Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a pleasure to be here for the launch of the Credit Guarantee Scheme and of the Quarter Three Report of the Action Plan on Jobs.
This is a week that has seen some welcome news on the jobs front. And, as this progress report records, the first six months of this year saw investments by a total of 44 multinationals in Ireland, with associated jobs.
We have been working hard on our recovery and these efforts are now beginning to pay off. Last year we returned to growth for the first time since 2007 and expect continued growth for this year.
The significant improvements in our competitiveness are reflected in the record number of new foreign direct investments that Ireland won in 2011 and the continued flow that we are seeing in 2012.
But while we welcome every new job announcement and every economic gain, we remain deeply concerned by our unacceptably high levels of unemployment. This Government remains committed to doing everything in our power to turn this around.
Because, although unemployment has shown signs of stabilisation in recent months, conditions in the labour market remain weak and long-term unemployment is a serious concern.
I am acutely aware that for the majority of people, the real and tangible evidence of our recovery will be the ready availability of good quality jobs for all sections of society.
The Action Plan on Jobs is a central plank in our strategy to create an environment where we increase the number of people at work to 1.9 million by 2016 and to translate our economic recovery into real jobs for our people.
At the heart of the Strategy are a number of initiatives to provide support for our indigenous SME sector to allow them to grow and create jobs.
An important part of this is the Credit Guarantee Scheme being launched today which will encourage additional lending to SMEs. Access to finance is a critical issue for small businesses and this initiative will facilitate lending to viable firms on the margins of commercial lending decisions in accessing credit.
Also amongst the measures completed in Q3 is the launch of the Microfinance Fund which has been open for business since 1 October, 2012 and will provide loans to viable businesses with less than ten employees.
These initiatives recognise the central importance of the small business sector to Ireland’s continued recovery. Small and medium enterprises are part of the fabric of our society and economy and we are working to create the right environment for them to thrive.
In drawing up the Action Plan on Jobs we set ourselves some tough goals and we have been rigorous in assessing our performance against these.
Nonetheless, it is good to report that all of the measures that were due in the first six-month period have now been implemented, including some important outstanding measures:
Acceleration of the programme of revaluation of commercial premises
Submission of proposals for Government on a new national waste policy, and,
Progress on the Broadband Strategy.
I am also delighted to see the establishment of new Technology Centres in Cloud Computing, Learning Technologies and Financial services which will build on our strengths in these sectors.
The Action Plan on jobs is active across all aspects of government business and in my role as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I continue to be deeply committed to building up our trade links as a means of creating more and better jobs.
I am also working closely with our diaspora through the Global Irish Network in order to maximise opportunities for Irish business in foreign markets.
There are some particularly welcome developments in this context in the ongoing work of the Action Plan.
The Government has undertaken ten major sector-specific Trade Missions and market evaluation Missions.
Government has assisted Irish companies in winning almost 500 significant brand new customers across 46 countries.
The continued success of the ConnectIreland website and progress the Immigrant Investor Programme and the Start-up Entrepeneur Programme are also making positive contributions.
Undoubtedly, we have made some significant progress across the Action Plan for Jobs. But there are still some important targets for Q3 that have not been met. I am conscious that quite a number of these relate to legislative delays which will impact on the ability to deliver these in a short timeframe.
But we must continue to push hard, across the system, to realise the entirety of this Action Plan on Jobs. Tackling unemployment in this country remains our biggest challenge and we must continue to pursue a wide range of strategies to ensure that we ultimately succeed.