Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 208: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the growth or loss on an annual basis of jobs in the manufacturing and services sectors here over the past seven years; the prospect for the future if trends continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25776/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The following tables 1 and 2 set out the number of full time permanent created and job losses in manufacturing and services in Enterprise Agency (Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Shannon Development) assisted firms for each of the years between 2000 and 2006. Over the period approx 17,000 net jobs were lost in manufacturing firms supported by the enterprise agencies while 30,634 net new jobs were created in the Financial and Internationally Traded services sector. In the wider economy 27,500 jobs were lost in manufacturing in the period 2000-2006 while employment in the services sector grew by 288,200 in the same period (Table 3).

Over the last number of years there has been a significant churn in employment and recent losses are unwelcome, but these have occurred in the midst of an historically phenomenal period of job creation; with well over half a million jobs created in the last 7 years. According to the latest Quarterly National Household Survey there were 2,095,000 people in employment for the 2nd Quarter of 2007. This represents an outstanding performance over the period, outperforming many of our European counterparts and is a testament to the resilience of the economy in terms of job creation. While overall economic performance remains strong, the Government is committed to increasing the number of high-paid jobs and knowledge intensive investment needed to sustain our performance into the future.

Ireland is no longer a low cost economy and manufacturers in particular are facing increased competition from producers in lower cost economies. The model of manufacturing in developed countries is changing and Irish enterprises are adapting to those changes and engaging in higher value added activities in order to compete in the global marketplace. This has been achieved as a result of increased productivity, technology levels and sophisticated skills of Irish employees. Therefore while employment in manufacturing has fallen, productivity has increased by 35% in the period 2000-2006. Competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) is also relentless but Ireland continues to punch above its weight when it comes to attracting overseas investment. While costs are higher, we have responded by positioning ourselves as a location for more advanced activities, with more qualified and better paying jobs. For instance, during 2006 the IDA successfully marketed the country as a location for 71 new investments, valued at over €2.6billion over the next few years; the agency also successfully negotiated 54 Research & Development projects representing an investment of almost €470 million. Ireland is now a global competitor for Research and Innovation investment from multinational companies and leading research institution.

In terms of job creation, Enterprise Ireland activity is focused on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs in manufacturing and internationally traded services companies who are setting up new High Potential Start-Up Companies, the retention and creation of new jobs in existing companies and in enhancing the innovation capability of Ireland at national and regional levels through supporting innovation and R&D in companies and third level institutions.

Looking to the future, neither the Government nor my Department is complacent or unaware of the varied challenges facing the country's economy. One of our main tasks is to ensure that Ireland remains an attractive place to do business, and to support the development of economic competencies higher up the value chain. In that regard, we continue to work to maintain and enhance our framework competitive conditions, and promote new areas of competitive advantage by developing our R&D base, investing in critical physical and communications infrastructures, and promoting tertiary education and lifelong learning, in line with the NDP and the Programme for Government.