Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action he proposes to take to address the ongoing problem of job relocations to more competitive economies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4423/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has undertaken research to identify the most commonly accepted causes for relocation of jobs to other economies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4424/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps taken in the past five years to counter the flow of jobs to more competitive economies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4425/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the underlying reason for the relocation of jobs to EU countries and non-EU countries with specific reference to each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4426/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 to 123, inclusive, together.

There are many factors that influence a firm's decision to relocate. Firms adjust their plant location and utilisation strategies to address matters such as accessing new markets, moving production nearer to customers, meeting firm or market specific customer relationship issues, accessing technology or other competitive considerations. The result is flows of investment and employment across borders. Ireland successfully manages this process, while winning many prestigious and value added investment, and enterprise policies have enabled the economy to replace lost jobs with others of equal or higher value.

In circumstances where there is a more attractive low cost environment abroad, it will inevitably attract some companies that are unable to produce in the high-wage environment of modern industrial economies. Where actual relocation has occurred to date, it should be noted that this has been largely been limited to relatively low-technology, labour-intensive activities — those least suited to the economy that Ireland has become. It is not possible to quantify why firms relocate or the actual number of jobs which relocate to lower cost economies. The relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. While Forfás undertakes an annual survey of employment in companies supported by the enterprise development agencies, no data is collected on the number of jobs that have relocated to other economies or the reasons why. Neither is data collected on employment that is attracted here from other less competitive economies.

The last Quarterly National Household Survey on the labour market showed that the pace of employment growth actually accelerated slightly and employment over the year 2007 was up nearly 4%. Last year total employment in the country exceeded 2 million for the first time, an increase of 78,000 on the same quarter in 2006 and net job creation in both the IDA and Enterprise Ireland was the highest since 2000.

The National Competitiveness Council benchmarks Ireland's competitiveness performance on an annual basis. We have also had the benefit of the advice and views of the Enterprise Strategy Group, the Small Business Forum, the Better Regulation Group and have policies in place to act on their recommendations. Together with our Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation and our National Skills Strategy, I am satisfied that we are taking the measures needed to meet the challenges of global competition.

It would be entirely misleading to suggest that plant relocation or company restructuring giving rise to job losses, whether due to individual firm or sector challenges, indicate that whole economies are uncompetitive. Ireland is deeply connected with the global economy. Our success over many years in attracting industry leaders in advanced manufacturing and service companies has transformed our enterprise base. An increasing part of our economy is now sophisticated, highly productive and value driven.

What establishes the competitive credentials of the economy is our ability to replace quality jobs with others that are of the same or higher skill level. There is also no doubt that labour markets are changing at an increasingly fast pace due mainly to the impacts of globalisation, immigration and demographic factors. We are responding with new policies and new opportunities for our labour force. Labour market programmes play an important role by providing the skills needed for unemployed persons to get back to work while at the same time providing the skilled labour needed by employers to improve their productivity.

The clearest demonstration of the benefits to Ireland from globalisation is illustrated by inward Foreign Direct Investment. It should be noted that in addition to attracting foreign direct investment, IDA Ireland also places significant focus on embedding existing multinational enterprises in Ireland, by encouraging such enterprises to increase the scale of Irish subsidiaries, and to also expand the range of activities undertaken in Irish subsidiaries to include less mobile types of operations (e.g. R&D activities, Supply Chain Management etc.). This process of embedding subsidiaries of multinational enterprises makes relocation less likely.