Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of the estimated 1.3 million jobs that will be lost to worker displacement arising from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that will be Irish small and medium-sized enterprise jobs. [12180/15]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The European Commission and the Government have stated over and over again that the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP, will be advantageous to small and medium sized enterprises, SMEs. Very little evidence of the exact benefits of TTIP have been provided to date. The Minister has said that businesses will enjoy increased market share, but we have heard very little about the practical elements that will be available to SMEs to allow them to do that. We are very worried about the 1.3 million jobs in Europe which will be displaced when TTIP is enforced. Can the Minister tell us how the Government will deal with that?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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It has been estimated that TTIP will have a positive impact on European output, incomes and employment. It is estimated that it will increase the size of the European economy by 0.5% of GDP and increase employment by 400,000. This would mean that a European family of four would see its annual disposable income increase by an average of €545. The suggestion that 1.3 million jobs will be lost is untrue. The EU entered these negotiations to boost jobs and growth. If this were not the case, we would not proceed. A study commissioned by my Department on the same basis as European estimates suggested that the benefit to Ireland will be proportionally greater than the benefit to the EU. It suggested that Irish exports will grow by almost 4%, investment will increase by 1% and real wages will increase by 1.5%. It estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 additional export-related jobs will be created. It suggested that Irish SMEs will be particular beneficiaries of TTIP. The impact of this trade agreement, when concluded, will be felt over a long period. It is expected that resources will move to stronger and higher value sectors over time. This is occurring in the economy all the time. The Commission has estimated that as a result of the agreement, approximately seven in every 1,000 workers will move out of some sectors and into other sectors. As the Deputy knows, job creation and job loss is a dynamic process. For example, in the last four years gross job creation in companies supported by the enterprise agencies was 147,000. This was offset by job losses of 102,000, generating net gains of 45,000. This represents a loss of approximately 4% each year. In that context, labour movement of 0.7% over a ten-year period as a result of TTIP would be a modest adjustment.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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A study into the first 12 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement found that more than 1 million jobs were lost in the US during that period, with millions of other people suffering a significant decline in wages and conditions. As assessment by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, which was financed by the European Commission, found that TTIP is likely to result in prolonged and substantial dislocation of EU workers. It suggested that 1.3 million EU workers and 715,000 US workers will be displaced. The Minister suggested that "job loss is a dynamic process". It is not a dynamic experience for an individual. We have seen examples of jobs in this State being lost en masse. It happened in the construction industry. When numbers are that large, it is practically impossible to fully reorient and retrain those individuals to work in new and developing areas of employment. That has not been the practical experience in this State so far. Our discussions with the trade directorate-general of the European Commission have shown us that it is not interested in attending to this problem. It has said that it is up to the national Parliaments and the Council to address this issue. I suppose I am looking for information on the practical steps that will be taken by the Government in advance of this displacement, which the Minister admits is likely to happen, to ensure it will not happen or, if it does happen, it will be dealt with.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I think the Deputy is trying to mislead the House here. The Korea agreement that was signed recently has resulted in Europe's export sales into Korea growing at 2.5 times the rate of growth of any other market. The net gain that is occurring as a result of that agreement - it is tangible and can be tested - is the addition by European companies of jobs, employment and opportunities. TTIP has the same potential. It will reduce tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers. It will allow food products in. It will ensure pharmaceutical products have fewer obstacles. It will open opportunities for growth in certain sectors. That is really important. The net benefit when that is analysed will be more jobs for Irish people in the economy. As the Deputy said, there will be a movement towards the stronger sectors. If our dairy sector grows, there will be a decline in the use of land for other agricultural purposes. People will switch from one product to another. That is a dynamic process which happens in the economy all the time. It is certainly within our capacity to adapt to a 0.7% movement over a ten-year period. It will not be like the impact on the construction sector, which was mentioned by the Deputy. There was a 66% collapse in our construction sector over four years because of some very bad policies that had been pursued. I think the Deputy is seeking to mislead by making false comparisons here. This will have a net benefit, particularly for Ireland. We should seek to embrace it, but not naively.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The displacement of 1.3 million jobs in Europe will be an economic shock to 1.3 million families. The Minister has given information on a global scale about the objectives of TTIP with regard to increased trade and business levels, etc. All we are seeking is the detail. There is pressure at the moment for TTIP to be delivered very quickly. We are asking the Government to set out its stall in advance of TTIP being concluded to explain how SMEs will deal with the new transatlantic trade deal. How will we deal with the workers who will be displaced? There are 20 million SMEs across the EU. They account for 99.8% of all enterprises. If we look at the experience of the US with the North American Free Trade Agreement, we will see that the percentage of exports in which SMEs were involved actually declined over the period of experience of the agreement. It is not the case that SMEs generally experience upward motion when these large trade agreements are reached. The truth is that multinationals experience upward movement. Our fear is that TTIP is orientated towards the needs and benefits of multinationals and against the needs and benefits of SMEs and workers.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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That is simply untrue. The research being undertaken both at European level and individually in Ireland denies that. The strongest performance of Irish companies is in the US. Enterprise Ireland supports thousands of Irish companies in entering the US market. It has offices across the US. It will take various steps to support any SME that is seeking to expand into that market. It can offer first-time exporter's support and marketing support, for example. If enterprises want to put feet on the ground, they can get support for graduate placement in certain cases and they can access all of Enterprise Ireland's staff in all areas of the US. When those barriers come down, we will be particularly well placed to support Irish SMEs that are seeking to access a very familiar market. We are really well placed to take advantage of this. Enterprise Ireland will be gearing up and working with companies that can penetrate that market. Members will be aware that umpteen companies, including Combilift, McHale Engineering and Keenan of Carlow, are really up and ready. We hope to have a whole new swathe of companies coming in behind them because this is a good market with good contacts for Irish people, not only through Enterprise Ireland but through many other contacts over the years.