Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will visit Tralee, County Kerry in the near future to discuss recent job losses in the town; the future action that his Department, the IDA and Shannon Development intend to take to provide both foreign direct investment and encourage local indigenous enterprises in the Tralee area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31905/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The promotion of Tralee and the North Kerry area for new investment and jobs is an operational matter for IDA Ireland and Shannon Development as part of their statutory responsibilities and not a matter in which I have a direct function. While I may give general policy directives to the Agencies I am precluded from giving directives relating to individual undertakings or to give preference to one area over another.

I did have the opportunity to visit Kerry this year, and I had a constructive engagement with local representatives and business leaders regarding the development and investment needs of the area. I look forward to availing of the opportunity of visiting Kerry again and including Tralee on my itinerary, to discuss any specific difficulties or challenges that may exist locally. The precise timing of such a visit will of course be subject to other diary and Parliamentary commitments.

At the end of 2005, there were 1,888 people in permanent employment in eighteen IDA assisted companies in the County. I note from the Live Register for September 2006 that the number of people on the Register in the Tralee area was 2,942. The figure for September 2005 was 2,820.

The Kerry Technology Park (KTP) is a Shannon Development initiative in co-operation with the Institute of Technology Tralee and in partnership with IDA Ireland, Tralee Urban District Council, Kerry County Council, and the private sector. There were 16 companies operating from the Park at the end of 2005, employing 220 people – an increase of 55 over 2004. This increase was spread across a number of companies, all of which operate in the knowledge based business sector, which is a positive outturn for the Tralee based technology park.

Shannon Development has recently approved a significant support package for two Kerry-based indigenous companies. This support will lead to increased research and development activity in both companies and will generate an additional 43 jobs at Kerry Technology Park over the next five years.

I am confident that the strategies and policies being pursued by the development agencies, together with the ongoing commitment of Government to regional development will bear fruit in terms of additional sustainable investment and jobs for the people of Tralee and the wider Kerry area.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the fact that 1,000 jobs are being lost in the manufacturing sector per month, having declined by 31,000 jobs since 2000. [31652/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The July 2006 report which I commissioned from Forfás on the changing nature of the Irish manufacturing sector illustrates the complex performance of this sector in recent years. While CSO data indicates that both manufacturing output and merchandise export levels increased significantly between 2000 and 2005 (by 28.2% and 31.8% in volume terms respectively), the total number of persons employed in manufacturing in Ireland declined by approximately 31,000 over the same period. This trend suggests that strong productivity improvements have been achieved over the past 5/6 years in the Irish manufacturing sector.

Amongst other factors contributing to the decline in manufacturing employment in Ireland in recent years is the offshoring of lower value-added functions which is a reality of modern global manufacturing. This can occur because of increasing cost competitiveness in other locations or because firms need to gain more efficient access to vital markets. Productivity gains achieved through offshoring represent an opportunity to develop higher end manufacturing and related activities domestically, such as R&D, marketing and sales functions.

To put the decline in manufacturing employment in context, however, since 1997 over half a million new jobs have been created in Ireland. The losses in manufacturing have been more than offset by job creation in services where employment increased by over 400,000. Some 100,000 jobs were created in financial services and other business services while employment in the construction sector grew by 130,000.

It should also be noted that the latest CSO release on Industrial Employment (30 June 2006) indicated an increase of 2,400 in the numbers employed in manufacturing in the quarter ending March 2006 relative to the same period in 2005. The outlook for the sector remains positive –the NCB Purchasing Managers Index rose from 50.7 in June 2005 to 55.4 in June 2006 indicating further expected growth.

These trends in Irish manufacturing are in line with the gradual process of structural change that characterises economic development. Over the last two decades there has been a structural shift in the economic composition of developed economies. In the OECD countries, this has resulted in a decrease in the numbers employed in manufacturing with a concurrent rise in the number of jobs in services. This decline is not unique to the developed economies and is in fact a global phenomenon. ILO and UNIDO employment estimates show that manufacturing employment in some key non-OECD countries has also declined in these countries.

I am clear and support strongly the important role played by the Irish manufacturing sector. It is an important and integral part of the economy which provides inputs to other sectors of the economy and satisfies a broad range of final and intermediate demands.

High value manufacturing, in particular, is a key driver of innovation and technological advance. It increases opportunities for attracting and imbedding R&D activities, collaboration with the higher education sector and stimulating networks. In this context the enterprise development agencies will continue to pursue strategies to foster enterprise creation and assist existing companies with the transition to higher value, knowledge based activities that will provide long term sustainable employment for the future.