Taoiseach Enda Kenny has promised the creation of 100,000 new jobs by 2015.
He was speaking at the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs where he said the issue was the sole focus of a Cabinet meeting today.
Mr Kenny said the Government would be sticking to its commitment not to increase income tax in the budget as part of its strategy to support jobs and growth.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore told a press conference at the Government Press Centre jobs and growth were the Government’s highest priority.
He said one element of the Government’s strategy was the creation of the Global Irish Network and as part of that it was hoped to make Ireland the “Davos for the arts” next year.
Mr Gilmore said even in the middle of a highly demanding budgetary crisis, the Government was making a deliberate choice to protect household budgets as far as they could.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said the Government recognised the necessity for measures that would make it easier for job creating business people to expand and grow.
He said the Government was committed to a multi-annual action plan for jobs with quarterly targets for every year and a monitoring group to oversee implementation, in a new departure in government policy in order to address the jobs crisis.
The measure was one of a series agreed at a special Cabinet meeting on employment today.
The Cabinet today met for the third time this week for further deliberations on cuts in the forthcoming budget and agreed a number of new initiatives to support small businesses.
In this morning’s meeting Ministers focused on two primary issues – social welfare and the jobs initiative. Next week the Cabinet will concentrate on how the Government will raise €1.6 billion in tax and duties.
“The Government has set the ambition of making Ireland the best small country in Europe in which to do business by 2016, and the Action Plan for Jobs will seek to deliver on that," Mr Bruton.
“The Government recognises the crucial need, in order to address the jobs crisis, for an ambitious programme of job-creating and pro-growth measures alongside the restructuring of the public finances and banking systems,” he said.
He said a wide range of initiatives would be will be contained in January’s Action Plan for Jobs.
These include three measures to help combat the problems that businesses at all levels face in accessing credit:
- Government sanctions establishment of a Micro Finance Loan Fund to generate up to €100 million in additional lending to small businesses which will benefit over 5,000 businesses over a ten year period. The fund will be in place in the first quarter of next year.
- It will support firms refused collateral or those in innovative sectors which banks decline to fund because they feel it’s too risky.
- The establishment of a Temporary Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme. Mr Bruton said he will draft legislation and will shortly appoint an operator for the scheme which will also be in place in the first quarter of 2012.
- This scheme will be demand-led, and for every €100 million guaranteed more than 1,200 businesses will benefit, according to the Government, and will provide at least €15 million in net benefit to the exchequer.
Director general of Ibec, Danny McCoy, said business welcomed new efforts by the Government to tackle the jobs crisis.
"We look forward to seeing more details on these plans in January. It is crucial that business is involved in the process, including representation on the monitoring group.
“It is vital that efforts to support jobs are not torpedoed by short-sighted new taxes or charges on employment, such as recent proposals to change illness benefit and redundancy schemes. We need a coherent approach by all government departments to the jobs crisis.”
