New Government Jobs Creation Program

hobochris

The Government has announced plans which it says can create up to 300,000 jobs in the next five years.

The strategy, entitled "Trading and Investment in a Smart Economy" also plans to increase the value of indigenous exports by a third.

The plan envisages the direct creation of 150,000 jobs in manufacturing, tourism and internationally traded services by the end of 2015, and insists a further 150,000 spin-off jobs are possible.

It also plans to increase the value of Irish exports from home-grown companies by a third, and attract another 780 foreign investment projects through the IDA.

The overall value of agency-assisted indigenous exports last year was almost €13bn. The plan aims to increase that figure by €4bn to some €17bn by 2015.

On tourism the plan is to increase the number of overseas visitors here to eight million.

All of it will be implemented by a new Foreign Trade Council which will develop new brands for Ireland and exploit marketing opportunities.

Launching the initiative in Dublin today, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said jobs are the central policy of his government and this plan will reposition the country and bring a new focus to job creation.

"International trade, tourism and investment are crucial to the creation and protection of jobs now and in the future," Mr Cowen said.

"This new integrated action plan will ensure a sharp focus across the entire Government system on opening new markets for Irish firms, creating many thousands of new jobs, repositioning Ireland in the international marketplace and bringing a new business focus to our diplomatic missions abroad."

The Taoiseach was joined at today’s launch by Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe, Education Minister Mary Hanafin, Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith and Trade and Commerce Minister Billy Kelleher.

Minister O’Keeffe said the plan would strengthen Ireland’s trade links through a joined-up approach to targeting markets.

"While the US, UK and eurozone partners will continue to be key markets for Ireland, this plan aims to dramatically increase the number of exporting firms and diversify the destination of indigenous exports into new high-growth target markets such as Brazil, China, India, Russia, Japan and the Gulf States.

"The plan will drive productivity across a range of sectors - a key challenge of the “smart” economy," Minister O’Keeffe added.

Minister Hanafin said the plan aims to increase the number of visits to Ireland to eight million by 2015 and generate at least 15,000 new jobs in the tourism sector.

"In the short term, our focus is to grow numbers in markets where we have a head-start including the US, UK and Germany.

"In terms of new and developing markets, the Asia Pacific region will present the fastest growing outbound markets over the next 15 years," she added.

The strategy was also welcomed by employers' group IBEC.

Read more: http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/govt-announces-integrated-jobs-strategy-475452.html#ixzz10pWnyXS3

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/govt-announces-integrated-jobs-strategy-475452.html

Is it me or are they still missing the elephant in the room, that is that they should be doing more to make it easier for Irish businesses to do business and employ people?

Surely by now these idiots in leinster house should have copped on that we need to nurture and encourage new and existing Irish businesses in order to strengthen our economy? not get more foreign multinationals who will take flight at the first chance to do their business somewhere else cheaper.

I welcome any effort they make to help those on the dole queues back to work but I feel this is a backwards effort.

southsiderosie

Let's leave aside interest rates approaching 7%. Sigh.

The government announced today its plan to create 300,000 new jobs. Hooray, we're saved!

...“This new integrated action plan will ensure a sharp focus across the entire Government system on opening new markets for Irish firms, creating many thousands of new jobs, repositioning Ireland in the international marketplace and bringing a new business focus to our diplomatic missions abroad," the Taoiseach said. "To recover from the current unprecedented economic crisis, we need new thinking about our country and her place in the world.”

He said the 21st century will see new powers of Brazil, Russia, India, China, in the Middle East and Africa emerging and Ireland must seize these opportunities.

The five-year plan hopes to increase the number of overseas visitors to the country to eight million and attract an extra 780 foreign investment projects through IDA Ireland. Agency-assisted indigenous exports totalled almost €13 billion last year, and the plan aims to increase this by €4 billion by 2015.

It will also see the establishment of a new Foreign Trade Council comprising all relevant departments and agencies to implement the plan.

The roles of the council will be to devise new common "brand Ireland" initiatives, exploit marketing platforms such as St Patrick’s Day and trade missions, open new markets for Irish enterprises, align visa policy with business interests and maximise the effectiveness of overseas diplomatic and agency representatives.

Mr Cowen talked about tapping into the “huge and willing resource” of the Irish diaspora and using the immigrant community within the country to help build up trade and investment abroad...

I did not think I could possibly become more cynical. And then I moved to Ireland.

