Mr. Michael Stone:

It is important to note, looking at the areas where there is work, that it comes from outside the public sector. It comes from foreign direct investment and areas such as semi-conductor manufacture. The food sector is also in a growth phase at present. There are skills shortages in those sectors. Recently we met the Minister to discuss this shortage and to look at retraining existing tradesmen who may not have the skills in those sectors. The problem is that during the boom time the majority of the work was in the housing, retail and commercial sectors, the areas which are currently in the biggest trouble. Where there is growth, namely, in the industrial sectors, a different skill set is required of the tradesmen. We have been looking at the tradespeople we have and at ways of setting up courses to get them upskilled and back into the marketplace quickly.

For example, there is a very large project in Leixlip that we hope will come into place. Many people will know about that. There could be a situation where up to 6,000 workers would find work on that project by this time next year and yet there will be a shortage of workers. We have a worry about certain types of trades and we urgently need to get people upskilled. We believe there could be courses of six or nine months' duration in existing FÁS training centres that would allow these people, who are currently on the live register, be retrained and get back into the market to take up those positions.