Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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3. To ask the Minister for Finance if the stated goals of his Department include creating a resilient Irish economy founded on sustainable and balanced growth and leading to significant increases in employment numbers; if he shares the concerns of former the IMF head of mission to Ireland that there is a risk we could enter a long-term hysteresis process; if not, the reason for this; in view of the extent and skill set of long term unemployment, if a risk assessment has been done in his Department on the issue; if so, if he will outline its findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41671/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As stated in my Department's statement of strategy for the period 2011 to 2014, one of our principal goals is to create a resilient Irish economy founded on sustainable and balanced growth and leading to significant increases in employment numbers. I stress that all of the economic policies of the Government, be they on repairing the banking sector or public finances or bringing down the costs of doing business, are designed to get the economy growing at a sufficient pace so that we can reduce the excessively high level of unemployment. The economic crisis has taken a heavy toll on the labour market. In particular, the collapse of the construction sector has had a detrimental impact on employment. I have some concerns that there may be a mismatch between the skills of some of those currently unemployed and the skills demanded in the expanding sectors of the economy. This is why retraining is so important.

As part of the formation of the Action Plan for Jobs 2013, the issue of long-term unemployment was examined in depth and the following schemes have been targeted at the long-term unemployed: the JobsPlus initiative, which supports the long-term unemployed in returning to the workforce; the momentum programme, which provides education and training places to the long-term unemployed; and youth work services, which address the critical issue of youth long-term employment, which accounts for over half of all youth unemployment.

In addition to the Action Plan for Jobs, Pathways to Work 2013, published in July, is a 50-point action plan that focuses on labour market activation. This plan focuses on more regular and ongoing engagement with the unemployed; greater targeting of activation places and opportunities; incentivising both the take-up of opportunities and employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed; and reforming institutions to deliver better services to the unemployed.

The Government has prioritised getting people back to work, and the recent labour market figures are very positive in this regard. The Quarterly National Household Survey results for the second quarter of this year showed the strongest job creation since 2008. Encouragingly this growth consisted of both full-time and part-time employment and was broad based across the various sectors of the economy.

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In addition, the standardised unemployment rate reduced further in September, to 13.3%, which is the lowest level since March 2010, but still unacceptably high. The elevated long-term unemployment rate remains a concern to the Government; however, progress has been made. In the year to the second quarter of 2013, the long-term unemployment rate decreased from 9.2% to 8.1%.

We must now continue to build on the progress made over the past year as there is clearly still lots to do, and I want to assure the Deputy that addressing unemployment remains the main economic priority for the Government. My Department continually monitors developments in the economy, including in the labour market, with a view to providing appropriate advice. It also produces forecasts for the labour market, and the next set of forecasts will be published with the budget.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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If Ireland, with its small, open economy, is to have an export market, the United States and European Union economies must be doing well. Dr. Ashoka Mody said it is not just a case of having prudent fiscal managers since the markets will be looking at us to see if we are sound from an investment perspective. Investors want to know that Ireland is capable of repaying the huge debts with which it is burdened. Dr. Mody, in speaking about long-term unemployment, has put us in the same frame as Japan.

The Minister gave us a list of what the Government is doing. Does he share our concerns? Has he carried out a risk assessment on long-term unemployment? It is a critical factor in terms of the health of the economy.

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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We have no shortage of advice from some of the celebrity economists attached to some of our business schools or from various people who worked in the IMF over the years. We read all the advice. Sometimes it misses the point and at other times it is accurate. It is true that one of the big problems facing us is long-term unemployment. What has happened since we entered Government is that the live register measure of unemployment has reduced from 15.1% to 13.3%. Despite all the difficulties associated with the programme, we are beginning to make ground. Some 33,000 jobs, net, were created in the past 12 months or so. This is approximately 3,000 jobs per month. However, there is a difficulty and I do not believe labour activation measures alone will solve it. There is a skills mismatch between many people on the live register and the kinds of people industry is looking for. There are approximately 80,000 people with construction industry skills. The next phase of job creation will involve getting people back to work in the construction industry.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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I do not dispute that there has been a net improvement in the number of jobs. Some of the jobs, however, are part-time jobs. Some people who were formerly on the register are not counted as unemployed. They are pushed into taking means-tested welfare payments if there is an employed person in the household. They are actually not counted. This must be factored in when determining the real level of unemployment.

Would the Minister pay particular attention to advice or concerns expressed by a person such as Dr. Mody given his involvement in the original programme and with the IMF?

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I would listen to the advice of any world-renowned expert or economist. I read a lot, but much of the advice is contradictory. One must adhere to one's best judgment. It is true that one can argue about the statistical composition of the live register, as the Deputy suggested, but it is not generally known that 90,000 people working part-time, all included, are on the live register. One must make allowances for that also when considering what is going on.

So far, we have made many good judgment calls, in addition to some bad ones. I have explained several times at committee meetings that standing still is not an option. We must take initiatives as a Government to get people back to work. I am fully conscious that one will not get ten out of ten right. Not every initiative works. However, if a high percentage of them work, the system will be working. We are working on creating jobs at present and will continue to do so. We will take advice from the Deputies opposite. I will assess any good idea.