Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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27. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which job creation prospects remain positive with particular reference to the indigenous and FDI manufacturing and services sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50535/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Forfas’ Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing 2020 Strategy sets out the actions needed to address various issues affecting the development and competitiveness of the Manufacturing sector in Ireland. Key actions are proposed across a wide range of areas. The Forfas Strategy sets a target to create an additional 20,000 jobs in the sector by 2016. The most up to date figures available for job creation in the manufacturing and services sector are included in the Forfas Employment Survey 2012. There is no data available on a month to month basis for each of these sectors.

Despite the losses in earlier years in manufacturing, there are now 205,700 people directly employed in the sector in Ireland, and a similar number of people employed indirectly: the total supported within the sector is therefore just over 400,000. In the years 2011 and 2012 there was a net increase of 3,700 jobs in the Manufacturing sector. The Services sector accounts for two thirds of total employment within Ireland. While the majority of service firms are not supported by the State, in respect of agency supported companies, the total number of jobs lost in 2012 was 6,950; the number of jobs gained in 2012 was 13,229. Therefore the total net new full-time jobs created in the agency supported service industry for 2012 is 6,279. This is positive growth in both sectors. In addition, the indicators are now looking equally positive in the Private Sector where 3,000 jobs are being created every month as our competitiveness improves and consumer confidence slowly returns.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 included a series of actions across a wide number of sectors including manufacturing and services. By implementing the 2012 and 2013 Action Plans for Jobs and the new 2014 Action Plan for Jobs , to be developed in the New Year, the Government is confident that further growth in employment in both sectors will be achieved.