Package long on rhetoric, short on specifics

ANALYSIS:It remains to be seen whether the Coalition's 270 'actions' speak louder than words for the hundreds of thousands unemployed

“NO GOVERNMENT can directly create jobs, but they can directly remove the barriers to job creation.” These were the words of Taoiseach Enda Kenny as he launched the action plan for jobs yesterday.

His words are telling. Despite the rhetoric and headlines about 100,000 jobs, no new jobs were actually created yesterday. Instead we were presented with 270 measures designed to encourage and incentivise job creation and enterprise.

At a time when austerity and cutbacks seem to be the economic policy of choice across the euro zone, any move by the State to encourage business is positive.

After all, the ongoing downsizing of the public sector means the private sector will be the only source of job creation over the next few years.

But whether the 270 “actions” outlined in the plan will succeed in any meaningful improvement in employment levels is another question.

As most commentators were quick to point out yesterday, many of the proposals had already appeared in other guises, either in last year’s job initiative, the “Bord Snip Nua” report, or the recommendations from October’s global economic forum.

The Government countered this with a strong commitment to monitor and report on how the actions are implemented. One of the strengths of the plans is that each measure is accompanied by a timetable for implementation.

Of more concern is the abstract nature of some of the proposed measures. Leafing through the two volumes of documentation outlining the plan, the “actions” range from the general to the specific.

One proposal exemplifies this vagueness. It states Government departments will “take a series of actions to ensure that investment in energy (electricity and gas networks) infrastructure is as cost-effective as possible”.

Measuring the success of the plan is another obvious challenge.

The commitment to create 100,000 jobs over a four to five year period, equates to about 20,000-25,000 jobs a year, half of which will be spin-offs from jobs in manufacturing and internationally-traded services.

Enda Kenny indicated yesterday that the Government would not be bound to specific job-creation targets. For the hundreds of thousands of people unemployed, this may be cold comfort.