Building on the 2013 Plan three new Disruptive Reform topics have been targeted in a range of sectors. In manufacturing, for example, part of a plan to create 40,000 additional manufacturing jobs by 2020, includes a programme of new measures to support productivity improvements and higher levels of R&D in Irish and multinational manufacturing businesses.

The Tánaiste Eamonn Gilmore TD said: “When this Government came to office, we were losing 7000 jobs a month – now we are gaining 5000 per month. We can afford at this stage to be far more confident about our prospects than at any time since the crisis began.”