Press Statement

1 February 2017

Action Plan for Jobs 2017 Key Pillar of Ireland’s Brexit Strategy

Government Must Focus on Meeting Ambitious Jobs Targets

Chambers Ireland today (1 February 2017) welcomed the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs 2017. Commenting on the Action Plan, Ian Talbot, Chief Executive of Chambers Ireland said, “We support the Government commitment to the target of adding 200,000 jobs to our economy by 2020 and the ambitious aim of 45,000 new jobs in 2017.”

“We welcome the cross-departmental approach to the implementation of strategies to create jobs and support Irish businesses. This Plan will require a coordinated effort from across Government to deliver on these ambitious objectives. The Irish economy has been performing well over the past number of years, but we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent. With the impending UK withdrawal from the EU and the evolving external trade policy of the United States, Ireland will face serious challenges in 2017. The APJ 2017 is an opportunity to focus the minds of policy makers and job creators.”

“The focus on diversifying Ireland’s trade footprint outlined in the Plan is a welcome recognition of the specific challenges arising from Brexit uncertainty. Building the capacity of our indigenous SMEs to export will take on a new importance as our traditional markets become more difficult to access. Chambers Ireland has long advocated for the introduction of an SME focused export finance scheme, and we particularly welcome the announcement of an Export Finance pilot scheme to help our SMEs to access new markets.”

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