If the government wants to see job creation, they could:

* Make it easier to start up and wind down a business
* Make tourism affordable and attractive to visitors who aren't looking for their great great grandfather's village. Craic can be found in Belfast for half the cost.
* Stop putting people in charge of government agencies that handle business and investment who have no idea how business or investment actually works.

I will say that they definitely need to reform the visa system, but otherwise this seems like a bunch of spin and claptrap meant to deflect attention from the fact that the international markets are turning on Ireland, and the scariest thing this Halloween will be the specter of the IMF. BOO!

:mad:

Mr Benevolent

Wait a second, wasn't it non-concrete exports that got us into this mess in the first place? What the hell are they thinking?

irishconvert

hobochris wrote: »

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/govt-announces-integrated-jobs-strategy-475452.html

Is it me or are they still missing the elephant in the room, that is that they should be doing more to make it easier for Irish businesses to do business and employ people?

Surely by now these idiots in leinster house should have copped on that we need to nurture and encourage new and existing Irish businesses in order to strengthen our economy? not get more foreign multinationals who will take flight at the first chance to do their business somewhere else cheaper.

I welcome any effort they make to help those on the dole queues back to work but I feel this is a backwards effort.

How are they going to create these jobs? No specifics as usual. I have a plan to create 5 million jobs but I am going to be as vague as the Government. This is just a PR stunt.

Amhran Nua

Have we got any specific details on how they intend to achieve these goals, beyond bumping up Bord Fáilte's marketing budget?

hinault

The government announcement is big on cliches and platitudes, but has little or no detail.

Howcome they couldn't divine this strategy sooner?
Or is this a reheat of some former failed strategy?

Guramoogah

300,000 new jobs in five years? I think Cowen has given up the Carlsberg and gone on the magic mushrooms instead!

waffleman

in 5 years time they will be sitting in opposition / retirement regailing us about how labour dont have the intelligence to implement their ingenious 2010 plan for all these jobs - if only you had kept us in power Ireland would be the republic we all dreamed of once again

this type of guff is perfect for the purposes of ff - drivvle that can't be proved / disproved while they're in government but makes it seem like they're doin all they can to save us - much like the term "smart economy", NAMA etc.

MrDarcy

Yet again, the government is looking overseas for solutions to our problems, the answers are here and are local. We need to start creating jobs in the economy again HERE and at the exact same time that we start doing that, we need to motivate people to start spending again in the economy.

This government hasn't the faintest notion of how to faciliate the creation of jobs, it fails to understand the type and nature of people who do create jobs, what they need and what they do not need.

The only thing this government has any particular talent for is SPIN, manufacturing politically embedded soundbytes that are utterly devoid of any common sense, substance or reality.

Absurdum

that's grand so, where can I apply?

johnnyskeleton

irishconvert wrote: »

How are they going to create these jobs? No specifics as usual. I have a plan to create 5 million jobs but I am going to be as vague as the Government. This is just a PR stunt.

Exactly. I'd like to see the numbers because 300k seems remarkably close to:
a) the amount of jobs lost over the last few years and:
b) the amount of people needed to get off the live register to bring us back to full employment.

So the plan is to aim for historically high and unsustainable levels of employment, though manufacturing, toursim and internationally traded services.

Easiest to dismiss is internationally traded services. They are usually highly skilled jobs and compete against the rest of the world, so the chances of joe plumber doing 6 years of accountancy training or phd in computer programming before 2015 seems optimistic, asking him to work a few years for free or low paid to get experience and give up his scratcher makes it so close to 0 as makes no odds. Then we add in that currently we are losing people in this area and the government haven't identified anything to stem the flow of job losses. The only way I can see this happening if those 300k are non nationals brought in to work in special tax areas and are paid less than Irish minimum wage.

Tourism - Ireland is too expensive. We have some good stuff but we haven't really commercialised our tourist industry compared to other countries. I wouldn't want to see that happen. But in any event, I can't see tourism going up any further than it was in the mid 2000s, so there won't be a huge number of job increases here.

Finally manufacturing. Great. This is what they have been told time and time again that they need to focus on. So let's see what they have lined up:
a) tax breaks - probably;
b) IDA spend more money building factories in the West in the hope that industry comes - likely;
c) reduction in minimum wage to make us more competitive - no;
d) reduction in social welfare to make it more attractive to work - no;
e) reduced rates - no;
f) a free and competitive market for utilities - hah!
g) support for indigenous industry - get off it, this scheme is for rich americans only.

