Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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305. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans for the Future Jobs programme; the period the programme will cover; and if the social partners have been consulted for input to date. [39530/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Action Plan for Jobs process has been very successful in achieving its primary objective of job creation with over 377,000 new jobs created since it launched in 2012 and unemployment falling from a high of around 16% down to 5.8% in July 2018 (according to the latest CSO figures).

Enterprise 2025, published in 2015, set out the many challenges and opportunities facing our economy at the time and considerable progress has been made in achieving the objectives it set out. Ireland has experienced economic growth at a faster pace than any of us envisaged in 2015 and is, in fact, the fastest growing economy in the EU.

The pace of economic growth has, however, given rise to certain constraints which we are all aware of. I recognise that there are vulnerabilities within our enterprise base, including concentrations in certain sectors and lower productivity performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the economy. I am aware that skills shortages could constrict growth and that our labour force participation levels for certain cohorts are often lower than other comparable countries. Looking to the longer term, Project Ireland 2040 projects an increase in population of around 1 million people by 2040 requiring 660,000 additional jobs to be created over that period.

Furthermore, I know that Ireland’s future economic prospects will be shaped by international developments including Brexit and growing international protectionism. Moreover, technological change will continue to fundamentally alter the types of jobs we will have in the future as well as the types of businesses supporting those jobs.

While the Government have comprehensively developed strategies which address many of these key challenges, we must avoid complacency and prepare for an uncertain future building on the strengths and successes of the Action Plan for Jobs process and Enterprise 2025. We need to be innovative in our approach to effectively tackle long-standing structural issues, to capture new areas of opportunity and to position Ireland for sustainable growth.

Against this backdrop, in July, the Government agreed to an ambitious initiative to guide the next phase of Ireland's economic development - Future Jobs. The initiative will be developed jointly by my Department and the Department of the Taoiseach. It will harness the coordinated commitment across many Government Departments and agencies established through previous initiatives.

Future Jobs will emphasise building resilience through improving productivity especially among Irish SMEs; enhancing skills levels and increasing participation in the labour force; preparedness for, and exploitation of, anticipated transformational changes arising from technological developments and the transition to a low carbon and digital based economy.

My Department, supported by the Department of the Taoiseach, aims to host a National Summit in November that will be an opportunity to road-test the emerging Future Jobs 2019 with policy makers and wider stakeholders before it is finalised and published in early 2019. My officials will shortly be engaging with key stakeholders, including social partners, to garner their insights.