Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 76: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of redundancies notified to her Department during 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and to date in 2004; the projected numbers for 2004; the steps that are being taken to deal with the sharp increase in redundancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13826/04]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The number of redundancies notified to my Department in the years specified were 13,316 in 2000, 19,997 in 2001, 25,358 in 2002, 27,702 in 2003 and 8,761 to the end of April 2004. The corresponding figure to the end of April 2003 was 8,115, which means an 8% increase in the number of redundancies notified to my Department so far this year. However, the quarterly national household survey prepared by the Central Statistics Office in March of this year shows that employment growth continued in the fourth quarter of 2003, with an increase of 44,600 or 2.5% in the year on year position.

The development of a competitive economy is a central tenet of generating sustainable employment and growth and is the focus of this Government's policies. Initiatives by the Government and the State development agencies, including reducing the burden of unnecessary regulation, are aimed at helping the country progress towards a knowledge and innovation-driven economy. Ongoing six-monthly assessment of our competitive position will ensure that appropriate and timely actions are taken to address identified weaknesses. In addition, the enterprise strategy group which I established in July 2003 has been given the task of developing strategic policy recommendations for enterprise in Ireland. I expect the group to report to me by the middle of this year.