Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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172. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total number of persons deemed to be in employment at the present time; the extent to which this shows an improvement on any recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19106/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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From the most recent Central Statistics Office Labour Force Survey for Q4 2021, the total number of people currently in employment is 2,506,000. This marks an increase of 6.3%, or 148,700 jobs, over employment in Q4 2019 before the pandemic began. Employment decreased between 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic and rebounded in 2021 following the easing of restrictions.

The employment rate for those aged 15-64 was 73.0% in 2021, compared with 67.0% in 2020 and 70.1% in 2019.

Table 1: Total Employment, Q4 2019-2021

Source: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey

These numbers count those who were on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme as employed.

These results show the resilience of the Irish economy despite the immense challenges posed by the pandemic.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Economic Recovery Plan, published last June, sets an ambitious target to exceed pre-crisis employment levels by having 2.5 million people in work by 2024 and in more productive and resilient jobs. The Plan sets out the Government’s commitment to create the right environment for a jobs-led recovery by helping business become more resilient and agile and by supporting people to transition to new jobs in growing sectors of the economy. The Plan commits to further strengthen Ireland’s Skills Framework and architecture to ensure people are supported to secure and remain in sustainable and quality employment through opportunities to reskill and upskill. Accelerating the provision of training, reskilling and upskilling opportunities and increased activation will be pursued through Pathways to Work 2021-2025.

SMEs account for over two thirds of total employment, and as such a strong focus on indigenous SMEs is critical to a jobs-led recovery. The Economic Recovery Plan sets out 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 job creation and communities across the country. Under Enterprise Ireland’s Regional Enterprise Development Fund, €115 million is being invested in projects to strengthen regional enterprise in all regions and the IDA Ireland will continue to roll-out its regional property programme under its new Strategy, specifically targeting 400 investments to advance regional development.

The Deputy is also aware of the ambition contained in our new National Development Plan, launched at the start of October 2021, which provides substantial investment in the resilience and dynamism of our enterprises, addressing immediate challenges like the ‘tail’ impacts of Brexit and COVID-19, while also preparing enterprises for the longer-term, including climate change and digitalisation.

The twin decarbonisation and digitalisation transition and associated behavioural changes will profoundly alter the economy. Embracing these transitions will also open up substantial new opportunities for businesses and will support significant job creation. Substantial capital investment under the revised National Development Plan and Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) under the European Recovery and Resilience Facility, with €915 million in first tranche of funding, will be key enablers of balanced regional development, and supporting the digital and green transition.

The enterprise programmes of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland will continue to strengthen growth and employment potential with a particular focus on balanced regional development and smart specialisation, building competitive and innovative regions and enterprises. This includes funding to back collaborative actions at regional and local level, driven by the Regional Enterprise Plans, aided through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme, and leveraging European Regional Development Funding and other strategic investments.