IDA Ireland helps create a record 14,930 jobs in 1997

IDA Ireland recorded its fourth record-breaking year in succession for job creation in 1997 and 1998 is already shaping up to be even more successful, the agency said yesterday.

In total, the IDA helped create close to 15,000 new positions in 1997 and saw a net growth in its client companies of almost 10,000 jobs.

But, despite its success in attracting overseas investment, the agency's chairman, Mr Denis Hanrahan, said it was time for the IDA to re-examine its role. In the months ahead, the IDA will try to place more focus on economic development, persuading companies already operating in the Republic to upgrade their workers' skills.

Outlining the results, the IDA's chief executive, Mr Kieran McGowan, said the 14,930 new jobs represented a 10 per cent growth in total employment in companies supported by the agency.

Mr McGowan also said he would be stepping down as chief executive at the end of the year to take up new career opportunities.

IDA Ireland paid out a total of £134 million in grants on 243 projects last year - 61 green-field developments, 63 expansions and the rest in the International Financial Service Centre in Dublin - Mr McGowan said.

Nearly 8,000 of the new jobs were in the electronics and engineering sector, with another 4,000 in internationally traded services such as software, telesales and financial services. The healthcare sector saw almost 1,500 new jobs.

The cost to the Exchequer for each job sustained over a seven-years period to the end of 1997 had also dropped, the IDA said, and was now at £11,714. This compares with £11,850 to the end of 1996, £19,517 to the end of 1992 and £32,419 to the end of 1987.

The agency said job losses, at nearly 5,000, were "in line with expectations" arising from the normal course of business development and change. Figures for the growth of employment in IDA Ireland supported companies show a steady increase from a 1991 low of 915 to 7,324 in 1996 and 9,985 last year.

"This rapid growth has brought with it new demands for an unrelenting commitment to the ongoing development of a world class industrial infrastructure in Ireland to ensure the sustained competitiveness of these businesses in Ireland," Mr McGowan said.

Mr Hanrahan pointed out that the Republic was the only state in northern Europe that did not have a national motorway network, and said this would have to change if growth in employment outside Dublin was to continue.

"The roads are improving, but clearly they are still not up to the standard of our competitors," he added.

Another key issue was education and training, Mr Hanrahan said, which would continue to be a critical determining factor for overseas companies. Mr McGowan said that while there had been some tightening over the year in the availability of skilled employees, such shortages tended to be global in nature, and the Republic had in fact maintained its relative advantage.

Mr McGowan said progress at the half-year stage of 1998 was already better than at the same point in 1997.

"There is no indication of any overall slowdown in the key markets for foreign direct investment, with slight adjustments in some areas being compensated for by growth in others," he said.

Projects in the pipeline, especially in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector, would likely deliver another record year for job creation, Mr McGowan said.

"Site visits by potential investors, which is a good indicator of future trends, are on a par with 1997 and running at over 10 visiting groups every week across all sectors," he added.

Mr Hanrahan said that, with the greater Dublin area now approaching full employment, the agency would spend the next six months re-assessing its role. He predicted that IDA Ireland would focus less on simple job placement and more on economic development. This would mean constantly trying to persuade multinational companies based in the Republic to upgrade the skills of their workforce, boosting productivity and making the firms less likely to pull out of Ireland.