Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A good deal has been written about the skills shortages in recent times. Multinationals are flagging that the biggest challenge facing them is finding a sufficient number of skilled employees in the country. Does the Minister consider that the new structures being put place are adequate to address those shortages? The figures announced today are welcome and the fact that 58,000 more people have been in employment in the past 12 months is significant. Is the Minister optimistic that employment will be as strong in 2014? I would support the concept of strengthening and developing manufacturing much more than we have done, particularly in encouraging small businesses and industries in the more peripheral regions of the country.

We very much welcome the fact that a number of multinationals are creating significant levels of employment here but the problem in towns like Ballinasloe, from where I come and where there was a good deal of labour-intensive manufacturing, is that 1,000 industrial jobs have been lost during the past decade. The Minister mentioned apprenticeships and many fine apprentices were trained in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to support that level of manufacturing. As labour costs increased here many companies that were located in the west relocated to lower cost economies. We face the challenge of replacing some of those jobs and that will be only done through small indigenous companies providing services and small manufacturing-type operations. Is the Minister satisfied that the structures we have in place will help bridge those skill shortages? We have had many meetings with representatives of the hospitality industry in recent times and they have spoken about significant skill shortages, particularly a shortage of chefs. Will we be able to meet the demand that exists with the new structures that are being put in place?