Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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59. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which her Department has achieved the various targets in respect of job creation in the manufacturing and services sectors over the past five years; the degree to which she expects to meet any further targets in this regard in the short and medium term; if any particular issue has been identified as deemed to be positive or otherwise in the pursuit of job creation in respect of all age groups, including the long term and young unemployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22776/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government's key instruments to support job creation. Since the launch of the first Plan in 2012, 155,000 more people are in employment in all manufacturing and services sectors. The Programme for a Partnership Government sets our ambition to help create 200,000 additional jobs by 2020. 135,000 of these jobs are to be outside Dublin. We also want to reduce unemployment to 6%. Our target this year is to add 50,000 new jobs.

We have made a good start. Over 15,000 new jobs were created in the first three months of 2016.

This Government is placing a particular priority on youth and long term unemployed through Pathways to Work. In June this year, the rate of youth unemployment was 15%, down from 21% in 2015. The number of long term unemployed declined by 27,000 in the last year.

Sustaining the progress achieved to date will be challenging. The UK Referendum on leaving the EU will impact the competitiveness of some manufacturers and services businesses. We will need to remain vigilant on our overall cost base. We will continue to develop initiatives to ensure the unemployed and young have the skills needed to access new job opportunities. My Department and the development agencies will be stepping up our efforts to promote trade and investment in the euro area and other growth markets.