Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his assessment of the impact to date of the Action Plan on Jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3563/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Action Plan for Jobs is designed to deliver measures right across Government to protect existing jobs and support the creation of new ones. It is a key instrument in our objective to transform the economy from one that became over-dependent on property, construction and debt to one focused on enterprise, innovation and exports. Because it involves a very large number of actions across different spheres, the impact of Action Plan for Jobs has to be assessed both in respect of the successful delivery of individual measures and in the broader context of its impact on enterprise and jobs.

The 2012 plan successfully delivered more than 90% of measures on time. They included many important reforms designed to enhance competitiveness, improve access to finance, support enterprise and develop employment in sectors of opportunity. In many cases, the full impact of these changes will take time to evolve. However, significant objectives have been realised, including new supports for first-time exporters and women in business, new sources of credit, reductions in PRSI and so on.

In respect of the economic impact of the plan, there are a number of encouraging indicators of strong performance in our export-oriented sector. Despite a difficult domestic and external economic environment, 2012 saw significant net job creation by Enterprise Ireland and IDA-supported companies, building on the positive results of 2011 and following successive years of significant net job losses. The value of exports of goods and services increased by just over 6% year on year in the first three quarters of 2012. The most recent quarterly national household survey figures published by the CSO for the third quarter of 2012 show there was a net increase of almost 12,000 in private sector employment, driven by the export-oriented sectors. Ireland also improved its ranking by two places in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index, and by four places in the IMD's World Competitiveness Yearbook.

While these are positive signs, with growth forecast downgrades in many of our key trading partners and continuing fiscal and banking consolidation, many challenges lie ahead. However, the Government is determined to deepen the thrust of reform in the 2013 action plan for jobs, which I will bring to Government for approval shortly, prior to its publication.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Minister and his two Ministers of State every success over the next six months during the Presidency. The Department has ambitious targets and a significant work programme. On behalf of everyone, I wish them well.

I tabled a parliamentary question to every Minister earlier this month to ascertain what they had delivered under Action Plan for Jobs and, more important, how many jobs were created and their job creation targets. The only impact worth measuring in such a plan is job creation. It is a bit like the Andrex puppy of action plans. It is nice and fluffy and the replies I received had little to do with what it is about. Every Department replied with vague aspirations and achievements but none outlined job creation targets and, therefore, I had nothing against which to measure their performance. I have a sense that it has been left to the Minister co-ordinate the entire plan, even though the Taoiseach every so often wakes up and convenes a special meeting. Every Department throws in the kitchen sink in the context of aspirations. How many Departments have specific job targets? Will the Minister give an assistant secretary in the Department responsibility to ensure the implementation of the action plan and to work with the Taoiseach's Department to ensure no Minister can hide behind these vague aspirations?

Last April, the Minister forecast that the numbers at work would increase by 67,000 between 2011 and 2015, yet in the medium-term financial statement published in November, he lowered that forecast to 18,000. That is the ultimate measure of Action Plan for Jobs. Our export sector is flying and we owe a huge debt to the IDA and Enterprise Ireland which are doing a superb job, but the difficulty is in the domestic economy in which we are not experiencing any improvement. What resources is the Minister putting in to ensure Departments deliver?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his good wishes in respect of the Presidency. It is an ambitious programme. Yesterday, the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, and I attended a number of committee meetings and the size of the operation is formidable.

I assure him that Action Plan for Jobs has initiated a change in the way Departments work and this can be seen throughout Departments. The Department of Justice and Equality has introduced reforms to the visa system for investors, while the Department of Health has established a health innovation hub. Irish companies were never previously allowed to test their products in real life scenarios in our hospitals. The Minister for Finance also announced an SME strategy in the Budget Statement and the Minister for Education and Skills has doubled the ICT skills output. We also have the national broadband plan. They do not have specific job targets but they are crucial in creating the transition we need to make. It is a little naive to talk about setting job creation targets for individual Departments because it does not work as simply as that.

I also assure the Deputy that an effective implementation policy is run from the Taoiseach's Department. Two Forfás officials have been assigned to support his Department in that work and, therefore, it is centrally monitored. It is my strong belief that rather than a line Department seeking to monitor other Departments, it is much more effective to have his Department overseeing this.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is in charge of the line Department for job creation and, therefore, one would assume the Department would be in a position to crack the whip. The Minister for Finance's reply to my parliamentary question about his Department's job creation targets and implementation plan was that it was a matter for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. He was not overly worried about it.

I refer to an issue we discussed previously, which is the visa arrangements for employees in high technology companies. The Minister was pursuing this with the Department of Justice and Equality. Can he update the House in this regard? This might alleviate the skills shortage, which could lead to job creation.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy this will be included in the 2013 programme. We have been working on reform of the work permits system. We will have legislation in the new term and we plan to make it much more accessible in order that where there are skills shortages, there will be a speedy and easy response and people will have certainty in respect of how the system works. I am confident that I will fulfil the Deputy's expectations.

I did not see the reply to the parliamentary question to the Minister for Finance but each of his budgets has progressively improved the start-up and research and development incentives in the tax code, the tax breaks for companies in the early years of operation and so on. There has been a consistent programme of reducing VAT and PRSI and, clearly, he is very much engaged in making the changes necessary to facilitate job creation. That is central to what he seeks to achieve.