Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the number of manufacturing jobs relocated to areas outside this jurisdiction in the past ten years; the degree to which an assessment was done to ascertain the reason for such closures and relocations; the action taken to address the issues arising; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19678/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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It is not possible to audit the extent to which job losses in the economy arise due to firms relocating abroad. Information received by the enterprise development agencies from client companies which have closed plants or downsized their workforces suggests that job losses have been attributable to a range of factors including loss of contracts or a drop in demand for products, restructuring and rationalisation within companies and relocation of operations abroad. For those firms who relocate activities abroad, there are many factors that can influence this decision. For example, 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, business takeovers and consolidations. The result is flows of investment and employment across borders.

The relocation of businesses within particular types of industry is a reality of modern global manufacturing for a highly developed economy such as Ireland. We successfully manage 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. New jobs created in the enterprise development agencies' client companies in the last number of years are heavily concentrated in high-value added, knowledge-based companies that offer greater security in the face of intense international competition. In addition we continue to focus on strengthening our international competitiveness. Price competitiveness is also a factor in investment decisions and we have made progress in ensuring that the necessary price adjustments are underway. Unit labour costs, energy costs and prices in general are falling.