John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. The statistics released by the CSO last month reveal that just over 87,000 people emigrated from Ireland last year, of whom almost half were non-Irish nationals. Many of these non-Irish nationals are likely to be individuals who came to Ireland in search of work in the previous decade and are now either returning home or moving to another country to take advantage of new opportunities in the globalised economy.

An analysis of the CSO figures shows that almost 53,000 people came into Ireland last year, with 39% of them being Irish nationals returning home. Many of those who previously emigrated in search of work are coming home having gained skills abroad. We can now capture that expertise to strengthen the operation and management of companies based here. We must remember that emigration has been a consistent feature of Irish life. Even during the Celtic tiger years, Irish people chose to emigrate for career or personal reasons. Nevertheless, the Government is committed to ensuring emigration returns to being an option rather than a necessity.

I wish to remind the House of the position the Government inherited when it came into office. Some 300,000 jobs had been lost in the three years prior to March 2011. Our banking system had all but collapsed. We were in the middle of a worldwide economic downturn. Transformational and structural change has been required to rescue our economy from this situation. We had become too dependent on a small number of sectors to support our economic performance. This approach was neither wise nor sustainable. The new economy we must build will be based on enterprise, innovation and exports. In promoting this transformation, the Government will have to make progress on a number of fronts, for example, by improving our competitiveness, ensuring businesses have better access to finance, embedding a jobs agenda in the fiscal consolidation which must be carried out, and taking action to facilitate growth in every sector. We have introduced the annual action plan for jobs to ensure these requirements are delivered to support the creation of employment by the enterprise sector. We have developed the Pathways to Work initiative to transform our engagement with those who are unemployed.

The progress we have made in our first 18 months in office has been encouraging, but there is a long way to go. Despite the very difficult domestic and external economic environment, we are beginning to see the positive impact of the Government's policies. There was an increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies in 2011. This compares with net losses of 15,000 jobs between 2008 and 2010. So far this year, the IDA has announced investments that have the potential to create over 6,000 further jobs as the projects come on stream. It was announced this morning that 30 jobs with Hittite Microwave Corporation are coming to Cork. It was announced yesterday that 44 new jobs with Aspen Pharmaceutical are coming to Dublin. The number of jobs in Enterprise Ireland companies started to grow in 2011 for the first time in three years. In the first eight months of 2012, a total of 4,669 job commitments over the next three years, linked to Enterprise Ireland approvals to client companies, have been secured.

We are seeing a stabilisation in the level of private sector employment, particularly in areas targeted by the Action Plan for Jobs. For example, employment in the tourism sector increased by 6,300 in the period between June 2011 and June 2012. This growth was supported by the measures taken by the Government in cutting VAT rates and reducing by half employer's PRSI on earnings up to ¤356 per week. Employment has also increased in the agriculture, accommodation food services and information and communications technology sectors. This underscores the shift in activity away from the old failed economy, which was based on property, banking and debt, towards a new sustainable economy that is based on enterprise, exports and innovation. Furthermore, we are creating and maintaining links with Irish people who have left the country. We have always had a good relationship with the diaspora. We have been able to build on our relationships with those who have reached the top levels of companies across the globe. We have now formalised this process of engagement through the Global Irish Network. At home, we will continue to do all we can, through initiatives like the action plan for jobs and Pathways to Work, to facilitate the return to work of those who have lost their jobs and provide opportunities for all those who want to stay here.