Government announces

Pro

The Government has launched its Action Plan for Jobs 2013 with what it is calling "disruptive reforms" at its heart.

The government said that the plan contains 333 actions to be implemented in 2013 by 16 Government departments and 46 agencies which will build on "progress made in 2012".

Referring to the "disruptive reform" measures as a major departure from the 2012 jobs plan, the launch statement said that they were "high-impact measures with highly ambitious deadlines". These reforms are to be "implemented in partnership with senior industry figures and selected because of their potential to have a significant effect on job-creation".

There are seven reforms in total. JobsPlus will subsidise the cost of recruiting a long term unemployed person to the tune of €1 in €4 for two years for employers.
ICT Skills will provide an additional 2,000 ICT graduate level professionals in 2013, and by 2018 "lead Europe in terms of ICT graduates as a percentage of all third level graduates".

Energy Efficiency will create a €70 million Energy Efficiency Fund to support 20 major projects in 2013 and which the Government hopes will ultimately create 5,000 jobs.

Trading Online aims to get 2,000 more small businesses trading online in 2013 and 2014, with the expectation to create 3,200 jobs. Business Licences will create a single licensing application system for up to 25 licences in the retail sector, saving retailers over €20 million per annum.

The Big Data reform aims to make Ireland one of the leading countries in Europe for Big Data, a sector growing by up to 40% per annum, according to the statement.
A Health Innovation Hub will establish a world-renowned centre to establish Ireland as a leading location for start-up and growing medtech and healthcare companies
"The Government’s top priority is to get Ireland working again," said an Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD. "The Action Plan for Jobs 2013 is central to our job creation ambitions as we seek to increase the number of new jobs by 100,000 by 2016. The previous Government built an economy based on debt and property that collapsed like a house of cards. We are rebuilding our economy brick-by-brick, making it stronger, ensuring that successes gained are here for the long term.

"The Action Plan for Jobs will continue to focus on our traditional enterprise sectors along with new growth industries. It will target small Irish businesses and new start-ups as well as the biggest multinational companies. This year’s plan will contain a number of landmark, step-change projects that will act as exemplars to enterprise as we rebuild an enterprise-focused economy. We have a plan. We are implementing it. And we will see it through until we get Ireland working again."
Also as part of the plan, the IDA will target more than 130 new investments, secure €500 million worth of R&D investment and help create 13,000 new jobs in 2013.

Meanwhile, Enterprise Ireland will financially support 155 high potential and early-stage start-ups, assist 300 companies develop new overseas markets through the Potential Exporters Division and will support over 1,000 companies on management development programmes.

Access to finance for Irish firms will be provided through Government finance schemes worth over €2 billion will be lending to businesses by end 2013 new. The pillar bank lending targets for 2013 will be increased to €4 billion, with plans to strengthen the Credit Review Office.

"The Action Plan for Jobs is aimed at supporting the transition from the old, failed economy reliant on property, banking and debt to a new, sustainable, jobs-rich economy based on enterprise, exports and innovation," said Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD. "In the twelve months since we launched the first plan that transition has been gathering momentum, with 12,000 net jobs added in the private sector and a record year for job-creation by exporting companies in multinational and indigenous sectors.

"In this year’s plan we are building on those achievements and raising our ambitions. 333 new actions to support business, reduce costs, improve access to finance and target growth sectors will be delivered this year by 16 Departments and 46 Agencies. More importantly, we will also implement seven Disruptive Reforms, in areas which can have an immediate impact such as ICT skills and retail, to challenge the system and deliver ambitious change to support job-creation.

"The results from the 2012 make this much clear-the plan is working. However we have a long way to go. The challenge now is to build on the progress we have made, work harder, deliver more ambitious change-and we are determined to do that to tackle our number one priority and create the jobs we need."

Despite the ambitious nature of the 2013 plan, Government acknowledged the job losses of previous years. While stating that previous jobs action plans contributed to a "net growth of almost 12,000 in private sector employment in the past year," it acknowledge that in the "three years to March 2011 a net 250,000 jobs were lost in the private sector".

The plan has been welcomed by employers group IBEC.

"The plan has many sensible ideas that will improve the business environment, reduce the regulatory burden and make it easier for companies to expand and take on new staff. It is Government’s job to create the best possible conditions for business to prosper and the new plan is a significant step in the right direction," said Danny McCoy, chief executive, IBEC.

"The reform of employment supports through the JobsPlus Initiative is very welcome and will better meet the needs of employers. It is a much simpler and more transparent model and should encourage more companies to hire people off the Live Register. The new visa reforms will make it much easier for firms to attract specialists skills from abroad.

"The plan must now be followed-up with a commitment to ease the proposed tax increases on households and businesses. It is also crucial that there is no increase in the cost of employment and nothing is done to undermine the flexibility of the Irish labour market or the industrial relations environment."

TechCentral Reporters

Read More: Government