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