Taoiseach insists growth is key as he promises 100,000 new jobs by 2015

TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny has promised the creation of 100,000 jobs by 2015. He was speaking at the publication of the Government’s action plan for jobs and said the issue was the sole focus of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

Mr Kenny said the Government would be sticking to its commitment that there would be no increase in income tax in the budget in two weeks’ time as part of its strategy on jobs and growth.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore also told a press conference at the Government press centre that 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 that 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 multiannual action plan for jobs with quarterly targets for delivery 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 yesterday. “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,” said Mr Bruton.

He said a wide range of initiatives would be contained in January’s action plan.

These include three measures to help combat the problems that businesses at all levels face in accessing credit:

- The establishment of a micro-finance loan fund to generate up to €100 million in additional micro-enterprise lending which will benefit over 5,000 businesses over a 10-year period. The fund will be in place in the first quarter of 2012

- The establishment of a temporary partial credit guarantee scheme. Mr Bruton will now proceed to draft legislation and shortly appoint an operator for the scheme which will also be in place in the first quarter of next year. The scheme will be demand-led, and every €100 million guaranteed will benefit over 1,200 businesses, and provide at least €15 million in net benefit to the exchequer.

- An initiative worth about €60 million under Innovation Fund Ireland also to take place in the first quarter of 2012, after the recent finalisation of the capital budgets of Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

Mr Bruton said the Government recognised that alongside the adjustments to the public finances, which we must make in order to reclaim our sovereignty, we must also crucially implement measures, which would make it easier for job-creating businesses to expand, grow and create the jobs we so badly need.