Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that according to his own projections that there will a 0% increase in the net level of unemployment by the end of 2013 and that even if his projections are realised unemployment will drop by in the region of 2% by the end of 2015; if he will respond to the projections of the Nevin institute that unemployment may even rise over that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1987/13]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if he will confirm that according to his Department's own projections that there will a 0% increase in the net level of unemployment by the end of 2013 and that even if his projections are realised unemployment will drop by in the region of 2% by the end of 2015; if he will respond to the projections of the Nevin institute that unemployment may even rise over that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1989/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 49 together.

The Department’s most recent forecasts, as published on Budget Day, are for employment growth of 0.2 per cent in 2013. The pace of employment growth is projected to pick-up thereafter, with the result that unemployment is expected to fall to just over 13 per cent by the end of 2015. These forecasts are broadly in line with those of other institutions, with the IMF forecasting an unemployment rate of 13.4 per cent in 2015, while the consensus of the private sector, published in December, is for an unemployment rate of 12.5 per cent by end-2015.

The Nevin Institute’s forecasts are predicated on the assumption of average GDP growth of 0.9 per cent between 2012 and 2015, which is significantly lower than the growth forecasted by both the Department (2.0 per cent) and other forecasters. For instance, the IMF is projecting annual average growth of 1.6 per cent over the period, while the private sector consensus is forcasting average growth of 2.0 per cent over the period.

While unemployment remains stubbornly high, recent trends seem to suggest that some stabilisation has now taken place, with the seasonally adjusted standardised rate at 14.6 per cent in December, having fallen from a peak of 15.0 per cent in February. The Government remains committed to tackling the unacceptably high level of unemployment persisting in Ireland today and creating and sustaining jobs continues to be our main priority. A number of measures were introduced in Budget 2013 to assist in this regard, including several initiative designed to lend support to Ireland’s job-rich SMEs.

However, efforts to address the current employment levels do not stop at Budget 2013. As the Deputy will be aware, I attended the Cabinet Meeting for Jobs today, in which my fellow Ministers and I set forth our respective Department’s proposals to improve the climate for employment growth as part of the Action Plan for Jobs. On the back of this, the Government plans to introduce policy initiatives which will further aid the creation of employment and complement measures previously introduced, such as the VAT reduction for the tourist industry, which research published by my Department indicates has already contributed to employment growth in the accommodation and food services sector.