Action Plan for Jobs 2013 designed to have high impact on employment creation

Fine Gael TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, has welcomed the publication of the Action Plan for Jobs 2013, which targets job creation in small businesses and start-ups, as well as the biggest multinational companies. Deputy Farrell added that the JobsPlus initiative, which is one of seven Disruptive Reform measures included in the Plan, will help to get the long-term unemployed back to work.

“The Action Plan for Jobs 2013 is an ambitious document containing 333 actions to be implemented across 16 Government Departments and 46 agencies aimed at stimulating job creation. The Plan contains actions to support business, reduce costs, improve access to finance and target key growth sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and ICT.  

“This is the Government’s blueprint for boosting the number of jobs by 100,000 by 2016 and will build on the progress made in 2012, when 12,000 net new jobs were created in the private sector. 2012 was also a record year for job-creation by Irish and multinational exporting companies. It is clear that progress is being made, and jobs are being created in growing sectors of the economy. But unemployment rates remain far too high, and we are determined to push ahead with radical reforms that will make it easier for people to get back to work.

“The APJ 2013 includes seven Disruptive Reform measures which will be implemented in conjunction with senior industry figures and are designed to have a significant impact on job creation. One of the key measures is the JobsPlus initiative, which will provide an incentive for employers to hire those who have been unemployed for a long time. The State will pay €1 for every €4 it costs an employer to take on a new staff member from the Live Register.

“While there are already a range of measures in place to help employers take on people from the Live Register, there has been low take up on some scheme. JobsPlus will provide a simple, easy to understand scheme to encourage employers to give job opportunities to the long-term unemployed.

“Among the other Disruptive Reforms are commitments to boost the number of ICT graduates this year, a new €70 million energy efficiency fund, a move to get 2,000 more small businesses trading online, the creation of a single licensing system, a focus on growing the Big Data sector and the development of a new Health Innovation Hub.

“Another area contained in the Action Plan for Jobs is Ireland’s data storage facilities.   Ireland is fortunate in that our temperate climate suits Big Data storage facilities, which require vast amounts of power to run to prevent overheating. Not only is Google building a data centre in Dublin, but Microsoft, Amazon, Dell and HP all have data centres in Ireland.  

“The APJ contains a huge range of measures that will improve access to finance, boost investment in Research & Development and support high potential start-ups. These measures will create thousands of jobs this year as we continue to rebuild our economy and get our people back to work.”