Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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15. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the level of engagement with stakeholders in the preparation of the 2015 action plan for jobs; the organisations and persons involved in the consultation process; the mechanism to determine which measures are included; and when it is anticipated that the new plan will be launched. [48151/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I and my Department formally began the process of developing Action Plan for Jobs 2015 in July this year. The next Action Plan will be informed by the work of the National Competitiveness Council but we are also continuing the process of previous years whereby direct input from industry and wider stakeholders is sought and considered. One of the factors that has made the APJ process such a success has been the input, support and partnership with business and others in developing and progressing the Plans.

To supplement the ongoing research undertaken by my Department, its agencies and across the government system, as well as the feedback I receive via my many engagements with business and other groups, I met formally with stakeholders in the interim. I have held meetings dedicated to APJ2015 with representatives from IBEC, American Chambers, SFA, Chambers Ireland, ISME, ICTU, SIPTU, IMPACT, UNITE and the INOU, seeking their views on the shape and content of APJ2015. At these meetings I hear directly from groups about the competitiveness issues to be addressed, the priorities within those, and suggested actions to be taken across Government. I also held a roundtable discussion with a small group of entrepreneurs to garner their views on how best we can continue to support start-up activity in Ireland. In many cases these face-to-face discussions were followed-up with formal written submissions to my Department from stakeholders. A written request for submissions was also issued to stakeholders to accompany the open-call for submissions on my Department’s website. Engagement across the government system on Action Plan for Jobs 2015 has also been ongoing with Departments and Agencies since the summer.

In addition, we have taken on board suggestions made by the OECD in their preliminary review of the APJ process. That OECD review will inform the development of APJ2015 in a way that helps maximise the impact of actions on our competitiveness.

As is the case every year, all submissions are collated and analysed by my Department and considered by individual Departments and by government via the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs. Intensive work on the content of APJ2015 is continuing, and drafting is expected to be completed early in the New Year with publication shortly thereafter.