Irish prime minister Enda Kenny has said that the government is "working day and night" to get people off the dole and is launching "an international charm offensive at the level of business, politics, diplomacy" to rebuild Ireland's reputation.

Kenny made his comments at the Cork Chamber of Commerce last Friday, where he announced that the government would soon publish its action plan for jobs, which will target the manufacturing , agri-food, digital games, ICT and tourism sectors.

He also announced a Micro Finance Loan Fund aimed to help small businesses access credit and spoke of building up the marine industry.

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"It is a wasted opportunity that our ocean economy only about 1.2 per cent of GDP compared with a world average of 2 per cent. Given our ample resources we must embrace our seas and no longer turn our back on it," said Kenny, according to TheJournal.ie.

The prime minister also spoke of the recent EU summit on a new fiscal agreement, saying that “responsible fiscal policy will bring stability and confidence not only to the Irish economy but to the European economy.”

“It is essential that future solutions to fiscal problems start to encourage more growth, more jobs, more exports,” Kenny added.