From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
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An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, will today (Thursday, 22nd November) consult 160 key stakeholders at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Future Jobs, the Government’s new plan to guide the next phase of Ireland's economic development.
As we reach full employment, our focus must shift from getting people back to work, to creating sustainable jobs that can deal with new challenges and embrace new technologies.
Ireland’s economic turnaround over the past six years has been remarkable with unemployment falling from a high of 16% to 5.1% and 385,700 new jobs created since 2012. This success has also imposed new constraints on the economy, while international developments like Brexit and new technologies mean that jobs and business models must adapt.
Future Jobs is the Government’s response to these challenges, and is designed to secure our enterprise base and secure Ireland’s long-term economic prosperity. Today’s Summit is attended by employers, workers and representative bodies, who will give feedback on the current draft of the plan.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:
“Today’s school children will be doing jobs that don’t currently exist. At the same time our planet is under pressure from climate change and other challenges. New forms of energy, transport and food production will transform industries, companies and jobs. Future Jobs is about positioning us now to embrace these big changes.
"The Future Jobs strategy sets out longer term ambitions for the future of the economy, taking account of the challenges facing us, then translating these into a small number of impactful and deliverable actions which can be taken on an annual basis, starting in 2019. There will be accountability for delivery of these actions, overseen personally by me and by my Department. The next few decades will involve great change and opportunity. If Ireland is to adapt to and continue to thrive, we must start preparing now for tomorrow’s economy.”
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD, said:
“Our economy has come on in leaps and bounds in the last number of years but we cannot rest on our laurels. The Ireland of 2018 is very different to the Ireland of 2012. We are in a new space now, which means we need a new approach to avoid the mistakes of the past.
“We need to ask ourselves hard questions about areas where we need to improve. This includes looking at how we can increase productivity levels among our indigenous SMEs.
“It also means removing barriers that are stopping people from returning to the workforce in a time when we are seeing constraints in certain sectors of the labour market.
“As we reach full employment, our focus needs to adjust from getting people back to work to ensuring that we are creating sustainable jobs.”
Based around a number of pillars, Future Jobs 2019 will focus on approximately 20 targeted actions. The following five themes form the basis of discussions at today’s Summit:
Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, commented:
“The Irish economy has transformed entirely over the course of this decade, from the grasp of a crippling recession at its beginning, to becoming the fastest growing economy in the Eurozone as it closes. While our economic recovery has been remarkable, we cannot be complacent about Ireland’s future success and presume it will be plain sailing from here on. The work we begin here today will pay off down the line. By putting our energy into the Future Jobs programme, we can keep Ireland in a prime position with a smart, optimised and carefully planned out economy.”
Minister John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development said:
“This is an important opportunity for our key stakeholders to engage with the Future Jobs initiative. Innovation plays a central role in driving productivity growth and fostering competitiveness in a global economy and society where research and its application is critical to success. Areas of focus identified today will ensure Ireland continues to develop its innovation, research and development eco-system.”
Minister Pat Breen TD, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection said:
“As Minister with responsibility for the EU Digital Single Market, I am acutely aware of the impact that technological advances are having on enterprise development and the world of work. The Future Jobs Summit will help us in creating the framework we need to ensure that Ireland continues its path of economic growth.”
Future Jobs is a whole-of-Government plan, which will operate on a multi-annual basis starting in early 2019. In this context, the Summit will also be attended by Ministers Bruton, McHugh, Mitchell O’Connor, Breen and Doyle, who will chair break-out sessions with stakeholders on those themes relevant to their portfolios.
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About the Future Jobs Summit
Future Jobs Summit is a half day event opened by An Taoiseach. The following Ministers will also be in attendance to discuss with attendees specific areas of impact on the Irish economy.
The Summit will feature two keynote speeches from Mr Luiz de Mello Director, OECD on Ireland’s Productivity Challenge and Ms Julie Spillane, Accenture on Ireland’s Future Economy Technology, Talent and Emerging Opportunities.
Contact
For further information please contact Press Office, D/Business, Enterprise and Innovation, press.office@dbei.gov.ie or (01) 631-2200
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The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) plays a key role in implementing the Government’s policies of stimulating the productive capacity of the economy and creating an environment which supports job creation and maintenance. The Department also has a remit to promote fair competition in the marketplace, protect consumers and safeguard workers.