Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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243. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs created and the number of jobs lost for each year since 2007 in the manufacturing and in the financial services sector; the way these figures are determined; and if the recent figures are in line with the targets set by the Government for these sectors. [53033/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The total number of jobs lost and gained for the Manufacturing and Financial Services Sectors, for the period 2007-2012, is set out in the tables below. Both sets of figures are compiled by Forfas as part of that agency’s business information monitoring and are updated, if necessary, in Forfas’ Annual Employment Survey. The figures show an overall gain of approximately 3,000 in manufacturing jobs in 2012 over 2011, and a slight gain in financial services jobs in the same period.

As you are aware, Forfás published a Strategy for the Manufacturing Sector earlier this year – Making it in Ireland: Manufacturing to 2020 - which includes a target to create an additional 20,000 jobs in the sector by 2016. With regard to the Financial Services Sector, the Strategy for the International Financial Services Industry in Ireland, published by the Department of the Taoiseach in 2011, calculated that there were 33,000 people employed directly in Ireland in international financial services (i.e. excluding banking and related financial services activity in the domestic sector) at that time. The Strategy sets an objective to increase employment in this sector by 10,000 by 2016 and a range of measures are proposed. Implementation of that Strategy is being driven by the IFSC Clearing House Group, which operates under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach. In addition, the Action Plan for Jobs includes a series of actions across a wide number of sectors including manufacturing and services. By implementing the 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.

Manufacturing

Financial Services