Jobs fall 5% at Údarás firms

EXPORTING companies led the way in job creation at Údarás na Gaeltachta firms last year, with the agency saying it is still capable of attracting new investment.

Total employment in Údarás na Gaeltachta assisted companies fell 5% to 7,074 last year. The job creation agency said 704 full-time jobs were created in 2010 despite difficult trading conditions. This was down slightly on the previous year.

Acting chief executive, Seán Ó Labhraí said it is encouraging to see a number of exporting companies continued to invest further and expand their operations during the year.

Also in the year, 535 jobs were approved in new and existing enterprises, a rise of 31% on the previous year. This involves an overall projected investment of €54 million in Gaeltacht companies.

Many of these jobs will come on stream in 2011 and in the subsequent two years, the agency said.

“Notwithstanding the challenging economic and business environment, this demonstrates Údarás’s ability to attract new investments, support its clients in their expansion plans, and therefore facilitate the creation of further employment,” said Mr Ó Labhraí.

The number of new jobs approved in the last two years is lower than previous years, according to the agency, which said that a more substantial level of jobs approvals is required to ensure that the employment level in the Gaeltacht is maintained.

The reduction in job approvals in the last two years is mainly due to a drop in the number of new projects from certain sectors seeking support as a result of businesses being affected by funding difficulties and lower demand.

Údarás said it expects that a significant number of jobs will be restored when the economy returns to growth.

“It is worth noting that nearly half of the job losses over the past three years have occurred in enterprises that are related to the construction sector, which is in line with the figures nationally. Companies involved in the tourism industry also saw a reduction in employment,” said the annual review.

During the year €2.8m was approved in R&D projects and the organisation said it was able to maintain, to a large extent, its community development and language activities.

It said emphasis will be placed in 2011 on protecting existing employment in its client-companies and working with them to stimulate further R&D and product development activities.

The recent publication by the Government of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language, which aims to increase the number of daily Irish speakers to 250,000 in 20 years, was an important milestone for the Gaeltacht and Irish language speakers, the agency said.