Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a breakdown by sector of jobs created in the economy this year; and if he will provide figures for the average wage levels for these jobs by sector. [29935/14]

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Higgins to introduce the question.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Normally we do not get this opportunity on Taoiseach's questions.

My question was to ask the Taoiseach and indeed the Government representatives for a breakdown by sector of jobs created in the economy this year and figures for the average wage levels for these jobs to see if we can get at the truth that the Government has grotesquely exaggerated the number of jobs created, many at very low and insecure levels of pay.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. Statistics on the labour force and employment by sector are based on the quarterly national household survey, QNHS, conducted by the Central Statistics Office. These figures are published on a quarterly basis and the latest figures available are for the second quarter of 2014. The results for that quarter show that employment has increased by 31,600 in the past year.

The QNHS includes a breakdown of total employment, and the trend in employment, quarterly and annual, for each sector of the economy. It does not break that trend into the gross flows of jobs gained and jobs lost. However, estimates of the numbers of jobs created and jobs destroyed are compiled by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, on the basis of administrative data. These tables on job creation and job destruction are published on the StatBank database available on the CSO’s website. The purpose of the series is to explore the dynamics in business employment – the flow of jobs and persons between firms and within and between sectors, using a methodology adapted from research literature in this area.

The job churn series is based on a statistical analysis of administrative data from the Revenue Commissioners. The Revenue information is provided to the CSO under the Statistics Act 1993 and is used solely for statistical purposes. The estimates of job churn relate to all employing enterprises in key sectors of the business economy as classified by the standard European classification of economic activity. The most recent data which the CSO has compiled on this topic are for the year 2011.

I propose to circulate in the Official Report a table showing the estimates of job creation, job destruction, the resulting net jobs created and the corresponding estimated weekly pay of hirings for the years 2006 to 2011. Key features from this table are as follows. Between 2010 and 2011, an estimated 210,985 jobs were created, with a net 9,972 jobs created after jobs lost are taken into account. In the preceding three years, the net figure was negative, with a large volume of net job destruction. Between 2007 and 2008, the net job loss figure was 131,926; between 2008 and 2009 it was 364,726; and between 2009 and 2010 the net number of jobs lost was 104,589. The sectors which had the greatest job loss over that three year period were construction, and wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. In 2011, the estimated weekly pay for jobs lost was €502.92 and the weekly pay for jobs created was €562.25. The average weekly pay for all jobs in the business economy was €632.56.

These figures are based on administrative data sources. They supplement the existing CSO series based on the quarterly national household survey and earnings surveys, but they are not directly comparable to those surveys, as they are compiled from an administrative source. The value of this new series is that it provides more detail on the dynamics of the labour market. The CSO is continuing to work on this new series and plans to have figures for 2012 and 2013 available by the end of December 2014.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The Minister of State did not explain why at the beginning of this year every single day and every single week the Taoiseach and Ministers were out boasting about a job creation rate of 5,000 per month for 2013. What happened? The job creation rate in the first half of 2014 collapsed relative to that. What happened to the 5,000 a month the Government was boasting about? Is it not very clear that the points we made at the time, which was that half of the claimed job creation in 2013 was most likely - it still has not been confirmed - due to statistical realignment after the census and that the second half was in very low paid sectors such as hotel and catering, were correct? We welcome every single job, but we want decent wages and security for the workers, which is not the trend at present. In the first half of 2014, the total number of jobs in the economy fell by 8,000. That is the reality and it is accounted for by emigration and other factors.

I ask the Minister of State to be straight and honest with the people. Currently counted within the labour force are 95,000 to 105,000 people who are on labour activation schemes simply as a method to take them off the dole figures, which as everybody knows has been widely exposed as trickery. It is employing taxpayers' funds to subsidise sometimes very big employers for semi-slave labour, with workers forced off the dole to work for nothing essentially. Is that not verified by the recent revelation that in the Department of Education and Skills incredibly the State is increasingly dependent on JobBridge and the likes to employ special needs assistants, teachers, cleaners and office staff as semi-slave labour at taxpayers' expense?

