The State's population will grow by about 45,000 each year for most of the next decade, the Minister of State for Enterprise and Employment has said.
Mr Tom Kitt said growth will be fuelled by a high rate of job creation. He accepted some IT firms had fallen by the wayside due to slower economic growth in the US but said demand for workers was still outpacing domestic supply in the Republic. The Republic "will warmly welcome those with the right range of skills," he said at the opening of a jobs fair in Moscow hosted by FAS, the State training and employment agency. Many domestic and multinational firms had difficulty recruiting qualified staff, he said. The shortage was most acute in the construction, finance, electronics, tourism and healthcare sectors. "Our net immigration is now 45,000 a year and this is forecast to continue at that level for most of the next decade."
He was keen to link the jobs initiative with an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Moscow, which begins today. The Government is sensitive to fears of brain drain in Russia, which would suck highly-trained but poorly-paid workers from the local economy. The State had already issued 8,000 work permits this year to workers from outside the EU, Mr Kitt said. This was forecast to rise to 32,000 for the entire year. Such a rate is 14,000 more than in 2000, though the figure would include renewals of permits issued earlier.
FAS has been allocated #5 million (£3.9 million) to continue its Jobs Ireland programme this year and next.
The programme was initiated last year and fairs have been hosted in South Africa, Britain, the US, India and Germany. About 15 firms with operations in the Republic sought workers at the fair, which was attended by about 14,000 people on Saturday and yesterday.
They included IT groups such as Microsoft and Logica, and other firms such as the recruitment agency, Ark Personnel, and supermarket group Superquinn. Visitors registered on an online database and attended seminars on Irish life. Some firms had already made job offers within hours of the fair opening, according to the director of Jobs Ireland, Mr Greg Craig. He said: "Real business is being done. Real people are being recruited. "
The agency was keen to stress to employers that foreign workers must earn the same rates as their Irish counterparts. It may find jobs for up to 1,500 Russians this year.
