Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the reason targets were missed in the Action Plan for Jobs; if there will be consequences for missed targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20937/12]

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation his plans to deal with missed targets in the Action Plan for Jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20934/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 19 together.

The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and I were able to report last Friday, in the first quarterly progress report on the implementation of the action plan for jobs, that 96%, or 80 out of 83 measures which were scheduled to be completed in quarter 1, were delivered. I regard this as a significant achievement for the Government and an indication of its success in dealing with the issues.

Some important deliverables already achieved under the Action Plan include the development of the partial credit guarantee scheme and the publication of legislation to bring it into effect, the launch of the Succeed in Ireland initiative, the design and launch of Enterprise Ireland's development capital scheme, the enactment of pro-jobs measures in the Finance Bill and the establishment of a new education and training fund.

Only three of the 83 measures were not fully completed, and these relate to the launch of a new women-in-business start-up drive, the development of an approach and a programme to support industry-led clustering, and the development of a cloud-computing strategy for the public service. While these three measures were not fully completed on schedule, significant progress has been made on them, and I fully expect them to be finalised during the second quarter.

The Government is committed to ongoing monitoring of the action plan. A monitoring committee, comprising representatives from the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department and Forfás, has been established to track the progress of each of the quarterly targets to be met.

Targets are designed to be realistic but ambitious. They are being pursued vigorously and rigorously monitored. Those who are assigned responsibility are expected to overcome obstacles and will have to account to the Taoiseach with quarterly reporting dates to maintain momentum. This is the central priority of Government and each Minister has bought into the central national importance of this process.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Would it not be a good idea to have external monitoring of the Government's success? The Government sets itself up as its own examiner and gives itself an A+. Despite the claimed success rate, 97%, the unemployment rate remains stuck at 14.6%. The Minister referred in his reply to the credit guarantee scheme. The scheme is not yet in place and is a long way from being so. Not only have we to pass the legislation, we must also put in place a mechanism. The micro-finance scheme is not yet in operation and commercial rates have not been tackled. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has written a letter to local authorities which, from the feedback I am getting, certainly will not have very much impact. There were further promises that were to be fulfilled by now. For example, prioritising places on the further education scheme specifically for those on the live register for 12 months or more was not achieved. The one-stop shop for micro-business support structures has not been put in place.

From now on, will the Government agree to external monitoring so we can really see what is happening? One should bear in mind the fundamental legal principle, "Nemo iudex in sua causa.", which translates as, "Nobody should be judge in his own cause."

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We are not seeking to be judges in our own cause but to be open and accountable. We are saying what we plan to deliver and we are publishing this information on a quarterly basis. The Deputy has access to the same amount of data as I do.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is claiming he has delivered what he has not delivered; that is the point.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We are seeking to mobilise the public service across government. Fifteen Departments and 36 agencies have contributed. Not only have they said they would take action but they are willing to put their names up in lights and state they will be held to account for what they are doing. This is new for the public service. In the numerous strategies published in the past, including the health strategy, the decentralisation strategy and the national spatial strategy, which were published like confetti, there was never a statement to the effect that X, Y and Z would be delivered by such a date. This is a new discipline demonstrating that the public service is stepping up to the plate. There is accountability and data are on the website. One can read what was said and what has been delivered.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The problem is that I have looked at it.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is free to look at it. The implementation of a particular initiative has stages. With regard to the partial loan guarantee, one publishes a Bill on a certain date and has it passed on a certain date. We are willing to commit to the publication date of the Bill and we commit to delivering by quarters. The Deputy, who has been around this House for nearly as long as I have, will realise the number of times Bills are not published for four years after the date on which they are due to be published. In the interests of an employment strategy, Departments will stick to them and be held accountable for them. This is a significant change in the approach to delivering public service. The Deputy should be good enough to recognise that this a fresh and different approach. Clearly, we have to be accountable.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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One of the problems is the timescales. In March 2011, the European progress microfinance facility became available. Since then, at least 2,000 companies have become insolvent, never mind the number of sole traders. Yet, we still do not have a start date for this programme. There is also the issue of accountability. The Taoiseach himself said he would hold Ministers to account yet we have the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government floundering from one crisis to another.

With regard to industry-led clustering, as has been said by other Deputies, there has been an uneven delivery of enterprise across the State both geographically and socio-economically. What principles will the Minister use with industry-led clustering to ensure better geographical and socio-economic distribution? How will he ensure disadvantaged areas get the businesses and the jobs to which they are entitled?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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When we came into office there was no microfinance fund. It was drawn down for the First Step programme.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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That was a previous programme.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The State cannot draw that down. It must set up an independent arm to draw it down which is the microfinance proposal we are developing. In the action plan for jobs we have committed for a date for it going live. We have also made a commitment on when the heads of the Bill and the subsequent legislation will be published. The Government is fronting up and stating these are target dates which it hopes to achieve which is a new approach. I, along with my officials, will be moving might and main to meet those targets. They are stretching targets and it will not be easy to meet all those that have been set. We have missed some and in the future will miss others. If we did not miss some, then they would not be real targets. It cannot be like election results in some countries that I will not name.

The geographical spread will be a real challenge. We have set a target of 50%, as had the previous Government, for industrial development outside Dublin and Cork. I am pleased this year so far that we have delivered on that target, particularly as it had not happened last year. I hope that it will be easier to get regional spread on companies in the Succeed in Ireland programme, which targets lower sized companies to pick Ireland because they are not seeking deep labour pools that are only available in cities.

If the Deputy has any further suggestions, by all means, he should send them our way. There will be an action plan 2013 just as there was one in 2012. We seek to make new approaches within the resources available.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Government has set targets and I am not going to be critical of it for missing certain ones. No one expects any Government to meet every single target it sets. However, it is a question of interpretation. Is it not reasonable to suggest there is some outside evaluation of these targets and that the Government does not decide whether it met its targets itself? This is particularly apt in view of the fact the Taoiseach has been very clear that Ministers, senior civil servants, senior officials and the plethora of bodies which are supposed to deliver A, B and C, should be held accountable for non-performance.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach is at the centre of this. He chairs the Cabinet sub-committee and has a unit in his Department that monitors progress. If the Taoiseach asks a Minister or a senior official why they have not delivered on a programme or target to which they are committed, they tend to respond. They say biting with the president's teeth. The most effective accountability, as we have seen in other countries, is when public servants, including Ministers, are brought to account by their political leader on why they have not delivered on a commitment. That is the most effective monitoring and accountability one can have in our system. It works.