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

A key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which the Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports and provide a solid foundation for future growth. The goal of the Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018. This whole of Government effort has been integrated into the Action Plan for Jobs process which aims to strengthen the enterprise base, support entrepreneurship, improve competitiveness and support job creation in Dublin and in every region.

Significant progress has been made in Dublin. Since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched, some 50,000 additional people are back at work in Dublin. This compares with job losses of 90,000 in the period 2008–11. The trend in employment in enterprises supported by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland has been similar. Such enterprises created a net 20,000 jobs in the period 2011–14 compared to 10,000 job losses in the earlier period. In the past year, net employment growth in Dublin was 15,400. There was expansion in all categories of enterprise supported by my Department. This included 3,700 in IDA supported enterprises, 2,350 in EI supported enterprises and 793 in local enterprise office, LEO, supported enterprises.

While good progress is being made, the Government is not complacent about the challenge of achieving sustainable full employment over the medium term in all regions, including Dublin. As part of the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs, we launched the process for developing action plans for every region. The work on the preparation of the Dublin action plan for jobs is currently under way and will set ambitious targets for the region over the coming years to realise the potential of sustainable full employment and improved standards of living for the people of Dublin.

Deputy Flanagan also raised the issue of the employment experience of graduates, but I do not think the CSO gathers data on the net change. However, in terms of the areas in which we have visibility, such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, a significant share of graduates are obtaining opportunities in those companies. There is a high skill content to most of the growth in those sectors, so there are good opportunities for graduates, particularly those in the technology, engineering, mathematics field. There is strong performance in both pharma and ICT sectors.

See this speech in context