Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his projections for reducing the long-term unemployment numbers and rate in the period to 2020, by year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3968/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise 2025 sets out the potential to reach 2.18 million in employment and reduce the overall unemployment rate to 6 percent by 2020. This is based on the premise of export led growth and the additional indirect jobs stimulated by the activities of exporting enterprises in the wider economy. The ambition is predicated on taking the actions set out in Enterprise 2025 which are focused on supporting the productive sector, enhancing our relative competitiveness, leveraging existing comparative advantage in key sectors, addressing structural issues in the economy, improving productivity and the capacity of enterprises to innovate. Enterprise 2025 is a whole of enterprise strategy that leverages the potential across all sectors of the economy in manufacturing and services activities, both exporting and domestically oriented. The Government’s efforts will be on achieving a step change in enterprise performance across the whole enterprise base.

With the economy recovering and employment on the increase, meeting the skills needs of enterprises will be a critical factor to enable companies to expand and grow in both domestic markets and export markets. We have placed a strong focus on ensuring an adequate supply of skills and talent as part of the whole of Government Action Plan for Jobs process since 2012.

Aligned and in parallel with the Action Plan for Jobs process, the Government published the new Pathways to Work 2016-2018(PTW) earlier this month. The new programme has two main objectives:

-Continue and consolidate the progress made to date with an initial focus on working with unemployed jobseekers, in particular those who are long-term unemployed; and

- Extend the approach of labour market activation to other people who, although not classified as unemployed jobseekers, have the potential and the desire to play an active role in the labour force.

The overall target in relation to long-term unemployed is to move 50,000 long-term unemployed at the start of 2016 into employment by the end of 2020.

In addition, PTW aims to reduce the persistence rate (the rate at which short term unemployed people become long term unemployed) by 25 percent from 27 percent to 20 percent by the end of 2018 (24 percent by end of 2016). It also aims to increase the exit rate of people on the Live Register for two years or more by 30 percent (to 52 percent) by the end of 2018 (44 percent by end of 2016), and to fully implement the JobPath programme and refer at least 60,000 long term unemployed people to JobPath in 2016.

The skills requirements of the economy are identified and met in a number of ways. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs plays a key role in advising the Government on current and future skills needs of the economy and feeds these findings into the education and training sector. The Group comprises representatives from relevant Government Departments and agencies, as well as from enterprise, workers and education and training providers. The Department of Education and Skills has recently launched Ireland’s National Skills Strategy 2025. Amongst the key objectives are to provide skills development opportunities that are relevant to the needs of learners, society and the economy, and to place a specific focus on active inclusion to support participation in education and training and the labour market.