The Government has published the latest installment of its 'Action Plan for Jobs', focussing on fostering start-ups, encouraging energy innovation, regional development and cutting red tape.
The plan includes 382 actions to be taken by 16 Departments and over 60 State Agencies during 2015 to support job creation.
It sets out five key objectives:
- To support 100,000 additional jobs by 2016.
- To get Ireland back to a top-five ranking in international competitiveness.
- To stimulate the domestic economy and generate employment in locally traded sector.
- To build an indigenous engine of growth that drives up the export market share of Irish companies.
- To build world-class clusters in key sectors of opportunity.
New regional enterprise strategies will be put in place across the country; they will aim to encourage bodies to work together to encourage job creation in their areas.
The report also focuses on helping start-up companies - this will include a new tax incentive to help new companies, and a plan to hold a "Startup Gathering" event.
The programme hopes that Ireland will become Europe’s main energy innovation hub by 2020.
Other measures include a National Talent Drive that is intended to bring a 60 percent increase in the number of ICT graduates from the higher education system by 2018, the establishing of a National Health Innovation Hub, and a new €39m fund for businesses to make savings in energy costs.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke at the launch, praising the programme: "The Action Plan for Jobs process has been a fantastic success. At the outset we set ourselves a target of 100,000 new jobs by 2016 and we have delivered on 80,000 of these since we launched the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012."
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton added: "When we visited ICON to launch the first Action Plan for Jobs in early 2012, unemployment was at 15.1% and the numbers at work had collapsed. Today as we come back to launch our fourth annual Action Plan for Jobs, while we have a very long way to go, we have made important progress with 80,000 extra people at work and unemployment down to 10.6%."
Fianna Fáil Jobs spokesperson on jobs Dara Calleary has been critical of the plan and called it a "PR exercise."
The Mayo TD says: "We are being treated to a spinfest around job creation, a spinfest that frustrates job seekers and that ignores fundamental problems within our country."
He continues: "The Taoiseach says the regions need more time, he has had four years to deliver, how much more does he need?"
Sinn Féin jobs spokesperson Peadar Tóibín said that the Government has been dishonest about job creation:
"Since entering into Government in 2011, employment has increased by just 58,600, this figure falls far short of Labour and Fine Gael’s commitment to create 100,000 jobs during their term in office. For every job created five people have emigrated."
Mr Tóibín added: "[The] Government tells us that today’s jobs announcement for 2015 puts a Regional Enterprise Strategy centre stage, yet all we have is a few paragraphs that are a rehash of their 2014 commitments."
