Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 14: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of redundancies notified to her Department from 2000 to date; the projected numbers for 2004; and the steps being taken to deal with the sharp increase in redundancies. [18074/04]

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, 19,977 in 2001, 25,358 in 2002, 27,702 in 2003 and 11,001 to the end of May 2004. The corresponding figure to the end of May 2003 was 10,145. It is an 8% increase in the number of redundancies notified to my Department so far this year. The quarterly national household survey, prepared by the Central Statistics Office this month, shows that employment growth continued in the first quarter of 2004 with an increase of 52,300 or 2.9 % in the year on year position. This brings the total number of persons in employment up to 1.84 million.

The Government's policies are focused on the development of a competitive economy, a central tenet for generating sustainable employment and growth. Initiatives by the Government and the State's development agencies, including reducing the burden of unnecessary regulation, are aimed at helping us progress towards a knowledge and innovation driven economy. Ongoing six monthly assessments of our competitive position will ensure that appropriate and timely actions are taken to address identified weaknesses. In addition, the enterprise strategy group was given the task of developing strategic policy recommendations for enterprise here. I established it in July 2003. I expect it will submit a report to me shortly.