The number of jobs in companies supported by State agencies stood at over 300,000 last year, the latest figures show.
According to Forfás, the State umbrella body for such agencies as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, which published its annual report yesterday, the number of people working in businesses backed by these organisations has grown by 43,289 since 1997.
"Total full-time employment in companies under the remit of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and Údarás na Gaeltachta amounted to 305,062 in 2006, an increase of 5,927 on the previous year," the report says.
It shows that such firms accounted for the bulk of corporation tax paid in the Republic last year. "Total corporation tax from all sources was €5.5 billion in 2005, a slight increase in real terms on the previous year," the report says. "It is estimated that agency-supported firms accounted for €3 billion - 55 per cent - of the total corporation tax paid in the economy."
Commenting on the report yesterday, Forfás chief executive Martin Cronin warned that half a million Irish workers needed further education and training in order to have sufficient skills to stay at work between now and 2020.
He added that 300,000 of them do have their Leaving Certs.
"We must ensure that we do not have too many people with lower-level skills who will not be able to access employment and too few people with high-level skills to avail of opportunities available to them," he said.
