Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentation. I tend to applaud myself as a politician in government, as we constantly hear of increased employment levels, with 1.9 million people travelling to work every day. The forecast economic growth is almost on a par with China at this stage. Nevertheless, there appear to be terrible contradictions within our society which the witnesses may be able to address.

I understand approximately 47% of the people who emigrated during the crisis had third level educational attainment and were in employment when they decided to emigrate. I do not know who provided such analysis but I know the 2020 project on employment highlights that approximately 20% of workers, based on 2010 figures, are in poor-quality jobs. As a prerequisite for reaching the EU 2020 employment target, we must adapt and improve job quality. Is it correct that these well-educated graduates are emigrating partly because industry in Ireland is not providing job satisfaction? We are talking about those with third level qualifications. Are there enough promotional outlets? Will the representatives of IBEC explain what they think is happening with this coterie of people? There is also the issue of those people trapped in low-paid employment who are dissatisfied in their work. Have we reached the stage where, presumably, one of the arguments must concern the issue of a living wage as against the basic and standard payment per hour? The living wage must be a key issue to be addressed.

There is a European figure that approximately 40% of employers are not convinced that they can find appropriately skilled persons and they question the level of educational attainment. A person may go through the university system and get a diploma or degree, but when he or she emerges, the person is not really the type wanted by those in industry. There is an argument that third level institutions should work more closely with industry, but at what stage do national educational institutions reconstruct their educational forms to appease industry? Is there an international trend towards industry determining the form of educational programming? Will independent universities adapt their progress in any case as they see how things evolve or develop in the international field?

The 47% statistic is shocking, as the people in question have been in employment. Are salary scales insufficient and is quality of life unacceptable? Are those who are dissatisfied with a job low-paid? It is a prerequisite of the 2020 programme that we resolve this problem by adapting and improving job quality for that coterie, so this may be a question for industry.