Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the most recent EUROSTAT figures that show that 128,000 persons, 7% of the labour market aged 15 to 74 years working here, are underemployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18467/15]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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EUROSTAT recently showed that 128,000 people, representing 7% of the labour market, were underemployed and seeking more hours of employment. I want to discuss the strategies the Minister has to deal with the problem.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The concept of part-time underemployment is based on ILO and EUROSTAT definitions and includes job holders who are working part time, willing to work additional hours and available to work additional hours. The level of part-time underemployment in Ireland has been falling steadily from its peak in the second quarter of 2012 when it stood at 157,000 or 8.5% of total employment and now stands at 115,500, the lowest level since 2010 or 6% of total employment.

The Government’s An Action Plan for Jobs, launched in 2012, has successfully tackled underemployment by fostering a substantial increase in full-time employment. The latest quarterly national household survey figures show that, for the year to the end of quarter four of 2014, the numbers of people in employment increased by 29,100, which was represented by an increase in full-time employment of 39,600 and a decrease in part-time employment of 10,500. Almost 90,000 more people are at work since the launch of the first plan in 2012. All of the increase in employment in the past two years has been in the number of full-time jobs. The Government has given detailed reports on the implementation of the plan from its initiation on an ongoing quarterly basis. Over 1,000 actions have been completed, with an implementation rate of over 90%. We continue to concentrate on getting more people into work and additionally are increasing the emphasis on regional jobs with the launch of the regional action plan for jobs.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The 128,000 people who are seeking further employment are constrained in finding it. They see others finding full-time employment, while they remain in part-time employment. While I accept that there has been a fall, we are still 3% or 4% above the EU average according to EUROSTAT figures. Does this point to the danger of focusing efforts on job creation in part-time sectors and sectors which offer zero hour contracts and low wages? What assistance is the Minister providing, in working with the Tánaiste and employers, in moving people from part-time to full-time work? Is there co-ordination?

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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This is a work in progress and we are making good headway, from the peak of 157,000 in 2012. When the statistics process started in Ireland, the number was 100,000 and we are getting back to pre-crash levels in so far as we know what the figures are. We are not concentrating on job creation in sectors that offer zero hour contracts or part-time work. The evidence is that the increase in employment in the past two years has been in full-time posts. The number of part-time posts has fallen somewhat. At the beginning of the recession there was a surge in the number of part-time jobs, but that naturally led to a period during which the level of part-time work started to fall and full-time work opportunities emerged. The sectors we are building are ones with long-term sustainable futures in manufacturing, food production, tourism, ICT and so on. We are making steady progress and continue to focus on those strong sectors that have viable futures. We are also looking at the concept of zero hour contracts, on which the Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, will answer questions later.

The programmes of the Tánaiste emphasise full-time work. For example, JobsPlus offers a valuable incentive to an employer to take on a person 12 months out of work. The employer must offer full-time employment hours to qualify for the subsidy of €72 per week for two years. Policy is very much geared to deliver full-time employment opportunities on which people can build a career.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Is a skills profile available in order that full-time opportunities being created can be made available to those in the relevant cohort in order that they will have a chance of finding full-time employment within the sectors to which the Minister referred? Is someone working with this cohort to ensure the skills profile is kept up to date and their skills are relevant to the opportunities being created? Many of the people concerned may not be qualified to work in the sectors which are growing or may not believe they are qualified when they are. An intervention through skills profiling or the provision of career advice could be of assistance.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not think they are a static group, with people leaving or entering the live register. Many of them are on the live register part time. There is a profile under the probability of exit, PEX, system which is shaping new programmes to assist people to get back to work. Also, it gives a rating for with whom the Intreo office should work because they are at higher risk of falling into the margins. There is a focused effort on identifying the profile of those who are vulnerable and designing activation programmes to support them.