Mr. Michael Moriarty:

I will address Senator Paul Daly's remarks on the importance of skills and the budgetary pressure that will arise in respect of education and training. As my colleague, Ms McHugh, has alluded to, very significant pressure will be created by additional students in education and training availing of courses south of the Border rather than north of the Border or on the UK mainland if there is a hard Brexit, which is the big imponderable. The British Treasury estimates that every 1% drop in GDP in the UK will give rise to a 0.4% drop in GDP in Ireland. There is significant pressure. I will address the context in terms of skills later. The International Institute for Management Development, IMD, World Competitiveness Yearbook has ranked Ireland first in the world for skilled labour. We are ranked first for flexibility and adaptability and second for openness to foreign investment. In 2014, ManpowerGroup ranked Ireland the global leader for availability of skills. It is very obvious that economic globalisation has transformed the Irish economy, as all those present know. The Irish GDP growth rate is three times the EU average.

In regard to Senator Paul Daly's remarks on the importance of skills, ETBs are now involved in the development of apprenticeships. A big problem with apprenticeships and traineeships is they have been very much associated with blue-collar activities. We are now developing apprenticeships in white collar activities such as insurance brokerage, the legal profession, commis chef and other activities in the hospitality sector. We are broadening things considerably. This week, one course to become a commis chef is almost over the line and will be announced shortly. Kerry ETB is taking the lead with that course. That is our first apprenticeship since the training centres came into being. Traineeships are as important as apprenticeships and we need a budget sufficient to provide for them both. There is going to be huge pressure on education and training budgets. There will also be the pressure of maintaining competitiveness on the world stage. When the ETBI holds seminars with the business community, business people tell us a big problem is that those applying for jobs have no work experience. While applicants may have masters degrees, they are completely unfamiliar with the work environment. This is where apprenticeships and traineeships come in, some of which can now be pursued up to levels 6 to 10, or the equivalent of a doctorate. The glass ceiling or belief that an apprenticeship or traineeship is second rate is now gone and that is as it should be. I contributed an article published in today's edition of the Irish Examineron an issue that I have been raising for a significant period, namely, the fixation of Irish mothers or fathers with the concept that accessing third level is a badge of honour. The area of skills, apprenticeships and traineeships will be a cornerstone of the future economic development of this country. Although our growth rate is rising, there will be massive pressure on providing more places in education, training, apprenticeships and traineeships. Two thirds of school leavers in Switzerland take up apprenticeships, while in Ireland less than 10% do so. That is a very small percentage. That is a structural weakness in the Irish economy which must be addressed and overcome. ETBs, which are an amalgam of VECs and the training division of FÁS, have been brought together in the regions to consolidate and streamline the delivery of education and training. That cannot be done on a shoestring budget. We have come to a very significant transformation process, as Senator Paul Daly, who is very involved with the ETBs, is aware. Senator Mark Daly may also be aware, although I am unsure of his level of involvement. It is critically important that the ETBs are the delivery arms in the regions.

As Ms McHugh said, there is a clear perspective in the Border regions on the impact of Brexit. We do not know whether it will be a hard or soft Brexit. However, the challenges facing Ireland, whether in industry, farming, SMEs or, in particular, the area of skills, will be very significant in the context of the Irish education system having to provide for thousands of extra students who otherwise would have gone to the UK for third-level education. It is a big risk for us but it is a challenge that must be addressed. The second big challenge facing the education and training sector is the great need to expand our skills base in terms of apprenticeships and traineeships.