Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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468. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail the productivity performance of the manufacturing sector here in comparison with that of Northern Ireland for the past ten years for which data is available. [35305/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Manufacturing is an essential component of the Irish economy. Up to 2003, productivity in the manufacturing sector grew by between 4 per cent and 8 per cent per year. Since 2003, annual productivity growth has slowed to between 2 per cent and 4 per cent. This decline mirrors a similar trend in the sector in most of the developed world. However, productivity in manufacturing has been increasing over recent years. Annual average growth rates in per hour labour productivity across manufacturing sectors amounted to 5.6 per cent over the period 2007 to 2010 enhancing the competitiveness of Ireland's firms on international markets. In 2012 goods exports increased by 1% over 2011, reaching a total of €92bn, the highest figure since 2002.

In terms of employment, 50,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing in 2008-2010. However, numbers have stabilised over the last two years and there are now 205,700 people directly employed in manufacturing (both full-time and part-time), and a similar number of people employed indirectly.

Forfas recently produced a very thorough analysis of manufacturing in Ireland today - Manufacturing to 2020. This Strategy contains a number of key recommendations for the development of the manufacturing sector which my Department, along with a Manufacturing Development Forum comprised of industry representatives, are currently implementing. It is clear from Forfas' report that firms in the sector need to reposition themselves, to invest in identifying new market opportunities, to enhance their productivity and build innovative capacity so that they remain competitive and relevant to their existing and potential customers. To achieve these aims, a National Step Change initiative is needed that will assist Ireland's manufacturing sector move to the forefront internationally and to improve competitiveness, productivity and innovation. This will also involve Government putting the right initiatives in place and opening up existing agency programmes - that have a proven track record - to FDI manufacturing firms e.g. Enterprise Ireland's Lean. Work in this area is already underway.

Forfas' Manufacturing Strategy does not contain a comparative analysis with the same sector in Northern Ireland. However, the NI Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment produced a report in March 2006 - The Future of Manufacturing in Northern Ireland - which observed that there was over £4.5 billion of manufacturing exports sales in Northern Ireland in 2004/05; that 12.5% of total direct employment in Northern Ireland was in manufacturing, and that the sector generated almost 30% of the total economic activity of Northern Ireland businesses. I am confident that the recommendations in Forfas' Manufacturing Strategy's will assist Government Departments and agencies with the important tasks facing Ireland's manufacturing sector.