Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is on track to create the additional 100,000 extra jobs as committed to in the action plans for jobs. [41824/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland suffered a fall of more than 300,000 in the number of people in employment in the three years to March 2011. The private sector experienced the brunt of the job losses, with the construction sector alone losing 150,000 jobs in the period. To reverse this trend and deliver our target of 100,000 extra jobs by 2016 will require a major transformation in the economy. The new economy which we must build will be based on enterprise, innovation and exporting. For the Government to promote this transformation will require progress on a number of fronts, including improving competitiveness, improving access to finance, embedding a jobs agenda within the necessary fiscal consolidation, taking strategic action to facilitate growth in sectors with significant potential and improving the capacity to convert good ideas into good jobs.

The action plan for jobs seeks to integrate work across the whole of Government to deliver the focus on employment. Actions are delivered in accordance with stretching timelines. The progress we have made in our first 18 months in office is encouraging, but there is a long way to go. Employment in export oriented companies supported by the agencies under my Department has increased by a net 10,000 in the past 18 months. This is in sharp contrast to losses of 45,000 among such companies in the previous three years.

It is particularly encouraging to see that exports from indigenous companies have been growing even faster than foreign direct investment and reached €15.2 billion in exports in 2011, the highest level ever.

In spite of continued job losses in more traditional sectors such as construction, and financial, insurance and administrative activities, we are seeing stabilisation in the level of private sector employment. However, the downgrading of growth forecasts in most of our trading partners will create a particularly challenging environment for the next 12 months. We are working on the preparation of proposals for the action plan for jobs 2013. I have had a number of consultative meetings and invite submissions for consideration for the strategy.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I understand how difficult a job it is to chair these events but will it be possible to ask a supplementary question after this one? I will do my best to ensure time remains for it.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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We have four minutes to deal with a supplementary questions and replies.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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In the past four years Ireland has lost more jobs per capita than any other western country since the great depression. This is a phenomenal indictment of the Government's policies and those of the previous Government. A total of 87,000 people emigrated last year, which is more than the number that sat the leaving certificate last year. Emigration and unemployment are the burning issues in Irish society today. The action plan for jobs was launched last February, 12 months after the Government came to power. At the time, the Taoiseach stated he would create 100,000 additional jobs. In this period alone, 33,000 jobs have been lost net so the Government is already at -133,000 given its promises. In this period, the Government has seen long-term unemployment increase from 50% to 60% and the jobs free action plan is the micro-management of the Department rather than what is needed, which is macroeconomic investment in the State.

We need significant investment if we are to tackle the major burning issue of our generation.

A total of €1 billion was given to unsecured bondholders by this Government yesterday. Would that money not have been better spent on Irish people seeking jobs? What real changes will the Government make to resolve what has now been an epic failure on its part with regard to job creation?

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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For the record, AIB paid the bond yesterday.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Yes, but it was money that went into the Irish State.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Noted.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Acting Chairman for allowing the supplementary questions. I wish to make it clear that we are undertaking a massive transformation, as Deputy Tóibín pointed out. Construction collapsed and 60% of employment in this sector was wiped out. A total of 160,000 mainly male employees became unemployed. There is a huge job to create a new economy that will absorb people from the sectors that, as we know, are in decline. They grew too big and the policy that supported them was not sustainable. We know that about banking, construction and so on. So we have to create the new economy that builds the opportunities. That is what we are doing. Last year, the IDA had the best year in a decade. It created the most new jobs in a decade and had the lowest level of job losses for a very long period. International investment in Ireland has returned and we are seeing a jobs dividend from that. As I also pointed out in the reply, we have reversed the dramatic collapse that was occurring in indigenous export-oriented companies. That has been reversed and Enterprise Ireland companies are now growing employment.

We have seen a huge turnaround but I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge. It is a huge challenge and we are working on it with determination. The merit of the action plan for jobs is that every year, every Department focuses on what changes can be made this year to make a practical contribution to the target. That is the approach we need to take and that is the one we are implementing.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Tóibín, very briefly.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, Spicers Bakery in Navan closed its doors. It has been in operation since 1834 and survived the Famine, the Black and Tans war, two world wars and every recession in between. It has not survived the policy of this Government. A total of 70 jobs in the bakery have been lost over the past two years. It seems that in respect of this entire sector, Spicers Bakery is symbolic of domestic enterprise in Ireland. This sector has been ignored and is suffering from Government policies.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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A total of six net jobs were created by Enterprise Ireland last year. What did the Minister do to stop Spicers Bakery closing down? If it was a foreign business operating here, one would have had a task force and a number of agencies already in place seeking to retrain those workers. This is an example of 1,400 other businesses that close down on a monthly basis in this State.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Minister, very briefly. He has 30 seconds.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has got it wrong. The food sector is one of the sectors that is doing very well. If one looks at the employment numbers within Enterprise Ireland, it has grown by something like 4% in the past 12 months. This is a sector that is growing and it is building its strength on innovation, new green products and breaking open new markets. If one looks at the data, one will see that Irish food companies are winning markets in China, India and all across the globe. This is a sector that is being developed. Of course, as in any sector, some parts of it do well while some parts do not do so well. That is inevitable. I cannot stop the sort of change that has occurred. However, overall, food as a sector is doing very well.