Written answers

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Departmental Expenditure

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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270. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the investment made by his Department to support job creation in each of the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1630/15]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The funding available to my Department to support job creation is provided through a combination of the Annual Estimates and Own Resource Income (ORI) of the agencies of the Department. The use of Own Resource Income has allowed us to maintain the overall level of investment in support of job creation over the past four years, where direct Exchequer allocations have been required to be scaled back, as with all other areas. The table attached sets out the outturn figures for the period 2011 to 2014 and includes the 2015 allocation recently published in the Revised Estimate. The sanction sought for ORI for 2015 is in line with previous years.

As the Deputy will be aware, the past four years have seen all Departments operating in a challenging fiscal environment. However, over the period 2011 to 2014, my Department has had funding available to support our job creation objectives of €2.27 Billion in Capital across a range of activities, from the provision of direct supports to client companies of the enterprise agency clients to the provision of an enterprise focussed research and innovation system.

The investment by my Department is aligned to and underpins the objectives for recovery and transformation of the enterprise base as set out in the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. The Action Plan for Jobs is a multi-annual strategy initiated in 2012 to ensure a cross-government approach to optimising the environment for enterprise, such that a net additional 100,000 jobs will be created by 2016.

I am pleased to report that good progress is being made on the implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014. My Department is currently completing the preparation of the 2015 Action Plan. Ireland's ranking in terms of competitiveness and ease of doing business continue to improve. On the jobs front, the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey, as of Q3 2014 indicates that 80,000 additional people are at work compared to Q1 2012 when the Government launched the Action Plan for jobs. The enterprise agencies of my Department reported record levels of job creation by their client companies again for 2014. From 2011 to 2014 direct employment in EI supported companies has increased by 16,420 and direct employment in IDA supported companies is up by 22,265 over the period. These direct jobs have also supported the creation of a similar number of indirect jobs in the wider economy through purchases of materials and services locally.

The 2014 Action Plan contains 385 actions to be implemented in 2014 by all 16 Government Departments and by 46 agencies. Cumulatively to the end of the 3rd Quarter 89% of those scheduled for delivery have been implemented. These actions cover delivery of supports for enterprise, actions to develop sectoral opportunities and measures that will strengthen the competitiveness and capacity of our economy to support job growth.

There are also a series of cross cutting Disruptive Reforms being advanced in 2014. They include critical areas where we can win an edge across many sectors and include Big Data/Analytics; ICT Skills; Trading Online; Energy Efficiency; and National Health Innovation Hub. Entrepreneurship; Winning Abroad; and Manufacturing: National Step Change. Each are well advanced in terms of implementation.

Some examples of important initiatives implemented in 2014 include:

- Launch of Local Enterprise Offices

- Launch of "Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur" competition

- New staff in overseas office EI and IDA

- Record levels of new investment by EI and IDA enterprises

- Delivered Smart Futures science, technology and engineering awareness programme

The process involved in APJ has proved effective in driving reforms in the past three years.

€m2011201220132014 (Provisional)
Total* 570.928586.433551.161556.356
* Includes Total Capital, Capital Carryover plus Own Resource Income Sanctioned, which includes a small amount of current spend.

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