Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Aontaím leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach gur cheart dúinn cúpla focal Gaeilge a úsáid, agus cúrsaí jabanna á bplé againn, mar gheall go bhfuil Seachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl faoi láthair. Ba chóir dúinn gach dícheall a dhéanamh jabanna a chur ar fáil sa Ghaeltacht ionas go bhfanfaidh daoine sna ceantracha sin. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil an tAire, an Teachta Rabbitte, ag obair go dian. Tá plean leagtha amach aige chun an Idirlíon agus an broadband a chur isteach i ngach tigh. Is ábhar é sin do lá eile. B'fhéidir go gcuirfidh mé é ar an gclár am éigin eile.

I welcome the Minister. I am pleased to speak on the Action Plan for Jobs because for the past year or two the Minister has had positive news on jobs. Having been in a sad place, we have now moved on. Just last week, the Government launched the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, which lists more than 380 specific actions to help create new jobs. This is the third annual instalment in the Government's plan to build a sustainable and growing economy and fulfil the mandate on which it was elected. The process has been difficult and I compliment the Minister on the work he has done in this regard. While he recognises that he has much more to do, he is on the right road, as the Government has demonstrated.

As the Minister noted, under the next phase of the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has set a target of creating 90,000 new jobs, including 40,000 manufacturing jobs, 10,000 jobs related to foreign direct investment and 30,000 indigenous export focused jobs. The plan aims to build on the significant progress made in creating jobs since the first action plan was launched in February 2012, with 60,000 new jobs added in the year to September 2013.

According to live register figures - the Senator opposite focused on such figures - the rate of unemployment has decreased over 20 consecutive months from 15.1% in February 2012 to 12% last month. Those figures were not produced by me, the Minister or the Government, they come from an independent source, namely, the CSO. The economist, Mr. Conall Mac Coille, from Davy Research has predicted, in the context of the decrease in unemployment from its peak in February 2012, that if the pace of improvement is maintained, the rate will fall below 10% by the end of 2015. In light of what the Minister has done to date, we are well on the road towards achieving that rate. I compliment the Minister on the work he has done in this regard. This morning it was announced that the numbers on the live registered declined by a further 2,500 last month. The average reduction per month has been 3,000. This means the numbers of those on the live register have fallen below 400,000 for the first time since May 2009. The figures speak for themselves.

A great deal needs to be done in the area of construction. The Government accepts that 100,000 of those who are unemployed worked in the construction industry and that approximately two thirds of those on dole queues are long-term unemployed. We also must work on the fact that we have one of the highest percentages of households, 20%, in which there is no person in employment. That is a serious problem and the Government's aim is to ensure assistance will be provided to every household. Extensive measures have been put in place to counter the deficit in employment in the construction Industry. The outlook and strategic plan on the construction industry was commissioned and implemented last year by the Minister, Deputy Bruton, as part of the previous Action Plans for Jobs. It sets out an optimum scenario of sustainable output from the construction industry. There is a need for sustainable development in order that we might avoid the type of unplanned and unmonitored bubbles which proved to be our downfall, both in the construction industry and economically. There can be no return to a situation where the rate of construction was hugely inflated and reached 25% of GNP. We have gone from one extreme to the other and we must get back on track in the context of construction. We must ensure, therefore, that construction returns to a viable and sustainable level. I refer, in that regard, to the figure of 12% set out in the plan.

Measures such as the home renovation incentive were put in place to boost employment in the construction industry. Those measures are working and have resulted in three consecutive quarters of annual growth in construction employment. We recognise, however, that this level of activity within the industry must be increased. The Minister has outlined on many occasions the steps he is taking in this regard. I agree with the previous speaker in that the banks must also play their part. The Government is not crowing about its achievements. It cannot afford to do so because we are not yet out of the woods. Everyone in government recognises that. The Minister is not allowing momentum to slacken and we must continue to drive forward and create more jobs. I hope I am correct in stating that if we replicate in the next two years what we have done in the past two, we will be well on our way.

In the new Action Plan for Jobs there is emphasis on three broad issues, namely, the importance of entrepreneurship; the previous success of agencies such as IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in increasing the numbers in employment by 20,000 and in harnessing the potential of manufacturing; and competitiveness. Ireland's competitiveness has improved steadily. The Minister quoted figures from the International Institute for Management Development, IMD, which indicate that Ireland has risen from 24th to 17th in the context of its competitiveness ranking. We must continue to move forward in this regard. The new action plan will involve a new system of quarterly reporting to the Cabinet committee on competitiveness, which is welcome, measures on skills, including 6,000 places on MOMENTUM - perhaps the Minister might comment on these when replying - and reduced costs for businesses through the roll-out of the reformed workplace relations structures. All these initiatives will be of assistance in facilitating the creation of employment. Everyone is aware of the impact the reduction of VAT to 9% in respect of the tourism sector had in the context of boosting the number of tourists coming here and also the level of employment in the sector. This reduction was a factor in the creation of in excess of 22,000 jobs.

SMEs are extremely important to this country's economy, particularly as over 90% of those in employment work for such companies. I have three children and they are all self-employed in their own SMEs. Under the action plan, there will now be new non-bank sources of lending for SMEs. This will be in addition to the €2 billion that is already available. Perhaps the Minister will comment on the announcement he made last week in respect of €70 million being provided to the development capital scheme, which is designed to support Irish companies targeting job creation and the export market.

The Minister referred to women in the technology sector. I agree with him that not enough women work in this sector. Women are well capable of doing so and there is a need to promote their involvement. The Minister has targeted this area in the past and there was a good level of uptake in respect of the initiatives he put in place. Two of my daughters work in an institute of technology, so I was very interested in hearing what the Minister had to say in respect of this matter. Parents and teachers' promotion of traditional career paths for girls is a decisive factor in influencing their university and career choices. We must ensure women are influenced in making the choice in this regard. We must tackle stereotypes and sexist promotions early on to promote equal representation and opportunity in this booming industry, in other industries and also in politics.

It is clear the action plan process is working. Where previously we were shedding 1,600 jobs per week, we are now adding 1,200 every week. A study published by the intelligence unit of The Economistindicates that, in the context of investment funds, Ireland is now the European domicile of choice among global asset managers. according to the new research. Some 71% of global asset managers who participated in this comprehensive study said they would choose Ireland as one of their top three European fund domiciles. The value of Irish domiciled funds is estimated at €1.3 trillion and the funds industry accounts for more than 12,000 jobs in Ireland. We beat countries such as Luxembourg and Germany to reach top spot. I congratulate the Minister on his drive and leadership in respect of this matter. The funds to which I refer were not attracted here by accident. The process in this regard was driven by the Minister. Ireland is now the leader in Europe in this area. It is of the utmost importance that we should continue to invest in these diverse industries to which I have referred to sustain our reputation and the growth in employment.