Moving up the jobs ladder

IRISH TIMES -- The government received its final Enterprise Strategy Report and it's interesting to note comments from the opposition. Reaction from TD Brendan Howlin was illuminating: "It is a striking fact that many of the new jobs which Ireland must seek to create will be filled by people who are already at work," which highlights the need for continuous training.

Labour's Brendan Howlin thinks the "model of economic development which served us well in the past" won't deliver for Ireland in the future. Howlin criticises the government for being unable to respond "quickly and flexibly to identified needs."

Fine Gael's Phil Hogan observes, "It is surely an indictment of the current government that a report of this nature has to recommend that the Cabinet should schedule twice-yearly meetings dedicated to enterprise and to prioritising cross-departmental responses."

The Greens said the report echoed many of the arguments that Ireland can no longer depend on a low-tax regime to attract overseas investment.

---

Mark Hennessy -- "Labou warns against complacent State" in The Irish Times, July 8, 2004.
x_ref153