12 January 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
BUSINESS NEWS: Govt TD highlights job creation in Cork
Employment growth increased 6% in 2021 for companies in the South region supported by Enterprise Ireland, a Fine Gael TD has said.
Cork North Central Deputy Colm Burke said: “Employment growth in Enterprise Ireland (EI) companies increased by 6% in the South region in 2021, a year of record jobs growth for EI companies who are connected to markets all over the world.
Colm Burke is a Cork North Central TD
“My colleague Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, TD has confirmed that nationally, net jobs created in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland increased by 11,911 in 2021, the highest jobs gain in a single year.
“Last year €61.6m in funding was approved nationally for 341 Covid-19 impacted companies in 2021. Employment increased across all economic sectors, with particularly strong jobs growth reported in Life Sciences (14%), Business Services (12%) and Digital Technology (10%).
“Employment growth under Fine Gael in government has consistently prioritised regional success, and these figures…. show that 68% of new jobs were created outside of Dublin.
“I want to see Cork and the South region continue to benefit from employment growth and a new Enterprise Ireland plan will be key to that. The new three-year strategy for Irish business has an ambition to create 45,000 new jobs by 2024 and increase exports to €30bn.
“Enterprise Ireland are very clear that the new strategy will support the Government’s National Economic Plan which has a strong focus on creating more and better jobs, and in ensuring that job creation occurs throughout the country.
“They will work closely with our Local Enterprise Offices, ensuring a flexible service to help companies recover from the effects of the pandemic.
“The focus now is on restoring the jobs lost in the pandemic and then grow employment beyond pre-pandemic levels. The Tánaiste has confirmed that as part of the Government’s ambitious vision for the future of our economy, there is a plan to bring job opportunities and growth to all parts of Ireland increasing total employment to a record high of 2.5 million by 2024”, Deputy Burke concluded.
Speaking at the launch yesterday, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, TD, said:
“Over 200,000 people now work in Enterprise Ireland client companies. That’s almost as many people working for multi-nationals. It’s great to see Irish exporting companies performing so strongly last year notwithstanding the disruption to trade caused by Brexit and the pandemic. There was a net increase in employment of almost 12,000.
“I am particularly pleased that jobs growth occurred in all regions with almost 70% of new jobs growth occurring outside of Dublin and particularly strong growth in the north-west and south-east. This is an extra-ordinary performance and I want to thank the Enterprise Ireland team for their phenomenal work in the year gone by. We are well on our way to meeting our target of having 2.5m people at work in Ireland by 2024.”
