Govt Launches Dublin Action Plan For Jobs

The government has launched the Dublin Action Plan for Jobs, which aims to deliver 10-15% employment growth in the capital.

The Dublin Plan is the last of eight regional plans to have been published as part of a new €250 million jobs strategy led by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.

Key sectors targeted as part of the plan include technology, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, tourism and retail as well as "smart cities" and the creative industries.

Among the 90 actions in the plan to be delivered over the period 2016-2018 include: 

• Start-ups – We will increase the number of businesses starting and surviving by 25%, and deliver a 30% increase in Irish companies growing to scale, by measures including establishing StartUpSpaceDublin to increase the networking and co-working space for entrepreneurs across the city, measures to promote Dublin as a location for mobile start-ups, measures to increase the availability of mentoring

• Foreign investment – IDA Ireland will deliver 430 additional investments in the years to 2019

• Skills – we will double the spend in upskilling by businesses in Dublin, establish a Regional Skills Forum in Dublin, establish a new Technological University in Dublin

• Innovation – 20% increase in spend on R&D by foreign companies, and 20% more Irish companies active in RD&I, 33% more collaborations between business and research/tech centres

• Dublin "the Ideas Capital" – we will make Dublin an exemplar of a "smart city" internationally, testbedding new technologies which use big data and the internet of things to improve city life. The Smart Dublin Project Team, involving the four Local Authorities will progress a range of initiatives in this area, including rolling out "smart districts", a Dublin Internet of Things Demonstrator project and a Street of the Future project

• Tourism – Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland are targeting up to a 7% annual increase in visitor numbers to hit 6.2million visitors and €2.5billion spend by 2020

• Creative – expand the audio-visual sector in Dublin, both as a production location and a pool for talent and enterprise

• Great place to live and work – we will identify and improve the key indicators which can increase Dublin's position in high-profile international rankings, we will develop and promote Dublin as a 'city of villages', with a variety of locations with their unique sense of place , and develop a new integrated settlement and transport strategy as part of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy

• Implementation – a comprehensive implementation structure is being established to ensure delivery of the plan.

Announcing the plan, Minister Bruton said: "Jobs are growing right across the country, but they are growing faster in some regions than in others. That is why we have put in place the €250million regional jobs strategy, to support regions to play to their strengths and accelerate jobs growth in every area. 

"Dublin as the capital city and only city over 1 million population is a real driver of economic growth for Ireland. Getting the jobs market right in Dublin is crucial to our overall economic health as a country. The city suffered badly during the crash, with 90,000 jobs lost, but we have made up major ground since we launched our Action Plan for Jobs, with 64,000 extra jobs created and around half of that growth coming in the exporting companies which my Department supports.

"This growth won't automatically continue, and with the wrong policies we could easily slip backwards. That is why we are putting in place this plan – to make the changes to support start-ups, increase multinational investment, target growing sectors of the future and promote Dublin internationally and ultimately create the jobs that we need.

"I am convinced that with the right support from Government through the Dublin Plan, we can keep the recovery going and create jobs right across the capital. In this way we can deliver 66,000 extra jobs over the coming years which will allow us to surpass the peak levels of employment seen during the boom, but this time on a sustainable basis – putting money back into communities and lives back on track right across the city".

(MH/CD)