Good morning ladies and gentlemen and thank you for your attendance.
Today we are publishing the Fourth Quarterly Progress Report on our Action Plan for Jobs 2012, and I am joined by the Tánaiste and Minister Bruton, who will outline some detail in their respective areas in a moment.
When we launched the Action Plan for Jobs a year ago I committed us to quarterly reports because implementation of this plan, and future Action Plan plans, is a top priority for us as we continue to get Ireland working again.
It is important to recall that the Action Plan is a central pillar of our strategy for economic recovery. It works in tandem with the ongoing work to restructure the banks, restore the public finances, and to deliver Pathways to Work, our comprehensive labour activation programme.
Conceived against the backdrop of the domestic jobs crisis and challenging economic conditions, the Action Plan puts in place a comprehensive framework to deliver 270 actions and reforms right across the public sector and in partnership with industry.
The Action Plan was designed to support and drive one of the main economic policies of this Government. To support the transition from the old, failed economy based on property, banking and debt to a new, sustainable economy based on exports, innovation and enterprise.
Looking back over the year, I am pleased to report that we have delivered 249 of these 270 actions. This delivery rate of 92% is a demonstration of the clear and strong commitment that this Government has to addressing the fundamental challenge for this country. The delivery rate for Q4 itself was 90%.
Clearly, we are not satisfied that 21 actions that were due for delivery in 2012 have not been delivered on time.
One third of these relate to legislation, and were included in the Plan based on their importance for the enterprise environment and ultimately on job creation and retention. We will continue to work to implement this legislation as a priority.
While I acknowledge that we have a long path to travel before we are out of this unemployment crisis, I am confidence we are on the right track to recovery. Private sector employment is increasing again, 12,000 in the past year, which compares to the 250,000 private sector jobs lost in the three years before this Government came into office.
Therefore, I am pleased to see this high level of implementation turn into positive impacts on the ground. For example:
- Exports continue to perform at historically high levels – with the latest data from November showing strong growth.
- 2012 saw the highest number of net new jobs in IDA client companies in a decade (6,570), and Enterprise Ireland client companies recorded the highest net jobs gain since 2006 (3,000).
- Ireland’s competitiveness vis-à-vis our trading partners has improved over the past number of years as demonstrated by the increasing number of FDI projects we are attracting.
- We have a young, well-educated population known for its flexibility and adaptability. According to the IMD World Competiveness Index we are first in the world for the availability of skilled labour. Although we are still working flat out, via our Pathways to Work strategy, to retrain and reskill all those who lost their jobs in the construction crash.
- The delivery of actions focused on aligning skills and training with enterprise needs will ensure we maintain this competitive advantage. Just this morning, Minister Cannon announced details of 760 new places for people to participate in ICT conversion programmes in higher education institutions under the Springboard initiative.
- We have established 3 new technology centres, in the key growth sectors of cloud computing, financial services and learning technologies, focused on supporting Irish based companies to collaborate with leading Irish institutions on industry relevant research.
- Our sustained commitment to realising the economic and growth potential of R&D is continuing to bear fruit. 2012 saw IDA client companies announce R&D investments of over €500 million and Enterprise Ireland supported the largest ever investment in R&D from an Irish company in October – The Kerry Group announced plans to establish a Global Food Innovation Centre of Excellence in Naas, Co Kildare with 800 jobs.
- We have significantly increased our focus on attracting early stage and high growth companies to locate and expand in Ireland through measures such as the International Start-Up Ambassadors, FDI Advocates and Succeed in Ireland.
These companies, the future Facebooks or Googles, offer significant potential for jobs and growth. Earlier this week Minister Bruton announced the creation of 167 new jobs in 6 fast-growing companies.
- There has been a consistent focus on improving access to finance for viable companies. In this regard, 2012 saw the establishment of the Micro Finance Fund, the Development Capital Scheme, the Loan Guarantee Scheme and three new long-term funds which will provide equity, credit and restructuring/ recovery investment for Irish SMEs and mid-sized corporates.
- In 2012 we established the Potential Exporters Division in Enterprise Ireland, launched the ManagementWorks and New Frontiers development programmes, and establishment of the “one-stop-shop” infrastructure to support microenterprise.
The reforms and progress made in the Jobs Initiative of 2011 and the Action Plan for Jobs 2012 are just the beginning. The continuing scale of the challenge is evident and though it is falling gradually, the rate of unemployment at 14.6%, remains unacceptably high.
The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 is just a further instalment in a multi-annual plan to see 100,000 more people at work by 2016. We have many new ideas and plans in the final stages of development and we will be back to launch the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs shortly.