Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the actions taken to date to mitigate the impact of automation on job numbers. [2302/19]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the research conducted to date into the impact of automation on employment; and the projected impact on employment. [2303/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together.

The Expert Group for Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) published ‘Digital Transformation: Assessing the Impact of Digitalisation on Ireland’s Workforce’ in December 2018. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of digitalisation on job roles and sectors across the economy in Ireland and to highlight the opportunities and challenges that this presents.

The study consisted of a large volume of desk research and the development of a quantitative model. This was complemented by a number of interviews with policymakers, key informants from industry, representative groups and the Regional Skills Fora, in order to gain insights for the report. The report combines all these elements to provide an assessment of the impacts of digitalisation in Ireland over the next five years, to 2023. It is available online from both the EGFSN’s website (www.egfsn.ie) and my Department’s website (www.dbei.gov.ie).

The report projects strong overall growth for the economy over the next five years. While the report predicts the number of jobs lost to the adoption of digital technologies will increase steadily over the next decade, it expects that the majority of sectors will employ more people in 2023 than they did in 2018. The report notes that the result of increased digitalisation in the economy will be a slower growth in employment growth, generating a hypothetical loss of 46,000 jobs.

The report further finds that one in three jobs in Ireland are at high risk of being disrupted by the adoption of digital technologies. Much of the disruption, however, will result in changes to job roles and tasks performed by individuals rather than job losses. This means that lifelong learning will become even more of an imperative and the report finds that there will be opportunities for many people to upskill within their current jobs.

The report highlighted how the Government is already acting to address the challenges and mitigate the negative impacts of automation on job numbers.

The report finds that Ireland has the opportunity to place itself at the forefront of digital technologies through ensuring adequate skills provision and capitalising on Ireland's significant ICT sector. It finds that that existing Government policies and initiatives currently in place provide a solid foundation for response to the expected changes from the increased adoption of digital technologies. The following table, as provided in the report, demonstrates the various ways in which the Government is acting to mitigate the impact of automation on job numbers.

Table 1 Current Policies and Initiatives in Place Addressing Five Key Areas of Focus

In addition to these measures, to ensure Ireland’s economy is well positioned to adapt and prosper in the future, the Government is launching a new economic pathway for Ireland – Future Jobs - Preparing Now for Tomorrow's Economy. Future Jobs Ireland aims to drive Ireland’s development as a resilient, innovative and globally connected economy, capable of coping with transformational changes ahead posed by automation, artificial intelligence and other forms of technological innovation. Future Jobs is a medium-term framework out to 2025 and the 2019 iteration will be published in the coming weeks.