Mr. Brian Cotter:

The Deputy asked why the education sector is not meeting the needs of the expanding technology sector, which thankfully has been experiencing a boom. Many US technology companies look to Ireland when they are locating the headquarters of their European operations. They have a demand for skills. Over the last five or six years, between 60% and 70% of US investment in Ireland has come from companies that are already here. That is an incredible vote of confidence. The companies in question are looking to expand.

When we express our concerns, we have to be conscious of the context in which we make our remarks. There is a global shortage of skills. We are not unique. We are in a high GDP developed market. Historically, there has not been a tendency for such markets to produce the same level of technology skills. People sometimes get diverted into other skills and trades. The other context is that we had a boom in construction and domestic demand that lasted between ten and 15 years. This encouraged and made it attractive for people to join State services or get involved in retail and construction. To a large extent, there have been two generations that did not look kindly on the opportunities that presented themselves in the technology sector. I mention those two factors to give some background information.

We are now in the fortunate position of having companies that wish to expand. They are finding excellent graduates coming from Irish institutions, but not enough of them. The best graduates are still very highly regarded. As the Deputy will know, Ireland has expanded its third level output. Over half of the population under the age of 35 has a third level degree. It is interesting to note the increase in graduate outputs that has taken place since the end of the construction boom. According to figures from the HEA, over the last five years engineering outputs have increased by 21%, computing outputs have increased by 50% and science outputs have increased by almost 20%. These things are to be welcomed.

The combined efforts of the Departments of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Education and Skills and the HEA have allowed people who have one set of skills to convert them into something more relevant. The people in question did not wake up stupid one morning. They might have been in the wrong sector. We need to see how we can get those people to transfer to another sector. At least 2,000 new third level graduates with ICT skills are coming through next year. A further 1,500 people are being converted and will have those skills at the end of that process. The companies that have used and invested in the JobBridge programme have found it very useful as a means of converting skills. We are meeting some of the demand that exists, even though there is still a shortage in some sectors. As long as those sectors are demanding people, it is a signal that they are expanding.

If large international companies that are based in Ireland or the United States are to service a European marketplace, their workers will need to have a diverse set of skills. Therefore, it will not be unusual for them to have a European profile. We want to make sure that as many people as possible who come through the Irish system can take those jobs. The companies in question would not be as successful without their European profiles. We are enjoying some success because we can pull in and assemble fantastic teams of people. The teams in question will continue to be dominated by people of varying nationality and ethnicity who have come through Irish institutions. That is where we want to be. I think the real success of the Irish system is that it is able to function in this way.

It needs to be borne in mind that for every job that comes in, there are other indirect jobs in support or in the indirect economy. All of that is important. We must let the opportunity grow. We must encourage a continued increase in the uptake of science and engineering courses and continued improvements in maths. I welcome the improved maths scores through the secondary system. The issue of languages is in the long grass. We are not quite sure how we are going to tackle that. A large percentage of our educational time is given to Irish and English. That is the way the priorities have been. It does not leave much space for other languages. If we decide to address that, there will have to be a focus on long-term change because it will take a long time to build those skills and put them into the marketplace.

The Chairman spoke about his trips to the United States. I often say to people that I was impressed when I visited Salt Lake City recently. Its economy is basically driven by agriculture and mining, but it is trying to reinvent itself. When the authorities there examined what they could use to that end, they discovered that the Mormon church is one of their greatest assets, albeit not in the context that one might think. As part of its mission, the Mormon church sends young men around the world to target countries. They are given years of language training before they go to these marketplaces - if I may call them that - for two years to talk to people on the ground. When they come back, they rejoin the local society, community and economy.

Salt Lake City is trying to reorient itself to avail of a huge resource. It is particularly targeting Asia because a large number of Americans speak Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese and south-east Asian languages. When we look to languages, that is the kind of investment we need to be able to make. We want to encourage students to take up languages and support them to go into the marketplace for an extended period in order to become fluent. We understand that educational resources are narrow at the moment. We need a strategy for the medium and longer terms.

We must start thinking about it now in that context.