Does the Minister of State agree that the Government has been putting out quite sophisticated propaganda to cover up the reality that any recovery in the Irish economy, such as it is, is for the benefit of a small elite at the top and has not really got through in any sense to ordinary working people on the ground? While trumpeting this there is a complete ignoring of the fact that the suffering continues for the victims of austerity and bailout. Of course the Michael Hassenstabs of the world and their ilk will benefit massively from what is going on at the expense of ordinary people. Unfortunately the capitalist media, which are cheerleaders for the Government, were cheerleaders for the speculation and the boom. They then became cheerleaders for austerity and are now giving uncritical headlines for bloated Government propaganda.

I ask the Minister of State to speak directly, for example, to 16 bricklayers and construction workers, members of Unite, who were forced on strike-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are straying a bit here.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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-----in Lucan at Kishoge Community College - a Department of Education and Skills scheme - because their employer forced them on pain of lock-out to change from being-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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-----employed workers to bogus subcontractors-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is a separate question.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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-----for €5 an hour.

Is that the type of economy over which the Government now is prepared to stand because that is the reality of the so-called recovery for many working-class people?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry, could I just explain? This is purely a statistical question to the Minister of State who is responsible for the Central Statistics Office, CSO. It is not a matter of policy and we must stick to the confines of that. It is only reasonable that had the Deputy other questions, they would be tabled to the appropriate Ministers. However, this is a statistical question that is being replied to - regardless of whether it is to the Deputy's satisfaction - and that is the situation.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I just wanted to throw in questions.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, it is none of the Deputy's business to interfere there. I just wish to put on the record what it is. This is a statistical question and is being answered on that basis, not on a policy basis.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Yes, but a Cheann Comhairle-----

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle. During my time in this House, since 2002, Deputy Higgins's train of thought has never changed. Allow me to outline to the Ceann Comhairle that unemployment decreased by 46,200, that is, by 15.4%, on an annual basis between the second quarters of 2013 and 2014, bringing the total number of persons unemployed to 254,500. This is the eighth quarter in succession in which unemployment has declined on an annual basis. The overall unadjusted unemployment rate decreased from 13.9% to 11.8% over the year up to the second quarter of 2014. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the unemployment rate decreased from 12% in the first quarter of 2014 to 11.5% in the second quarter of 2014, while the number of persons unemployed fell by 12,700 between the first and second quarters of 2014. The total number of persons classified as unemployed on a seasonally-adjusted basis was 247,700 in the second quarter of 2014, which compares with a peak of 326,000 in the first quarter of 2012. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment total of 247,700 in the second quarter of 2014 is the lowest since the first quarter of 2009, when the seasonally-adjusted number of persons unemployed was 229,000.

The number of persons aged between 15 and 24, that is, youths, who are classified as unemployed in the second quarter of 2014 was 52,000. This represents a decrease of 12,200 or 18.8% when compared with the second quarter of 2013. Youth unemployment was 76,000 two years previously, in the second quarter of 2012. The number of persons aged between 16 and 24 and not in employment, education or training was 73,400 in the second quarter of 2014, which represents a decrease of 4,300 since the second quarter of 2013, when the number of persons aged between 16 and 24 and not in employment, education or training was 77,000.

