Mr. William Parnell:

I would like to respond to a couple of the points made by Senator White which have not yet been covered. She asked how young people find their way into certain sectors, such as forestry. It is clear that career guidance has a big part to play in this regard, as has the industry itself. There is a high level of churn in certain sectors, such as hospitality and retail, as people move around. Such sectors can encounter difficulties in recruiting people for certain positions. One of the recurring themes I am seeing through the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs is that industry can play a role in promoting certain sectors and in making it clear that there is a progression path in those sectors. It needs to be emphasised that people who enter the retail sector, for example, at the lowest level can rise to management level and earn handsome salaries. There is a clear role for career guidance teachers and industry itself. Perhaps we will see this developing over the coming months, for example, through the regional action plans for jobs and the regional skills forums, which are organised by the Department of Education and Skills.

The Senator also mentioned the local enterprise offices. I understand what she is saying about the level of service. The local enterprise offices are in their second year of operation and have gone through a process of change. The level of resources available to individual offices has varied because of the constraints on the number of staff that could be employed. Having said that, the objective of the Department working with the local authorities is to ensure there is a standardised quality of service. It was my understanding that the local enterprise offices would be able to provide named contacts in other areas. There would be a named contact to deal with a revenue issue, for example. I assure the Senator that the Department is very conscious of the issue of standardised quality across the system. We have been working on that issue since the initial establishment and bedding down of the local enterprise offices.

Deputy Crowe asked about the level of engagement between the North and the South. My colleague, Mr. Wrynn, might say a few words about the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation's involvement and collaboration with its counterparts in the North of Ireland.