Jobs backed by State agency drop

The number of people working for companies backed by State agency, Enterprise Ireland, fell by 218 to 143,310 this year, it said yesterday.

Enterprise Ireland, which supports home grown, export-oriented businesses, said that there were 8,680 new jobs created by companies it supports, primarily in internationally traded services. However, job losses elsewhere left the companies with a net fall in the number of people working for them of 218. The agency's statement said that Enterprise Ireland-backed companies are on course to generate €1 billion in new export sales in 2005.

Yesterday, its chief executive, Frank Ryan, said that productivity had increased in Irish manufacturing companies. He pointed out that while employment had fallen in engineering firms by 1.5 per cent, exports from this sector were up 12 per cent.

Enterprise Ireland is charged with implementing the Enterprise Strategy Group's recommendations. One of the key elements of this is developing Irish companies' skills in international sales and marketing.

Mr Ryan said yesterday that the agency has developed a course in this area, which will begin in January.

The agency has also approved support for €120 million worth of research and development projects. These are in a range of areas, including the food industry and technology. Enterprise Ireland has a target of increasing new export sales from Irish-founded businesses to €3 billion a year over the next three years.