Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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269. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she expects Irish manufacturing and services industries to remain competitive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6642/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact on employment in the economy, since the first Plan was launched in early 2012. As of Q3 2016, there were an additional 190,000 at work in the economy since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs, which achieved and exceeded the Government’s target of 100,000 extra at work by 2016. The services sector made the largest contribution to the achievement of the Government’s job creation targets. Following a number of years of decline in employment from 2007, I am pleased to report that the manufacturing sector has also recorded increases in job numbers since 2011. Exports of Enterprise Ireland supported firms are estimated to have reached a new record of €23bn in 2016.  

To achieve our ambition of sustainable full employment, jobs growth in export oriented manufacturing and services businesses will be essential over the coming years. Manufacturing is key focus in the Government's long term  enterprise policy, Enterprise 2025 and also of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs. There are a range of measures designed to support industry growth including encouraging entrepreneurship, further improving our skills base, improving access to finance by SMEs and supporting indigenous companies and foreign-owned manufacturing companies to transform their businesses and to improve their productivity and competitiveness. These initiatives are important to growing and sustaining the competitiveness of existing enterprises, to sustaining employment and to attracting new investment and I am confident that both manufacturing and services sectors can continue to improve their competitiveness in international markets.