Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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7. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs created in IDA Ireland-supported enterprises arising from international relocation; and the number of jobs filled by internal transfers within such companies. [2945/14]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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How many jobs have been created in IDA Ireland-supported enterprises as a result of international relocation compared with the number of jobs filled by internal transfers within those companies?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Forfás annual employment survey reports on job gains and losses in companies that are supported by the industrial development agencies. Data are compiled on an annualised basis and aggregated at county level. The information is provided by companies on a confidential basis for statistical purposes only. It is, therefore, not possible to provide the information the Deputy seeks. It should be noted, however, that there is free movement of labour within the EU and persons recruited from outside the EU must comply with employment permit legislation.

Global companies continually examine their markets, supply chains and expansion opportunities, and seek to align them to best advantage. Ireland sometimes loses from such changes such as when companies have excess capacity and sometimes Ireland gains.

Ireland’s availability of skilled labour is one of the primary reasons cited by IDA Ireland’s clients for establishing their operations in this country. Each investment project has a set of unique and specific skills requirements. While some of the skills required will be available from within Ireland, others such as language skills may involve relocation from overseas or a transfer from within existing companies. The ability of Ireland’s skills base to help to support the ongoing evolution of FDI companies in Ireland and allow them to bid for new corporate projects as they arise is critical to maintain and build their long-term employment impact in Ireland. This is true both of the direct jobs created but also indirectly through the downstream jobs impact on Irish sub-suppliers and the economy in general. Through considerable effort by Irish managers and workers, the improved business environment in Ireland and the strong work of IDA Ireland, we are enjoying record growth in foreign direct investment. Our challenge is to ensure we are competitive, particularly in sectors we have targeted with significant growth potential, and work with existing companies to ensure they continually improve their capacity to be leaders in their sectors.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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It should be noted that IDA Ireland had a good year last year in bringing jobs to this country, for which it is to be commended. Foreign direct investment is critical to the recovery of the economy. Apple Computers Limited is a significant employer in my constituency. However, what I would like to focus on is not the role and value of IDA Ireland but the companies relocating here. When we hear about companies that are to relocate here, we also hear about the broad number of jobs likely to be created. However, we do not receive any follow up detail of how many of these jobs have been filled by way of internal transfers. We are lacking this information. The Minister mentioned languages as an area in which Ireland does not have the required skills set for some of the companies opting to relocate here. There is a job of work to be done in that regard, particularly by organisations such as Solas. In formulating policy in this area, if we do not have information on the number of jobs filled by way of internal transfer, how are we to grasp the skill sets we need to develop?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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We have a good system in place for assessing skills. The high level group on skills forecasting works very closely with Irish and foreign owned companies in identifying skills required. For example, we have, through the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, committed to doubling the output of ICT graduates because IT is a key sector.

A US company relocating to Ireland that wishes to bring with it employees from the United States must apply for work permits for them in the normal way, as part of which process it is required to show the posts cannot be filled by people from within the European Union. The work permits process provides us with information on the areas in which there are skills bottlenecks. We have a very good window to where the skills needs are. To be fair, the education system is seeking to respond by way of initiatives such as Springboard and Momentum, as well as the ICT initiative and the apprenticeship review launched earlier this week which provides an opportunity for businesses to identify areas where a new two-year apprenticeship could be developed. We have a good window to the challenges encountered in this area.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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We are lacking in information on internal transfers within companies that relocate here. The Minister has said that information is not available, but he has also said US companies relocating to Ireland must apply for work permits for employees they propose to bring with them from the United States. Is it possible to get that information? We know how many jobs are being created, but we do not know how many of them are being filled by way of internal transfers. It is important we have that information. Can work be done with the companies concerned to get that information?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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A person who comes to work in Ireland becomes part of a community and pays tax here. We should not pretend that it is unacceptable for a company relocating to Ireland to bring with it employees from its head office as part of that relocation. While such companies may start with a core, they quickly become Irish-led. One of the reasons they come is the talent available here. That is key.

We do have data for work permits. The number of work permits issued has fallen dramatically, from 23,000 at its peak to 3,000 last year. Huge numbers of employees from non-EU countries are not coming here and those who are brought in have particular skill sets. Almost 1,700 of the 3,000 jobs for which work permits were granted last year were in the IT sector. It is possible for us to identify the positions companies are filling by way of internal transfers or recruitment from outside the European Union in order to meet their needs. These are the skills on which we need to focus. Our target is to become more self-reliant in these areas.