Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance if the 2011 jobs initiative is still in operation; if so, the total expenditure that will be incurred as part of the jobs initiative in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32870/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The position is that in May 2011, I announced the Jobs Initiative.  The Jobs Initiative included a range of revenue and expenditure measures which were designed to assist in employment generation and provide opportunities for those who had lost their jobs, while generating confidence in the economy.       

Details of the revenue measures as announce are set out in a table.

I should point out that some of the measures introduced in the Jobs Initiative were permanent such as the abolition of the employer PRSI on shared based remuneration.  While others, such as the PRSI measure to halve the lower employer PRSI rate was a temporary measure and has reverted back to its previous level with effect from 1 January 2014.  In addition, other measures have been retained.  For example, the Deputy will be aware, that I announced in Budget 2014 the continuation of the 9% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sector. The decision to retain the 9% VAT rate for tourism services was in recognition of the importance of the tourism sector to the overall economy and as a major source of jobs.  This initiative has proven to be a success, helping to create many new jobs, as well as protecting existing jobs.  The cost to the Exchequer of this measure was estimated at the time of its introduction to be €350 million in a full year.

A stamp duty levy on pension fund assets was introduced in the Finance (No.2) Act 2011 as a measure to fund the Jobs Initiative.  This was estimated to yield €470 million a year for 4 years. The Revenue Commissioners have advised me that receipts amounted to €463 million in 2011 and €483 million in 2012. This is broadly in line with the amounts anticipated to be collected in those years.  €535 million was collected in 2013, due to an increase in the capital value of pension funds.

Furthermore, as the Deputy will be aware, in Budget 2014, I confirmed that the 0.6% pension levy introduced in the Jobs Initiative in 2011 will be abolished from 31 December 2014.  However, I introduced an additional levy on pension funds at 0.15% in order to continue to help fund the Jobs Initiative and to make provision for potential State liabilities which may emerge from pre-existing or future pension fund difficulties. The levy within the existing legal frame work will apply to pension fund assets in 2014 and 2015.  It is estimated that the additional levy will yield €135 million in a full year.

I should also point out that the Jobs Initiative included a number of current and capital expenditure measures, among which there a number of measures aimed at retraining the workforce.   The detail of these measures are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr. Brendan Howlin, T.D.

Notwithstanding the strong success of the Jobs Initiative, the Government decided that more could and should be done.  To this end, the Government introduced the Actions Plan for Jobs and the Pathways to Work scheme in 2012.  In effect, the Jobs Initiative has been subsumed into these two key annual Government Strategies.