Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the menu of policy options she is considering to attain the programme for Government target of at least 70,000 emigrants returning during this term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28895/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The goal of this Government is to support the creation of an additional 200,000 jobs by 2020 with 135,000 outside Dublin. We also want to attract back at least 70,000 emigrants from aboard. This is a whole of Government effort and is delivered through our integrated Action Plan for Jobs. The Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government’s key instruments to support job creation. The Action Plan for Jobs process is working. Since the first Plan was launched in early 2012, there are 176,800 more people at work bringing total employment in the State to 2,014,400 by end of June 2016. The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.9% in September 2016, down from a high of 15.1% in early 2012.

Action Plan for Jobs 2016 commits to 50,000 additional jobs this year. Good progress is being made with 36,000 additional people at work in the first six months of the year.

The 2016 Plan, the fifth such Plan, was launched in January 2016 and as well as building on reforms in previous years introduces new areas of focus such as: Step-Up in Enterprise Skills Supply which aims to build the skills for our growing economy; and new sources of employment growth such as the digital economy and aviation.

My Department and agencies, together with other Departments including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have a range of initiatives underway to connect with emigrants and other interested in a career in Ireland. IDA Ireland is actively promoting Ireland as a location for new investment and working with the diaspora to attract new investment. Enterprise Ireland has specific targets to attract entrepreneurs to Ireland and has a focused marketing programme underway in international markets in this regard. Science Foundation Ireland is actively promoting opportunities to leading researchers to move to Ireland and is engaged in a range of scientific networks internationally to raise Ireland's profile as a location for excellent research and career advancement.

At the end of June 2016, I launched Tech/Life Ireland, a new national initiative to brand Ireland as a top destination to pursue a career in technology. This new initiative is a focused international marketing initiative with a dedicated website, www.techlifeireland.com, to attract talented and experienced tech experts to Ireland and to promote top tech career opportunities here. Tech/Life Ireland, which is funded my Department, will help attract up to 3,000 top tech professionals to Ireland each year. Industry is playing an important role in supporting the initiative and driving its development.

We will ensure a continued focus on maintaining and improving competitiveness, which is critical to attracting talent back to Ireland. We also have a range of measures to create a fertile environment for people who want to start their own business.

The process to develop APJ 2017 is currently underway. I want to ensure that the 2017 Plan is ambitious and impactful and keeps us on track to deliver on our goal of sustainable full employment by 2020.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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240. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the menu of policy options her Department and Government are considering to attain the programme for Government target of at least 70,000 emigrants returning during this term; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28893/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The goal of this Government is to support the creation of an additional 200,000 jobs by 2020 with 135,000 outside Dublin. We also want to attract back at least 70,000 emigrants from aboard. This is a whole of Government effort and is delivered through our integrated Action Plan for Jobs. The Action Plan for Jobs is one of the Government’s key instruments to support job creation. The Action Plan for Jobs process is working. Since the first Plan was launched in early 2012, there are 176,800 more people at work bringing total employment in the State to 2,014,400 by end of June 2016. The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.9% in September 2016, down from a high of 15.1% in early 2012.

Action Plan for Jobs 2016 commits to 50,000 additional jobs this year. Good progress is being made with 36,000 additional people at work in the first six months of the year.

The 2016 Plan, the fifth such Plan, was launched in January 2016 and as well as building on reforms in previous years introduces new areas of focus such as: Step-Up in Enterprise Skills Supply which aims to build the skills for our growing economy; and new sources of employment growth such as the digital economy and aviation.

My Department and agencies, together with other Departments including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have a range of initiatives underway to connect with emigrants and other interested in a career in Ireland. IDA Ireland is actively promoting Ireland as a location for new investment and working with the diaspora to attract new investment. Enterprise Ireland has specific targets to attract entrepreneurs to Ireland and has a focused marketing programme underway in international markets in this regard. Science Foundation Ireland is actively promoting opportunities to leading researchers to move to Ireland and is engaged in a range of scientific networks internationally to raise Ireland's profile as a location for excellent research and career advancement.

At the end of June 2016, I launched Tech/Life Ireland, a new national initiative to brand Ireland as a top destination to pursue a career in technology. This new initiative is a focused international marketing initiative with a dedicated website, www.techlifeireland.com, to attract talented and experienced tech experts to Ireland and to promote top tech career opportunities here. Tech/Life Ireland, which is funded my Department, will help attract up to 3,000 top tech professionals to Ireland each year. Industry is playing an important role in supporting the initiative and driving its development.

We will ensure a continued focus on maintaining and improving competitiveness, which is critical to attracting talent back to Ireland. We also have a range of measures to create a fertile environment for people who want to start their own business.

The process to develop APJ 2017 is currently underway. I want to ensure that the 2017 Plan is ambitious and impactful and keeps us on track to deliver on our goal of sustainable full employment by 2020.