I should remind Deputy Higgins that last week's jobs included 115 in Dairygold, 500 in Argos, 300 in food start-ups, 75 in TK Maxx, 50 in Dealz, 45 in CaterWaste, 40 in A & L Goodbody, 40 in Stanton Fisher, 20 in Kedington Direct and ten in Subway. These figures speak for themselves.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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As the Ceann Comhairle is aware, the saying goes that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. This is why Members cannot confine a reply of the Government that is full of statistics just to that; they must interpret them.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No sorry, this is a different matter. This is complying with Standing Orders of the Dáil and is not to do with statistics and damned statistics. It is to do with the rules of the House and if the Deputy puts down a question asking for certain figures, it is the appropriate Minister who deals with it. However, if the Deputy strays into an area of policy, it is a different Minister. As that is the point I am making, please proceed.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Yes, I know but in fairness, the Standing Order of the Dáil should not prevent Members from getting at the real nub of an issue and the truth of the situation.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, well the Deputy then should put the question to the appropriate Minister.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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In any case, I refer to the horrific statistics the Minister of State has now given for the unemployed. Anything greater than a quarter of a million is horrific, as would be a number a lot less than that. However, were one to add to that the 158,600 people net who have emigrated since 2008, the 100,000 people on so-called labour activation schemes, as well as other categories that are not included in the live register, does the Minister of State not agree that we still have a massive crisis of people who are forcibly unemployed, who are suffering as a result of the austerity policies and that a change of policy to massive investment is needed for the job creation that is essential in this society?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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While I do not agree with some of the Deputy's positions, I question whether he actually is questioning some of the figures I have too hand from the Central Statistics Office, which is independent. When the Government came into office in 2011, the unemployment figure was 15.1%, at present it is 11.2% and next year, it is projected to fall to 9.9%. These are the projections the Government has to hand and so it must be doing something right. Be it labour activation schemes or whatever, they are turning into real, full-time jobs. Moreover, there is proof of this, if one speaks to some of those who have taken on people in the labour activation schemes.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We will have a quick supplementary from Deputy Tóibín. Will you stick to the statistical question?

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I will. First, I welcome any improvement that has happened in the figures. However, one should be able to be critical of the issues that still are not right within the economy. In recent years, a large amount of pent-up investment has come to the fore and has found itself in the creation of some of these jobs. In addition, the export figures that were weak in 2013 have strengthened this year, which also has led to the increase in gross domestic product, GDP. However one key issue with regard to the jobs crisis in the State is that internationally, Ireland is an outlier with regard to the number of people who have lost their jobs since 2008 and in respect of the current unemployment crisis. However, the Government's response has been extremely meek in trying to resolve the issue.

One should look at the figures since the present Administration came to power in 2011. Before the last election, Labour Party posters appeared stating that 70,000 new jobs had been created.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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A question please.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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However, since the Government has come to power, 40,000 new jobs have been created and only 5,000 new jobs have been created in the first six months of this year. The Minister of State spoke about the reduction in the percentage of people unemployed. Given that six times more people have emigrated since it came into office than actually found a new job in this State-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry, would you put your question please?

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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In what way can the Government rebalance these figures to ensure these statistics are not heavily weighed and that the engine of change with regard to the employment figures is not skewed towards emigration?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The information on migration is published in the annual population and migration estimates release. In 2014, the release showed that the net outward migration in the year to April 2014 is estimated to have fallen to 21,400, which is a decrease of 11,700 from the previous year's figures of 33,100. Emigration from Ireland in the 12 months to April 2014 is estimated to have fallen to 81,900 from 89,900 in the year to April 2013, while the number of immigrants is estimated to have increased from 55,900 to 60,000 over the same period. Estimates of emigration and immigration by principal economic status were provided for the first time in August 2014. The results show that of the 75,900 persons aged 15 and more who emigrated in that year, 28,900 were at work, 5,300 were unemployed and 29,000 were students. Among immigrants, 22,600 were at work, 6,800 were unemployed and 16,200 were students.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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May I ask a further question?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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No, I call Deputy Ó Fearghaíl.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Notwithstanding my agreement with some of the points made by Deputy Higgins, on the whole area of labour activation, this is not the first Government to use it as a way of dealing with an unemployment crisis and Members should not underestimate its importance because in terms of society, labour activation is playing an important role.

However, it can be only a short-term response, and it can only seek to address the short-term social problems that confront us. Competitiveness in the economy was a challenge that existed for this Government, and it has acted successfully in reducing VAT on the hospitality sector. I welcome the employment that is supported by that measure, with many of those jobs being good and worthwhile. However, there is a developing view in Irish society that the Fine Gael Party element of the Government has as its mission, in tackling the issue of competitiveness, to continue to drive down wages to the point that many of the jobs being created are in yellow pack, low-paid employment. That is not what any of us on this side of the House wants.

