Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ministers for their contributions today. This committee is examining the area of ICT and other skills. Witnesses have told us of their experiences, particularly in industry, in assessing relevant skills. We have looked at what the Higher Education Authority is offering as well as both Departments represented here. ICT skills have been highlighted in the media and they come up repeatedly. I commend the Government on the ICT action plan. The response we have had from industry, both the indigenous and international sectors, has been very positive. We look forward to the first conversion output early next year.

The wording may not have been correct but we did not intend that somebody would get a visa to come here and look for a job. The intention of the committee's report was for it to be job specific. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, has outlined his thinking in this area, including the fact that one job created at a higher level can create up to five jobs in the economy, be they IT graduates or from outside the IT area. We found that the IDA seems to have a fast track if needed, but that was not the case with indigenous companies which did not seem to have that access and there was a timescale involved.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Quinn, for his contribution. I wish him well with the literacy and numeracy changes, particularly in project maths. They will be very relevant as students transfer to third level.

The committee has followed the various reports of the expert group on future skills needs. That group has spoken to us about difficulties with languages and we have all read the headlines regarding PayPal in this respect. The expert group on future skills recommended the establishment of a foreign language education policy across all education sectors. I wonder how that fits with the Department of Education and Skills. We also found that there should be continual dialogue on developing skills needs, given the overarching interaction between education and industry.