Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Finance the amount that has been collected to date under the 0.6% pension levy; if the money is being ring-fenced for the purposes outlined on its introduction; and the number of jobs that have been created as a consequence. [57921/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The pension fund levy raised €463 million in 2011 and €482 million in 2012. The implementation of a jobs and growth strategy is a key priority of the Government. The moneys raised from the pension fund levy are being used to pay for the Government’s Jobs Initiative introduced in May 2011. The Jobs Initiative contains a range of measures aimed at assisting in employment generation – providing opportunities for those who are out of work, to restore public morale and confidence in the economy and encourage spending by consumers.

Employment data are presented in net terms and information on gross flows into and out of employment is not available, making it difficult to assess the number of jobs created by any policy initiative.

Notwithstanding that quantifying the impact is difficult, I am confident that the measures introduced by the Government in May 2011, such as reducing the rate of VAT in the high value added tourism sector, are playing an important role in both creating and sustaining employment. Encouragingly, there are signs of stabilisation in labour market conditions. For instance, unemployment fell on an annual basis in the third quarter of 2012, the first such fall in a number of years while, according to the Budget Day forecasts, the unemployment rate is projected to have peaked in 2012.