THE Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton has announced a new framework for development of the services sector, where he believes 117,000 extra jobs could be created by the year 2000.
Mr Bruton said the Government is changing its policy in favour of services companies to ensure that their full potential in terms of growth and employment creation can be achieved. No additional funds have been allocated for this programme, the Minister said.
Mr Bruton said yesterday that the services sector had been the "Cinderella" of industrial policy for far too long, and that this initiative was the first major step in mainstreaming policy for this sector.
The new policy means that certain companies would be eligible for support such as information and advice, access to seed and development capital and skills development assistance from the various State agencies.
The Government's targets for the creation of new job creation in the services sector would be underpinned by the new policy, he said.
"I am sending a very clear signal to business and other executive agencies that there is now an emphatic Government policy, within sensible financial criteria, to exploit the potential of the services sector to the full" the Minister said.
In future service companies will be able to receive support under three headings general enterprise support business capability building; and designated internationally traded services.
The Government believes that 100,000 of the new jobs will come in domestically traded services with 12,100 in foreign owned internationally traded services and 4,900 in Irish owned internationally trade services.
