When the Action Plan for Jobs was first launched it was against a backdrop of emigration, job losses and a lack of credit for SMEs. Thankfully the economic landscape has changed. We are creating jobs and Ireland is the fastest growing economy in Europe. But this growth has not been evenly spread and many areas have yet to benefit” commented Andrew Doyle Fine Gael TD for Wicklow/Carlow East.
“The Action Plan for Jobs 2015 was launched this morning by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD. This is the next step in the multi-annual process which is working towards delivering full employment by 2018, two years ahead of schedule.
“However this year the plan is focused on spreading the recovery to all regions of the country and on building on the potential of local areas like our own county Wicklow. The Regional Enterprise Strategy will be rolled out shortly across the country. This strategy will include competitive funding initiatives of up to €25 million to promote innovative collaborations to support entrepreneurial activities, exploiting our regional advantage and promoting the required economic infrastructure to attract investment.
“Rural Ireland and our regional towns have many strengths and bags full of potential but it’s about how we harness this. Funding will be used to exploit regional competitive advantage and promote the required economic infrastructure to attract investment.
“This will consist of making areas like the Wicklow attractive to new business but it will also mean taking advantage of the strengths we already have. In 2015 a new tourism brand will be developed for the South East and the Midlands building on the success of the Wild Atlantic Way. We aim to attract 7.7 million oversee visitors to Ireland in 2015 as we work towards bringing employment in the Tourism sector to 250,000.
“Additional reforms which will be launched throughout this year that will impact on a range of sectors. I very much welcome new measures introduced to support start-ups including a new Start-up Refunds for Entrepreneurs Scheme (SURE) tax incentive and a Start-up Gathering to be held in 2015.
“There will be an increased focus on job creation in the domestic economy including measures to support the retail, construction and agriculture sectors and to position Ireland at the forefront of innovation in energy related research.”
“We need to see growth and improvement in all areas of the country. We need to support new business here in Wicklow to provide opportunities for our young people. Job-creation is the Government’s top priority. Every job created is a life changed, a family improved, a community enhanced.
“The Government is now in a position to give back to those who have sacrificed so much over the past number of years. From this month, people will for the first time, feel changes made to USC and tax in Budget 2015. There is no doubt there is still a lot more work to do, but this plan is focused with real targets that will benefit all parts of the country.”