Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 699: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of job losses recorded in the past 12 months; the number of replacement jobs created; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26000/05]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the past few years, conditions in the global economy have been difficult, and Irish firms have had to win business against a backdrop of difficult external demand conditions, pricing pressures, and an increasingly competitive international environment. These have affected employment trends in companies assisted by the enterprise development agencies.

While the net increase in employment in agency assisted companies in 2000 was 24,000 jobs, subsequent years have shown some fall off in the numbers employed in such companies. However, employment in these companies is still one third higher than it was a decade ago, and the numbers employed in agency supported companies during 2004, the latest year for which we have figures, were relatively stable, with 25,986 full-time job losses and 25,213 full-time jobs gained. Moreover, the CSO's latest labour market figures show an overall increase in employment from 1,836,200 in the second quarter of 2004 to 1,929,200 in the second quarter of 2005, a rise of 93,000.

There are indications that economic prospects are improving and our propensity to capitalise on trends in global growth is likely to stimulate business expansion and further employment growth. The ESRI has indicated that labour market conditions are expected to remain strong both this year and next, with unemployment stabilising to average 4.2% in 2005 and 4% in 2006, supported by significant growth in GNP. In light of the intense global competitive pressures, these forecasts show that our economy maintains considerable strengths.

The enterprise development agencies are working to encourage companies into more sophisticated activities where competitive advantage is less likely to be whittled away by cost based competition. To counterbalance the competitive threat from lower wage competitor economies, our policy is to encourage a move to higher levels of productivity and value added products and services. These types of enterprise create sustainable high skill employment that is more technologically advanced and now proves a better fit with the competitive characteristics of our economy.

The enterprise development agencies are working to source new investment by a combination of developing existing clients and new investors in existing or new activities or sectors. Given the critical mass of FDI in Ireland and its linkages with indigenous companies, one of the greatest potential contributions will come from developing companies already operating here.