Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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81. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he and his Department continue to make efforts to ensure an adequacy of both manufacturing and service jobs in the future, with particular reference to the need to cater for any fallout in the event of a drop off in foreign direct investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43513/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s labour market has shown remarkable resilience given the challenges Ireland has faced in recent years, including Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and global inflationary pressures.

According to the latest employment figures from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey, published on 22nd August 2024, total employment stood at 2.74 million. There are now more people employed in Ireland than ever before. As per the CSO Statistical Release on Monthly Unemployment from the beginning of October, the seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate was 4.3% in September 2024.

This record-breaking labour market performance reflects the continuing success of Ireland’s enterprise policy in sustaining and expending employment. To ensure that this momentum is maintained, my Department published the White Paper on Enterprise in December 2022, which sets out Government`s enterprise policy for the period through to 2030. The White Paper on Enterprise details how we will deliver on our ambition of a vibrant, resilient, regionally balanced and sustainable economy made up of a diversified mix of leading global companies, internationally competitive Irish enterprises and thriving local businesses. In particular, it seeks to ensure the continued creation of rewarding jobs and livelihoods across Ireland.

In order to achieve this ambition, Government has set out seven enterprise policy objectives in the White Paper; integrating decarbonisation and net zero commitments, placing digital transformation at the heart of enterprise policy, advancing Ireland’s FDI and trade value proposition, strengthening the Irish-owned exporting sector, enabling locally trading sectors to thrive, stepping up enterprise innovation, and building on Ireland`s existing strengths and opportunities, through a clustering approach.

I am aware that it is essential that Irish enterprise has access to a pool of high quality, adaptable and flexible talent to ensure that the objectives outlined in the White Paper on Enterprise are realised. In order to meet this demand, my Department works closely with stakeholders across Government, in particular the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and its agencies, along with industry and the education and training system, in order to build and retain a highly skilled workforce to serve the needs of the economy.

My Department is also working closely with the Department of Social Protection in implementing Pathways to Work, and with it the labour market activation of the unemployed, groups under-represented in the workforce, and workers transitioning to more viable roles or sectors as our economy evolves.

Government policies aimed at creating an attractive environment for both indigenous enterprise and foreign direct investment and enhancing the availability of talent to employers – supplemented by measures such as those announced in May 2024 and in Budget 2025 to help our small and medium sized enterprises maintain competitiveness and sustain jobs in the context of increased costs – have resulted in record-breaking levels of job creation being achieved in Ireland. The fact that this is occurring in the context of ongoing international economic and geopolitical turbulence is testament to the quality of decision making and we are determined to build on this momentum.