Supporting start-ups and promoting regional areas is the key focus for jobs in 2015 – Corcoran Kennedy

“Job creation since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012 has been stronger in some areas than others, but the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 will have regional development at its core and will focus on growing jobs in the domestic economy”, says Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Chairperson of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee and TD for Laois/Offaly.

“The Action Plan for Jobs has been hugely successful; over 80,000 jobs have been created since 2012 and it is expected that the target of 100,000 jobs will be reached this year, over 12 months ahead of schedule. While this is very much to be welcomed, we now need to focus on creating jobs in areas where they are most needed.

“In order to bring jobs growth to the regions, the Regional Enterprise Strategy, starting in the Midlands, will be launched. New Competitive Funding Initiatives will see €25 million available to promote innovative collaborations, and to support entrepreneurship and innovation in the regions.

“Rural Ireland and our regional towns have many strengths and bags full of potential but it’s about how we harness this. Funding will be used to exploit regional competitive advantage and promote the required economic infrastructure to attract investment.

“This will consist of making areas like the Midlands attractive to new business but it will also mean taking advantage of the strengths we already have. In 2015 a new tourism brand will be developed for the South East and the Midlands building on the success of the Wild Atlantic Way. We aim to attract 7.7 million oversee visitors to Ireland in 2015 as we work towards bringing employment in the Tourism sector to 250,000.

“The Action Plan for Jobs 2015 will introduce new measures to supports start-ups including a new Start-up Refunds for Entrepreneurs Scheme (SURE) tax incentive which will allow PAYE workers to reclaim tax they have paid for up to six years and to use this capital to invest in their new business. There will also be a Start-Up Gathering, and a national talent drive will be launched to increase by 60% the number of ICT graduates by 2018.

“This year’s Action Plan for Jobs is being launched against a much improved economic backdrop; the Government is now in a position to give back to those who have sacrificed so much over the past number of years. From this month, people will for the first time, feel changes made to USC and tax in Budget 2015. There is no doubt there is still a lot more work to do, but this plan is focused with real targets that will benefit all parts of the country.”