Written answers

Thursday, 12 February 2015

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Action Plan for Jobs

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to outline the extent to which he expects to be in a position to offer assistance and incentives to the indigenous business sector in the course of the next 12 months with a view to increased employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6549/15]

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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105. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation whether he is satisfied that all means of assistance available to the indigenous business sector here are readily available and accessible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6551/15]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 105 together.

Since 2012, the Action Plan for Jobs has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote jobs opportunities and employment growth in all parts of the country. The 2015 Action Plan, which I recently launched, contains a suite of 380 actions to ensure we deliver not just the promised 100,000 additional jobs by 2016, but an additional 40,000 jobs this year alone. Specifically, in 2015, Enterprise Ireland will target the creation of 13,000 gross new full-time jobs in indigenous firms. It is estimated that every direct job created in agency assisted firms indirectly supports another job in the wider economy thereby making a strong contribution to the overall target of getting to full employment in 2018.

Enterprise Ireland uses a developmental approach across all aspects of clients’ needs, including business development, sales and marketing capabilities, innovation and R&D activity, technology development, continuous competitiveness and lean improvements, leadership and management development, and access to finance. EI supports are tailored to reflect companies’ stage of development. This ensures that all of its clients, from Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups, to exporting SMEs and scaling companies, can access the appropriate supports to help them to create and sustain jobs.

In January, Enterprise Ireland reported that its client companies created 19,705 new jobs in 2014. These companies continue to see year-on-year jobs growth in 2014 and they created 8,476 net new jobs - the highest net gain in the history of the agency. This employment growth demonstrates the direct impact that increasing exports has on jobs in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland supported companies now directly provide employment for 180,072 people, comprising 156,202 full-time and 23,870 part-time workers.

The outlook for new job creation in 2015 is positive and Enterprise Ireland’s focus will remain on ensuring that its clients have access to all of the necessary supports required to build on this momentum. This focus, coupled with EI’s priority to support entrepreneurship across the regions, and develop strong, export focussed, ambitious Irish companies that can win new business, will mean more jobs for Ireland over the next 12 months. Details on EI’s offering to business are available at .

At a micro level, each of the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), established last year, is preparing a Local Enterprise Development Plan for 2015 which will set out strategic objectives around which they will deliver their range of supports, advice and information to the small and micro business community. The Plans include targets for the key metrics of business start-ups, business expansions and jobs created / sustained, as well as initiatives to drive entrepreneurship and greater levels of economic activity. Details on the LEOs and their offering to business are available at .

In terms of access to finance for SMEs, my Department introduced two credit schemes, the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) and the Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme, both of which have been in operation since October 2012. Both Schemes are novel in an Irish context and are continuing to develop a position in the Irish financial arena. Both represent a significant change in our enterprise supports, which primarily have been focused on the exporting sectors, since these supports are also available to the locally traded sectors, in view of their crucial role in job creation. Businesses can access details of these and other SME support schemes at .

My Department is actively reviewing and improving both Schemes and will take the necessary legislative steps to deliver changes to both Schemes, including a new CGS to allow for re-financing, a Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill and a revised Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme.

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