I note with concern that 46% of those persons who emigrated in recent times were in employment before they left. What does it say about the current employment and taxation regime if such a large cohort of young people with jobs are leaving the country? When we look to Spain, Italy and Greece, we see frightening levels of youth unemployment of 50% or more. The reality, however, is that our youth unemployment level has been disproportionately distorted by the emigration situation. If we did not have the tradition of emigration we have in this country, I do not know if the problem would not be far greater. Will the Minister of State address these concerns?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I am surprised to hear the Deputy speak about yellow pack workers and single out the Fine Gael Party's policy given that his party, when it was in government, reduced the national minimum wage, a measure for which the Deputy voted. No person has ever come to me with a concern regarding my party's position on this issue. Indeed, the figures stand up for themselves in terms of the measures we are taking.

The Deputy referred to the large numbers of persons leaving this country who are in employment. We are an island nation and many of our young people want to travel and see the world. Members of my own family have left jobs to go abroad for that purpose. I agree that the figures might look alarming, but the reality is that the people who leave jobs in Ireland for Australia, Canada, the United States and elsewhere are doing so of their own free will. In the case of persons who were forced to leave because of unemployment, it seems that large numbers of them are now coming back. I have spoken to many parents in recent months whose children are returning because they see a brighter future for our economy and country, with opportunities now available which were not there in 2008 and 2009, when we saw the highest rate of departure from this country. I do not have any explanation for why people would choose to leave Ireland when they have a job here, other than to say that their reasons would be varied.

We have a long way to go regarding the hospitality sector, but the figures are positive. It is a work in progress and we are moving in the right direction. Overall, the unemployment level is falling, which everybody in the House welcomes. That improvement is largely down to the sacrifices Irish people have made in recent years. Our objective is to ensure this is a better country to live in, with full unemployment by 2020 and every young person having an opportunity of employment. Earlier today I opened a new facility in Trinity College where several lecturers and other staff members observed that there is no comparison between the opportunities now available to graduates compared with the situation five or six years ago.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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These statistical questions are important because there is nothing which infuriates people more than being told things are getting better for them when they self-evidently are not. The question relates both to the broader issue of jobs and unemployment and to different sectors and levels of pay. It is a problem from a statistical point of view if we cannot get a proper breakdown of these data. Some of the figures the Minister of State is giving us go back to 2011. We cannot, based on what he is telling us, judge whether the Government propaganda about the great success and improvement in employment is true, and we will not be able to do so for a considerable time. We can, however, conclude, based on what he has said, that if we did not have 20,000 people leaving the country this year and last, there would have been a zero decrease in unemployment.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Will the Deputy put his supplementary question?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It would be helpful if the Government at least owned up to that fact. It is a disastrous situation, notwithstanding that the creation of any new job is, of course, welcome.

The question also referred to pay rates and sectors, but the Minister of State has not been able to give us any proper statistics in this regard. Those data are important because people in this country are of the view, based on their own experience, that there is widespread displacement of what were previously well-paid jobs-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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This is Question Time, Deputy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am asking a question.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is making a statement. I ask him to put his supplementary question.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am not making a statement.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Yes, you are.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Does the Minister of State accept there is widespread and justified concern that displacement is going on? One example of this is what is happening at the Rhatigan site, where brick layers, after not being paid for five weeks, were given €100 per week for work for which they previously would have received €600 or €700.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is a separate matter. If the Deputy does not put his supplementary question, I will cut him off.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Is this the type of job creation we are talking about?

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I would advise Deputy Boyd Barrett to get out a bit more and explore.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I was out on the picket line at the site to which I referred.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. The Deputy will only go to places where there are pickets, negativity and bad news stories. He should get out a little more in his constituency to hear from members of the business community what is happening. There is positivity out there.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have spoken to them and they are not happy campers.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I always find that if one stays around negative people, one will become negative oneself. That is exactly what has happened to the Deputy. He has spent far too long up in that back row. If he came over and talked to us on this side of the House, he might become a little more positive about what is really happening.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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That is a tantalising invitation.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Come dance with me.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is flirting.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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A few years ago Deputy Boyd Barrett was giving out about block layers and so on being paid €600 or €700 per week. I do not agree with his sentiments today and I hope he will take my advice to try and be a little more positive.