Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas as an cur i láthair inniu. My first couple of questions are for the Minister, Deputy Bruton. I applaud all the good work that is being done with regard to ICT development in this State, which obviously is one of those demand-led developments internationally. I have a worry that when people discuss jobs in general, they often focus on the ICT sector very quickly and it is important to recognise that the proportion of the whole, that is, of all jobs in the State, made up by ICT is approximately 4.6%. It is the second smallest sector in the State and while one must recognise the creation of a single job is a positive development, I believe one sometimes can get distracted by the shining light of ICT from the rest of the gloom with the result that one focuses in on a very small sector to the detriment of other sectors that would breathe more life into resolving the major jobs crisis we face at present. I seek an understanding of what role the Minister expects ICT to play within the general economy. Can he provide members with an understanding of what are his objectives for job creation in ICT in general?

Some 10,000 jobs have been created since 2007 in that area. What is the objective regarding ICT creation this year, next year and to the end of this Government's period in office?

The infrastructure necessary for developing ICT, such as broadband technology and education, is very unevenly distributed throughout the State. In talking about ICT we are ruling out probably 70% of the country because people in those areas do not have broadband to access the miracle words such as cloud computing. Outside the four major cities in this State it will be very hard for any of this to have meaning for the rest of the economy.

I applaud the advantages taken for these areas, but we are seeking an even delivery if possible. Over the next four years, the Government plans a 50% coverage of high-speed broadband but in the Northern of Ireland the figure is 95%.

I also have a question for the Department of Education and Skills. There is a major opportunity at the moment in terms of outreach to schools and local companies. LEOs are currently being developed by the office of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton. I would like to see every provincial LEO have an outreach function with a third level institution. In that way, third level students would be working with LEOs and local businesses. It would be for their benefit but also business is attracted to where third level institutions are functioning. That would give it a much broader footprint that it currently has.

We often look at the labour market in this State as literally being the 26 counties, but everybody knows that labour travels throughout the whole 32 counties. We strategically plan on a 26-county basis and implement at that level. Given that the labour market is so mobile, however, what can be done to plan strategically from all third level institutions on the island of Ireland and implement from there as well?