Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his proposals to strengthen industrial output in the wake of its recent decline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3334/13]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way he accounts for the fall in manufacturing in the third quarter last year in areas outside of the pharmaceutical sector; its impact on employment and the plans he has to reverse this situation. [3246/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 37 together.

Many indicators are used to measure industrial output and the performance of the manufacturing sector generally. For a rounded view, it is necessary to look beyond a single set of statistics; rather one should seek an assessment of all relevant indicators for that sector, in particular, output, purchases, exports and employment.

In relation to Output, both industry production and turnover (sales) are relevant. The recent Central Statistics Office data on these two activities up to November 2012 are disappointing but there are some sectors which show encouraging trends. The most recent data for the last quarter has shown declines in both production and turnover overall. However, the rate of decline in turnover has been substantially less than the rate of decline in production in recent quarters. This may indicate that the decline in sales is easing and offers hope for a return to growth in sales. During the last quarter, increases were recorded in both the production and sales of some key commodities such as meat and dairy products, computers and electrical equipment.

A key measure of industrial performance is, of course, comparative Export data formanufactured goods. The latest CSO data shows that manufacturing exports for the period January-November 2012 are almost €80 billion, which is higher than exports in the same period in 2011. Considering the depressed economic status of many of our key markets globally, this is a significant achievement.

In relation to Purchases, the reputable NCB Purchasing Managers Index is a composite indicator designed to provide an overall view of activity in the manufacturing sector of the Irish Economy and acts as a leading indicator for the whole Economy. After a long period of contraction (some of it very severe) for most of the period 2008 – 2010 and also part of 2011 and early 2012, this Index has recorded 10 straight months of consecutive growth, up to and including last month.

Approximately50,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing in the worst years of the current recession due to a variety of factors particularly the impacts of the global financial crisis and the decline in demand for Irish manufactured goods, partly linked to the decline in the construction sector. However I am pleased to report that since then Ireland has regained some competitiveness with decreases in relative prices and that overall employment in manufacturing has been largely stable over the last 2 years at around 190,000 to 200,000, with a roughly similar number of indirect jobs supported in this sector.

Industrial production is crucial to economic well-being and, using the expertise of the Manufacturing Development Forum and the development of a new Strategy for Manufacturing, we can build a sound future for Manufacturing and Industrial Production in Ireland.