Minister Richard Bruton: ‘Full employment’ by the end of 2018

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has claimed that Ireland can achieve so-called ‘full employment’ by the end of 2018, about two years ahead of previous Government estimates.

Mr Bruton made the claim at yesterday’s publication of Enterprise Ireland’s 2014 performance review, which showed a record year for the agency — both in terms of net jobs gain among its client firms and low levels of job losses.

Some 19,705 jobs were created last year by client firms of Enterprise Ireland, the agency in charge of fostering Irish firms expanding abroad. When job losses are accounted for, the net jobs gain for 2014 amounted to 8,476, the highest in the agency’s history. The year also saw the lowest level of job losses since 2000.

Mr Bruton said yesterday’s figures represented “an extraordinary result, which shows that we are winning new export markets” and said we are living in “a really exciting time in Irish industrial history”.

The Enterprise Ireland figures came a week after IDA Ireland — the agency with responsibility for attracting foreign multinational investment — also reported record net jobs for last year. Mr Bruton said yesterday that, on the back of both sets of figures showing strong domestic company growth and a good pipeline of multinational investment, he would have real confidence in Ireland achieving full employment by the end of 2018.

He did not expand on the Government’s definition of the term — full employment generally means enough job availability for those able to work. It typically also means an unemployment rate of around 3%-5%. Ireland’s unemployment rate — currently at around 10.6% — is expected to dip back into single digit percentages by the end of this year.

Total direct employment within Enterprise Ireland client firms now stands at 180,072 (the vast majority being full-time positions), once again a record high.

“The level of increased employment achieved is remarkable and endorses the strategy we have embarked on to 2016,” said Enterprise Ireland’s chief executive Julie Sinnamon. “We continue to relentlessly focus on ensuring the right supports are available for clients at every stage of growth.

“This focus, coupled with our priority to support entrepreneurship across the regions and develop strong, export-focused, ambitious Irish companies that can win new business, will mean even more jobs for Ireland over the next 12 months.”

Last year, Enterprise Ireland committed to invest in 102 new High Potential Start-Up firms, with more than 1,500 associated job commitments, while it also brought more than 900 international buyers into Ireland to encourage them to source from Irish companies.

Client firms in every region saw employment gains last year, Enterprise Ireland said, noting that its four regional competitive feasibility funds — aimed at helping entrepreneurs across eight counties — and agribusiness funds have received more than 100 applications to date. According to the agency, companies it supports now account for around 300,000 jobs in the Irish economy, representing 16% of the country’s entire workforce.

“Every job created in an Enterprise Ireland company supports an additional job elsewhere in the economy, through supply and service businesses, so the impact of this on communities, across the country, is massive,” said Mr Bruton.