Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton reiterated his aim of having 100,000 additional people in work by 2016.

He said Ireland was competing in a tough global environment and new people had been put into the field in overseas markets through the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.

“We are on a journey to move away from an economy that became too dependent on property . . . It will take time for new policies to deliver results.”

Fianna Fáil spokesman Dara Calleary said the quarterly household survey published last week showed a dramatic lag in job creation.

Mr Bruton said employment had now grown on an annual basis for six quarters in succession.

Employment claims

“By comparison, when this Government came into office the economy was losing an average of 1,600 jobs per week,” he added. “Furthermore, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen from 15.1 per cent at the start of 2012 to 12 per cent in 2014.”

Mr Bruton said the quarterly national household survey headline figures showed an annual increase of 42,700 people in employment in the 12 months ending the first quarter of this year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment had increased in that period by 1,700 on the previous quarter, he added.

“This represents a year-on-year increase of 2.3 per cent in the number of people in employment and the highest percentage increase in quarter one since 2007.”

Mr Bruton said that while many indicators gave grounds for confidence that job growth could be sustained, the first quarter figures were a reminder of the need to work relentlessly to improve competitiveness.