Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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573. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on whether the employment forecasts and targets emanating from Enterprise 2025 and referenced in Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World strategy are outdated, in view of the fact they were predicated on a non-hard Brexit scenario; and if these targets will be reviewed. [14925/17]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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591. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the employment forecasts and targets emanating from Enterprise 2025 and referenced in Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World strategy, are outdated in view of the fact they were predicated on a non-hard Brexit scenario; and if these targets will be reviewed. [15476/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 573 and 591 together.

As a small open economy, Ireland operates in an environment of continuous and fast-paced change globally – and has done for decades. In today’s increasingly inter-connected world, geopolitical, technological and financial forces that happen elsewhere have implications for Ireland’s economic growth.  Competition to attract FDI has intensified significantly, and all of FDI is hard won.

Enterprise 2025 was published just over a year ago and sets a roadmap for longer term enterprise development. Our vision for Ireland is to be the best place to succeed in business, delivering sustainable employment and higher standards of living for all. Enterprise 2025 sets out actions that focus on building competitive advantage, on ensuring a supportive business environment, and on realising a significant uplift in the performance of enterprises based here in terms of innovation, export potential and productivity, and on attracting further investment.  

Ireland’s new trade and investment strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, was published in March of this year and reflects, therefore, the current thinking and ambition of the entire range of Government departments and agencies involved in trade-related activities.  The Strategy reflects the importance of protecting and intensifying our well-established markets in the UK and the US while simultaneously diversifying into other global markets.  This is reflected in targets such as:

- 80% of export growth in indigenous enterprises to reach markets outside the UK

- increase exports to the Eurozone by 50%

- at least 60% of growth in food and drink exports to occur in Asia, North America and Africa.

The policies we have put in place ensure we are anticipatory and responsive and build resilience in our enterprise base. The evidence shows that these policies are working.

According to the latest CSO data, there were over 2 million people at work at the end of 2016 and we are well on track to achieve our ambition to have 2.18 people in employment by 2020. There are almost 209,000 additional people at work since the start of the Action Plan for Jobs Process in 2012. In the twelve months to the end of 2016, an additional 65,100 are at work. The enterprise development agencies recorded another successful year in 2016 in terms of supporting job creation and investment. The unemployment rate is now down to below 7.0%, from over 15.1% in 2012.  Ireland is now ranked 7th overall in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook – a significant improvement from 24th in 2011.

Notwithstanding the very positive progress that has been made in recent years, I have already secured additional resources to allow us build on the momentum that has been generated.

While I remain confident, therefore, of the continued relevance of Enterprise 2025 in terms of its focus on resilience of the enterprise base, it is nonetheless timely to review its progress and identify any additional actions or changes necessary in light of more recent global challenges. I have asked my officials to report to me later this year.