Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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165. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which the services and manufacturing services have improved and recovered given the existence of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19099/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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According to the latest quarterly national accounts data from the Central Statistics Office, the Irish economy continued to recover in the final quarter of 2021, with preliminary estimates indicating that GDP in volume terms increased by 13.5% for the year 2021. GNP showed an increase of 11.5% in 2021 over 2020, while the deglobalised measure, Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) increased by 6.5% over the year.

The industrial sector, which is dominated by manufacturing activities, increased by 24% in 2021 compared to the previous year, and activity in this sector is now significantly higher than pre-pandemic. The ‘’modern manufacturing sector’’, which is dominated by pharmaceutical and other MNEs, performed strongly throughout the Pandemic. Meanwhile, production in the ‘’traditional sector’’ is gathering pace and performed solidly in the final quarter of 2021 compared to the previous three months.

The performance and recovery of the services sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 shock has been more diverse than the manufacturing sector due to the customer facing and labour-intensive nature of certain service sectors. While the Information and Communications sector has performed exceptionally well, other services sectors such as Arts and Entertainment are only beginning their path to full recovery.

The labour market has also shown considerable resilience with the total number of persons in employment in Q4 2021 reaching 2,506,000, compared to 2,276,800 persons in employment in Q4 2020, and 2,357,300 in Q4 2019, before the onset of COVID-19. The total numbers employed in the industrial sector are now 27,800 higher than before the pandemic began, once again highlighting the strength of this sector. Since 2019, total employment in the manufacturing sector in enterprise agency client companies has increased by 5.1%, or 11,534 jobs, to reach 238,038 jobs in 2021.

The outcome for employment in the services sector is more mixed, with the total numbers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, and Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities higher in the final quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter in 2019. However, the total numbers in employment were lower in the Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector. During the two year period spanning the pandemic from 2019 to 2021 total employment in the services sector in enterprise agency client companies has increased by 10.8%, or 22,262 jobs, to reach 229,301 in 2021.

Given the heightened global uncertainty surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ESRIrevised slightly downward their forecasts for the Irish economy in 2022, but the outlook still remains positive. The ESRI now expect Irish GDP to increase by 6.2% in 2022 and modified domestic demand to grow 5.0%. The ESRI also anticipate continued improvements in the labour market, with unemployment set to average 6.3% in 2022.

GDP by Sector - CSO - Central Statistics Office

Employment - CSO - Central Statistics Office

Quarterly Economic Commentary, Spring 2022 | ESRI

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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166. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which extra investment in jobs continues here notwithstanding the lingering effect of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19100/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, published on 1 June 2021, set out renewed supports, investments and policies to underpin economic recovery and transition. The Plan includes the overarching ambition of having 2.5 million people in work by 2024, a target which has already been exceeded according to the latest figures released by the CSO’s Labour Force Survey in February this year. The plan outlined renewed supports to help businesses deal with the direct impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as outlining the Government’s medium- term approach to creating the right environment for a jobs-led recovery and crucially to ensure that these jobs are more productive, innovative, resilient and in new areas of opportunity.

The Plan is about the sustainable rebuilding and renewal of our economy, across four pillars: helping people back into work with supports, intense activation and accelerated reskilling and upskilling opportunities, through Pathways to Work 2021-2025, which includes provisions to invest in and increase the number of training and education opportunities to assist people without jobs and those in employment to retrain and reskill; re-building sustainable enterprises by future-proofing enterprise to be more resilient, innovative, and productive; a balanced and inclusive recovery through strategic investment in infrastructure and reforms that enhance our long-term capacity for sustainable growth, balanced regional development and by improving living standards; and ensuring sustainable public finances.

The Plan is underpinned by a range of investment supports including funding to support the extended labour market and enterprise supports as well as the multi-billion strategic investment through the National Development Plan (NDP), which sets out a total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030.

Projects funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) are integrated into the Economic Recovery Plan, and reinforce the Government’s approach, which is focussed on supporting recovery and job creation, advancing the green transition, and accelerating and expanding digital reforms and transformation. The initial allocation under the NRRP is €915 million, with a further allocation to be made in 2023. The NRRP projects are focussed on addressing the twin decarbonisation and digitalisation transition and associated behavioural changes which will profoundly alter the economy. Embracing these transitions also is expected to open substantial new opportunities for businesses and support significant job creation.

Supporting indigenous SMEs, which account for over two thirds of total employment in Ireland, to innovate and become more productive will be critical to sustaining economic recovery and our ambition for resilient employment into the future. The Government is pursuing a two-pronged recovery approach; a focus on domestic SMEs, whilst leveraging and reinforcing the enormous strength and resilience of the Foreign Direct Investment sector in Ireland and its indispensable contribution to communities across the country. Through the delivery of IDA Ireland’s new strategy, Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth 2021-2024 and complementary trade initiatives, Ireland will enhance its value proposition for FDI and aim to win 800 total investments to support job creation of 50,000 across the country, as well as strengthening linkages between FDI and domestic SMEs.

Progress on the wide range of deliverables and workstreams across the four pillars of the Economic Recovery Plan, towards the plan’s overall ambition is being overseen by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment and related sub-groups and Senior Official Groups and progress towards the various targets including employment and job creation will continue to be monitored carefully.