Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of manufacturing and service jobs lost in each of the past five years to date in 2008; the number lost due to a lack of competitiveness or other reasons; the action taken or proposed to address the underlying causes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16668/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The following Table lists the number of Enterprise Agency assisted (Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Shannon Development and Údarás na Gaeltachta) full-time jobs gained and lost in the manufacturing and services sectors in each of the last five years. The data shows that while 128,913 jobs were lost in that period, 131,136 new jobs were created giving a net increase in employment of 2,223 jobs.

There are many factors that influence a firm's decision to relocate, therefore, it is not possible to determine the number of jobs which have been lost due to a loss of competitiveness. 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 and also includes business takeovers, consolidations. This results in flows of investment and employment across borders. Ireland successfully manages this process, through our policies on enterprise and foreign direct investment. These policies have enabled us to win many prestigious and value added investments, and have enabled us to replace lost jobs with others of equal or higher value in the economy.

The offshoring of lower value-added functions is, however, part of the reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. While off-shoring can contribute to job losses for firms in some sectors, productivity gains achieved through off-shoring some activities also represents an opportunity to develop higher-end manufacturing and related activities domestically. The manufacturing sector in Ireland has achieved very significant increases in output, reflecting growing productivity in the sector.

Earlier this month I launched the "Report of the High Level Group on Manufacturing", on foot of a "Towards 2016" agreement to review the challenges facing the manufacturing sector. The Group's report contains some 27 recommendations directed at key areas of innovation and productivity leading to transformational change, reskilling and management development for the innovative firm, increasing awareness and take up of existing supports. Innovation and the productivity gains that flow from it are the new foundations for competitiveness.

Forfás established a group to look at the challenges and opportunities faced by the services sector. From the work of this group we intend to prepare and position Irish enterprise to adapt to the globalisation of services with the aim of achieving sustainable and competitive services enterprise in Ireland. A report outlining how to maximise the future returns to Ireland from services activities in all enterprises, both current and potential, is due to be completed in the near future.

The "Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation" is clear about the types and levels of support that must be given to the most significant drivers of our economic well being, namely manufacturing and internationally traded services firms. Whilst different challenges face enterprises in both sectors, our development agencies are committed to bringing about a transformational change to company attitudes to R&D and we are focussing on an ambitious target to grow business expenditure on R&D to €2.5bn by 2013. Such an achievement will be very much in line with the terms of the EU's Lisbon Strategy goals and will place Ireland in the vanguard of countries addressing knowledge issues.

The Government is fully committed to further strengthening the competitiveness and productive capacity of the economy. Our economic policy is designed to promote competition with the co-operation of the social partners. Doing this should allow us to keep the burden of taxation low, thus helping to maintain competitiveness and to maximise our economic potential.