Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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118. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she is satisfied with the latest female participation rate in the labour force here compared with the EU rate; if she has carried out an analysis of this area; and the actions being taken to increase the rate. [46376/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In overall terms, Ireland is performing well compared to the EU in terms of female labour market participation. According to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey series, the 2017 activity rate for females aged 15 and over was 55.7% compared with an EU average of 51.8% (this is set out in further detail in the attached Table). In addition, female labour market participation is on a rising trend in Ireland and, as of the end of the second quarter of 2018, the participation rate for women was 56.4%.

Under the 2018 Action Plan for Jobs, my Department is currently undertaking an analysis of female labour market participation and identification of policy issues for women seeking to enter, or re-enter the workforce.

Whilst female participation in the labour market has been increasing over the last number of years and is above the EU average, there remains a large amount of untapped potential in this area. Initiatives in recent years aimed at facilitating female participation in the labour market include:

The ‘Women Returning to the Workforce Initiative’, introduced by the Department of Justice and Equality in 2017, which offers supports such as confidence building, career guidance, training programmes and work placements; and

Women ReBOOT, led by Technology Ireland Software and Ibec in collaboration with Skillnet Ireland, which aims to connect highly skilled women returners to Ireland’s tech industry.

More generally, there are a number of policy and strategy documents adopted by Government in recent years which have contained actions and recommendations focused on encouraging female labour market participation.

Action Plan for Jobs 2018 The Action Plans for Jobs have been the Government’s chief instrument for stimulating enterprise and employment growth in the Irish economy since 2012. Each Plan has set out actions aimed at driving enhancements in productivity, competitiveness, innovation, the development and attraction of high quality talent, regional development, and trade diversification. The implementation of these actions is monitored on a quarterly basis for each year of release.

The 2018 Action Plan for Jobs contains specific actions targeted at removing barriers to the labour market for women. This includes the development of the Affordable Childcare Scheme and the previously mentioned identification of policy issues for cohorts with low participation rates, both of which are due to be completed by end of 2018.

Pathways to Work 2016-2020 The two main objectives of this strategy are:

To continue and consolidate the progress made to date with an initial focus on working with unemployed jobseekers, in particular those who are long-term unemployed.

To extend the approach of activation to other people who, although not classified as unemployed jobseekers, have the potential and the desire to play a more active role in the labour force.

Pathways to Work contains a number of actions relevant to facilitating participation for several cohorts, including females. These actions have been monitored with progress reports published quarterly since its release.

The National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 The National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020 provides the policy framework on which the Government’s agenda and priorities in relation to the advancement of equality for women over the next four years are set out. The Strategy outlines a number of actions around female labour market activation and addressing barriers to employment for women.

Future Jobs Initiative The Future Jobs initiative, which is being developed by my Department jointly with the Department of An Taoiseach, and which is expected to be launched in early 2019, will aim to drive Ireland's development over the coming years as a resilient, innovative, and globally connected economy, capable of coping with technological and other transformational changes ahead. Future Jobs will place a strong focus on raising labour market participation levels, particularly for women.

Active Population and Activity Rates of Females Aged 15 and Over, 2017

Source: Eurostat, EU Labour Force Survey