Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

11. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions he will take to provide more sustainable employment opportunities for persons employed under zero hour contracts or for those in part-time employment who are seeking full-time employment. [17573/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The objective of the Action Plan for Jobs is to support sustainable job creation by creating the operating conditions where more businesses can start-up and grow.

The increase in total employment of 42,700 in the year to Q1 2014 was made up of an increase in full-time employment of 46,400 (+3.3%) while part-time employment declined by 3,700 (-0.8%). This is in sharp contrast to the rest of the EU where there has been steady growth in the number of employees working part-time and the number of fulltime workers has continued to fall.

Much of our jobs growth is in sectors which we have targeted in the Action Plan for Jobs, such as Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, Accommodation and Food Services, and Industry. The 2014 Action Plan for Jobs, which was published at the end of February, contains 385 discrete actions across a wide range of sectors to support competitiveness and job creation.

The efforts of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are geared to creating full-time employment rather than part-time employment and this is reflected in their employment trends. Jobs Plus, the Department of Social Protection’s employer incentive scheme, has helped recruit 2,115 long-term unemployed jobseekers from the Live Register to fill full-time positions since its introduction last July, and is deliberately designed to encourage employers to provide full time jobs.

The change reflected in the reduction of part-time employment relative to the increase in permanent and/or full-time contracts in Ireland contrasts with the position at EU aggregate level. While full time employment is the focus of our policy efforts, I recognise that in Ireland as indeed throughout Europe, temporary and part-time jobs are a contribution to job creation since in the medium to long run they may act as a stepping stone to permanent and/or full-time contracts.

I appreciate the Deputy’s concerns about the way in which zero hour contracts can operate. I have, on previous occasions, pointed out that the manner in which these contracts are regulated in Ireland differs from the position in the United Kingdom, where they have generated greater controversy. In particular, workers engaged under mutually agreed zero hour contracts in Ireland are entitled to compensation where shifts for zero-hours workers are cancelled at short notice.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

12. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which jobs continue to be created through foreign direct investment and the indigenous sector having regard to the experience of the past three years to date; if he has in mind any proposals to address any issues arising; the extent to which job creation in the manufacturing and service sectors has kept pace with worldwide trends; if any particular issues have arisen which might require further attention to ensure continuation of economic growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23796/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am glad to say that the numbers employed in companies supported by the enterprise development agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, has steadily increased in the three year period 2011 to 2013 inclusive. Total employment in IDA Ireland companies (including companies that were formerly clients of Shannon Development) has risen from 146,419 at end 2010 to 166,184 at end 2013, while total job numbers in Enterprise Ireland client companies rose from 166,890 at end 2010 to 175,750 at end 2013. This increase of 19,715 and 8,860 respectively is in sharp contrast to the previous three year period from end 2007 to end 2010 when job numbers declined by 41,985 (16,800 in IDA Ireland client companies and 25,185 in Enterprise Ireland client companies).

In relation to employment in the economy as a whole the latest CSO Quarterly National Household Survey showed that the number of people in employment at Q1 2014 stood at 1.903 million, an increase of over 65,000 in the numbers at work in the last two years. This performance in employment growth is better than anywhere in the OECD.

In addition, my Department has reformed the system for delivery of support to micro and small enterprises by creating the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) within the Local Authority structure. This reform will help to make the operating environment for businesses more coherent, responsive and conducive to entrepreneurship at local level. All 31 LEOs opened for business on 15th April.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2014 includes a commitment to develop a framework for a Regional Enterprise Strategy to better integrate the efforts of the enterprise development agencies and other regional stakeholders in supporting enterprises. My intention is that the framework will be developed on a pilot basis initially, focusing on the Midlands region, and involving the agencies under the remit of my own Department – Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. The objective is to enhance synergies between the agencies and their client companies and build on the competitive strengths of the region to maximise the potential for job creation. The role which other public bodies in the region can play in working towards this objective will also be examined as the project develops. The aim is that this framework will serve as a model for other regions of the country.

Under the 2014-2020 Regional Aid Guidelines, which will enter into force on 1 July 2014, areas accounting for 51.28% of Ireland’s population will now be eligible for assistance. This represents a substantial increase from the 25% originally proposed by the Commission, and an increase from the 50% under the 2007-2013 Map. Aid intensity rates were also maintained at their current levels.

It is an acknowledged fact that since 2000 there has been a decline in the manufacturing sector in most developed economies including Ireland. The Forfás Strategy on Manufacturing, which I commissioned and which was launched in April 2013, identified that a total of 205,700 people were directly employed in Manufacturing and that a similar number of jobs were indirectly supported. At the end of 2013, Central Statistics Office Data (Quarterly National Household Survey, Q 4 2013) shows that a total of 215,900 were directly employed in the sector, a rise of 10,200 on that earlier figure. When indirect jobs are taken into account, the position is that the Manufacturing sector supports over 430,000 jobs (end 2013). My agencies are now rolling out actions aimed at sustained growth in manufacturing.