The Government has issued an update action plan to create 200,000 extra jobs by 2020 to bring the total numbers of people at work to 2.18 million.
The new strategy outlines more than 300 actions that are to be implemented across Government departments and agencies. These include making all Government transactions with business available online from next year, doubling the intellectual property outputs from Irish firms, additional measures to support regional growth, and more mentoring and management development programmes.
The Government said since the Action Plan for Jobs strategy began in 2012, more than 13,000 “discrete actions” have been implemented. It claims that more than 135,8000 extra jobs have also been created.
Speaking at the event in Oberstown, Naas, Co Kildare, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government had exceeded its initial target of creating 100,000 additional jobs by 2016.
If returned to office, the Government planned to create another 200,000 jobs by 2020 in order to reach full employment, he said.
“A job is not just about an income. A job can transform a life and give a person a role and a real take and a sense of dignity and the capacity to follow career ambition and lifetime choices.”
Mr Kenny said Government wanted to see unemployment in all regions reduced to within one per cent of the national average in every region by 2020.
“It’s not an easy target and it will require a redoubling of efforts.”
Tánaiste Burton said that Ireland’s economic recovery had not been inevitable.
“There’s nothing inevitable about Ireland’s recovery. I think we need to be careful not to take this for granted, that it all happened just be accident,” she said.
Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton Irish workers had proven their capacity to fight back from the worst crash that the country ever experienced.
“Now we need to build on that...This Action Plan 2016 is, if you like, at a watershed point. We’re not setting the target to double the target we had on the last occasion,” Mr Bruton said.
“Not 100,000 jobs but 200,000 jobs over the coming years.”
The event was also attend by the Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash and Minister of State for Innovation Damien English.
