Firm focus on job creation needed to secure the recovery – Corcoran Kennedy

Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Chairperson of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, has commended the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD on the success of the Action plan for Jobs and called for a firm focus on job creation, as 800 jobs are announced in one week and the live register drops to 11%.

“The main focus of this Government has been, and remains, creating jobs and rebuilding the economy. Against the hubbub of other issues it’s very easy to forget the dire situation this country was in three short years ago and the great strides we have made.

“This week over 800 jobs were announced, all of these jobs were created by foreign companies and this figure does not take into consideration the additional jobs that have been created by start-ups and by indigenous Irish businesses.

“Since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, 70,000 more people are working and most of these are in full time positions. We are well on our way to meeting our target of creating 100,000 jobs by 2016.

“The majority of the new jobs created are in Dublin and the other major cities. It is natural that the largest population areas would attract investment but the Midlands also has a lot to offer and plans are in place to develop this potential in the coming months.   The Midlands has been chosen as the location for the pilot of the new Regional Enterprise Strategy; this strategy will see Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and the new Local Enterprise Office (LEOs) come together to draw up a programme for growth for the area and I am confident that we will see results from this scheme.

“ Live Register figures released this week provide further evidence that the economic recovery is firmly underway. In October, 3,500 people were removed from the live register and as a result unemployment has fallen from 11.1% to 11%, the lowest rate since 2009. The Government’s plan is working, the economy is recovering, and this growth is sustainable and enterprise led.

  “With unemployment at 11%, there is still a lot of work to be done. I want to see unemployment fall below 10% and more jobs created in regional areas. This remains the focus of the Government.

“This Government has been given the task of getting the country back on its feet and this is what we intend to do. There are a lot of serious issues, affecting families across the country, including water. The Government is dealing with this but we also need to remain focused on our key objective of attracting investment, supporting home grown business and getting people back to work.”