CUTTING EMPLOYERS’ PRSI and the low rate of VAT had led to 6,000 more people working in the tourism sector, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton told the Dáil.
Insisting that the Government’s jobs’ initiative was working, he said there had been successes in the past year.
“For example, in the food sector we have had the best year ever with 14 per cent growth in food exports. This is a sector which clearly has huge connections back into the Irish economy.”
Mr Bruton said there were, however, continuing difficulties in some sectors. Banking had been trapped in a lot of property dealing.
Last year, said Mr Bruton, in spite of the suppressed global market, IDA Ireland had supported the creation of more than 13,000 new jobs in client companies, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year’s figures.
It had made a further four announcements this year, which would create an extra 332 jobs and support a further 250 indirect construction jobs.
Enterprise Ireland reported that employment in client companies stabilised last year, with 141,228 full-time employees, similar to the previous year.
Fianna Fáil spokesman on jobs Willie O’Dea said there were now more than 443,000 people officially unemployed, with more than half of them out of work for more than a year. According to the best estimate, 77,000 people had emigrated during the past year.
Mr Bruton said Mr O’Dea and his party continually wanted to pretend that the past never happened. The reality was that the economic collapse was the product of a number of years of bad policy.
