Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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35. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects to combine enterprise and innovation in the context of maximising economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis; the degree to which he has identified precise job numbers to be realised in this context on an annual basis over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15688/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The new Programme for Government clearly sets out that this will be a Government of enterprise, creating new jobs, preparing for the jobs of the future, driving our economic recovery and improving the quality of life for all our people.

Since I took up the role of Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, my focus has been on preparing the July Stimulus Package which will be radical, of scale and far-reaching. Not only must we overcome the current challenges, but we must also look ahead and set our economy on the right course for the future.

Already there are some welcome signs of improvement in business activity and the economy. However, sectors that employ a lot of people, such as tourism and hospitality, arts and entertainment and other services that rely on social interaction, continue to be in serious difficulty and their recovery prospects are highly uncertain. The emphasis of Government is to preserve as many jobs as possible within those sectors, and to enable new jobs to be created elsewhere within the economy.

The Programme for Government also indicates that enabling our SMEs to return to capacity where possible and more broadly to strengthen SME resilience, productivity and innovation will be an important focus for the National Economic Plan. Increasing investment in RD&I and promoting strong links between enterprise and the research community will assist in ensuring that Ireland keeps its relative advantage in technological adoption, increases the development of the green economy and assist in maximising our economic recovery.

The Future Jobs Ireland framework will also be updated in light of the crisis and new priorities. The importance of RD&I, and how we can drive developments in this area, was woven through the pillars of Future Jobs Ireland 2019, in particular Pillars 1 (Embracing Innovation and Technological Change), 2 (Improving SME Productivity), and 3 (Enhancing Skills and Developing and Attracting Talent) and must continue to be an integral part of the Future Jobs Ireland agenda.