Ms Louise Allen:

I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for his questions. In terms of how we compare internationally, we rank like with like. Our challenge is that we do not have a huge number of product or industrial design companies of a scale which can compete from a cost perspective. One of the stories in Milan is about a company called Dolmen, which has launched a device called Moocall. I think it did it in partnership with the IFA. It alerts farmers as to when a cow is about to calve. It will send an alert to both the vet and the farmer. Globally, that kind of product is worth billions. The committee will be able to do the maths itself.

The point about the diaspora and the brain drain is critical. We need, from a policy perspective, to start putting in enablers and infrastructure to make it attractive for our designers and our design community to remain in Ireland. The whole fabric of manufacturing and production is changing radically. I had a discussion with the CEO of Casino, which is one of the largest Italian furniture manufacturers in the world. He was saying that even the Italian industry is changing. A democratisation of manufacturing and producing is happening worldwide, and Liam Casey is responsible for some of this. This gives the potential to individual or small companies to make and compete globally. It also means there are more mergers and acquisitions, so they are competing against very large global corporations. We need to put the infrastructure and supports in place for those on the middle ground. We are not going to compete at every level, but we can identify where we can compete.

The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland has commissioned an audit of producing and making in Ireland. Irish Design 2015 is also looking at a programme to see how we can map our resources. Often the problem is not that we do not have the skills here, but rather that we do not have the visibility of the skills available in Ireland. It is very important to bring some kind of a brokerage system to bear in order that we can enable people to produce efficiently and effectively in Ireland.

We were asked what gaps there are in training at third level. The animation sector, for example, finds it quite challenging to recruit animators in Ireland, although it is a thriving sector. In respect of the fashion and textile sector, which was mentioned, we are working closely with the British Fashion Council. It provides supports over a three-year period and a lot of that support is directly into the trade. It will have placements with fashion manufacturers, producers and designers.

This gives those graduates the kind of live training and hands-on knowledge they need when they want to go out and make a name and business for themselves. We have seen many of our designers return to Ireland over the past number of years and we need to incentivise them to remain here.