So where is this industry going to come from? Don't forget as well that China has plenty of manufacturing capacity in basic goods and is moving swiftly upwards in terms of more sophisticated goods. So it's not like firms don't have a choice where to locate. But they needn't go as far as China - Eastern Europe and Germany is where industry will go.

Just plucked out of their asses as usual.

I probably should read the full report though, and if it does have a genuine plan behind the rhetoric then I'll come back on and eat my words.

PeterIanStaker

This is complete and utter spin, drivel and horseshit of the highest order. Just be seen to be doing something and people will be fobbed off for another few weeks - that's the only "strategy" these fools know about. Oh yeah and while we're at it, lets set up another agency with a nice sounding acronym, Foreign Trade Council perhaps?

bbam

Absurdum wrote: »

that's grand so, where can I apply?

There's no rush... the applications don't need to be in for 5 years :rolleyes:
Until then ?? I suppose we keep voting FF

Mr. Loverman

They are creating a quango to manage this project.

Yes another ****ing quango.

DrivingTestTips: Brian

I have a job for 300,000 people. Start tomorrow morning at 9 sharp!!

I want you to go to Dublin and kick them out of government so that we can start fresh.

This is a short term position which will bring benefits to you and your family in the future.
Send your CV to Sick_Of_It@IrishPeople.ie

Amhran Nua

DrivingTestTips: Brian wrote: »

Send your CV to Sick_Of_It@IrishPeople.ie

Your domain has advertisements for Naughty Irish Housewives on it. Will they be at the protest march?

DrivingTestTips: Brian

Amhran Nua wrote: »

Your domain has advertisements for Naughty Irish Housewives on it. Will they be at the protest march?

LOL We hope so....

Psychedelic

Just checked the Fianna Fail website and the actual jobs creation program document isn't there to view - I wonder will it even be published or is it just this press release with references to the "plan" and its aims to create loads of jobs.

The Foreign Trade Council will:

• Devise new common ‘brand Ireland’ initiatives;
• Exploit marketing platforms such as St Patrick’s Day and trade missions;
• Open new markets for Irish small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Align our visa policy with strategic business interests;
• Maximise the effectiveness of our overseas diplomatic and agency representatives in key markets

We already have Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA doing all the above work.

"Exploit marketing platforms such as St Patrick's Day and trade missions", what a load of garbage.

dunsandin

Lads, ye are being very cynical -they had lovely brochures printed and everything, how could any plan with lovely brochures ever fail? I for one am fully convinced that now ff have sobered up after Galway, they will have a load of good plans to improve the economy. I can just see the cabinet meeting now -"Biffo,Biffo, I have a plan to create 300,000 jobs"
"Cop on O'Keefe, ya luder".



If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I laughed louder at that FF langer on the last word forbidding us from mentioning the J.y L..o show sketch.

myrak

Psychedelic wrote: »

Just checked the Fianna Fail website and the actual jobs creation program document isn't there to view - I wonder will it even be published or is it just this press release with references to the "plan" and its aims to create loads of jobs.


We already have Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA doing all the above work.

"Exploit marketing platforms such as St Patrick's Day and trade missions", what a load of garbage.

Passing the problems, the blame, the responsibility and the big bucks to yet another Quango.Brilliant .

5live

If it was that easy to create 300,000 jobs then why the hell didnt they start 3 years ago so we could have full employment in 2 years time. I am getting dizzy from spin. First a 50% increase in food exports( with, naturally, zero government investment) and now this. It is simply insulting. But any bets on FF vote not going below 30% when the election comes? Some people just wont learn

westtip

I had the first good nights sleep in ages last night - it was so reassuring to know you had woken up in a bankrupt, corrupt. leaderless country and to go to bed knowing that actually these guys in charge do have a plan and are going to lead us to victory armed with a .pdf file on their Ministry of do you wanna job we've got one for 300,000 of you website.

Then I heard on morning ireland that the ex PM of Iceland is to be charged with incompetence.

I reached for the Lexapro, smelt the coffee, smelt the roses and realised they had said iceland not ireland.

I am sick of it. I am sick of the photo opportunities on 6.1 I am sick of seeing that idiot at the helm, I am sick of them all I am so sick of it I was tempted this morning to steal a cement mixer and try and drive it into the Dail - then I found out someone else has nicked the only worthwhile job in the country trying to get rid of these bastrads.

When is the revolution actually going to start????