Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of new jobs created in each of the past 12 months to date; the job losses in the same period in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31657/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Employment data in enterprise agency assisted firms is collated by Forfás on an annual basis only. Accordingly data on jobs created and jobs lost in 2007 will not be available until early 2008 and in annual format only.

The latest employment data published by the Central Statistics Office indicates that the numbers in employment grew by almost 68,000 in the year to Quarter 3 2007 bringing the total number in employment to 2,140,900 (Quarterly National Household Survey 15 November 2007). The seasonally adjusted data indicate that the unemployment rate decreased from 4.5% to 4.4% in the 12-month period and a similar decrease was recorded between the second and third quarters of 2007 when unemployment fell by 3,000.

Overall, Ireland has performed very strongly over the last few years, however as the country's economy moves to higher value added activities, providing quality sustainable jobs, some traditional lower-cost industries throughout the country are under pressure. 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. 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 the Government's part we will continue to pursue policies to promote lifelong learning and up-skilling to improve labour market flexibility and, where necessary, ensure that appropriate training supports are provided for workers in sectors that are no longer competitive, should they need to find alternative employment.

The performance of the enterprise sector has been pivotal to the huge success of the Irish economy in recent years and Ireland's long term economic success will depend on the continued strength of our enterprise base. There are almost six hundred thousand more people at work now than 10 years ago and 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.

The new Programme for Government contains a range of commitments focused on maintaining and enhancing our framework competitive conditions, and promoting new areas of competitive advantage, including by developing our R&D base, investing in critical physical and communications infrastructures, and promoting tertiary education and lifelong learning. Over the period of the new National Development Plan the Government will provide €3.3bn investment specifically to support the development of the indigenous and FDI enterprise base.