Enterprise Ireland figures show that Govt’s job creation plan is working – English

Damien English, Fine Gael TD for Meath West and Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, has said that Enterprise Ireland figures released today (Tuesday) show that the Government’s job creation plan is working.

“Enterprise Ireland (EI) supported companies added just over 10,000 net new jobs to the economy in 2015. This brings total employment in those companies to 192,223, which is a record high for Enterprise Ireland.

“These figures just describe the EI job creation success. In total, over 135,000 new jobs have been added to the economy since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. Unemployment has now dropped to 8.8% according to the CSO, and we are in the process of reducing the high tax burden that Fianna Fáil introduced to pay for their mistakes.

“By contrast, instead of learning from the economic crash, Fianna Fáil wasted four and a half years in opposition. Unbelievably, the party that destroyed 300,000 jobs still has no job creation plan.

“Compared to the housing led bubble created by Fianna Fáil, when Fine Gael was last in Government, we created a lean export-led economy that was creating 1,000 jobs a week. This is exactly what we have been working hard to recreate over the last five years. Today’s figures show that this is working; in net terms, Irish exporting companies have 10,169 extra people working with them compared with one year ago.

“I would like to pay tribute to the hard work of Irish businesses in starting up, scaling up and growing their businesses. The jobs they have created in this country over the last five years have been invaluable to the economic recovery and have ensured that young people once again have opportunities here.

“Today’s EI results, also confirm that this is not just a Dublin based recovery. Almost two thirds of the new jobs created were outside Dublin, and all of the regions recorded increases in full-time employment over the period.  We have a plan to continue this regional growth; our Regional Action Plans for Jobs are designed to increase employment in every region by 10-15% between now and 2020.

“Fine Gael has a plan to keep the recovery going and ensure that everyone can feel the benefit. Crucial to this is continued job creation. More people in work creates the resources to cut taxes for working people and invest in better services, improving living standards for all. We cannot go back to the same old Fianna Fáil who wrecked the economy, have learned nothing from the past and are still the high tax party. We will finish the job and replace all the jobs lost in the crash to ensure a better quality of life for all.”