Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is an international war for talent in certain key sectors. There is a worldwide scarcity of people who have experience and training in fields such as advanced data analytics.

I suppose all Ireland can do is to ensure that we seek to educate as many of them as we can. Through the agreement with the former Minister for Education and Skills, we are more than doubling our ICT provision. We have set a target of delivering 74% of the need in the ICT area. As the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, will corroborate, we have stepped up the Springboard programme, and colleges are putting more people through these courses. There is an ambition to expand that. The companies have been really supportive of the training and they are placing trainees. The system in place is very good. However, there will continue to be a scarcity of those with additional language skills, for example.

We have introduced legislation to streamline the work permit system. However, it is still is the case that an employer must recruit, meaning that a person cannot simply come to Ireland and ask to work. The employer is the primary recruiter but we have designated areas of skills in which the regulations are clear and open. There are very few administrative hoops to be faced in areas of skills shortages but in areas not experiencing skills shortages the needs of the labour market still apply. However, the turnaround time for dealing with work permits has been much reduced. I refer to the evident proportion of work permits issued for high skills areas with ICT being a dominant sector. The permit system is responding to skills shortages.