Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree 100% with Mr. O'Brien on the issue of competitiveness. I have made a couple of points about housing, health, education. The international rankings are a wake-up call for us all. The best way to support SMEs and other businesses is a highly skilled, educated workforce, which we need to invest in. I speak to many of IBEC's members around the country who tell me the issue of competitiveness is real. We went through a period of austerity. There are very weary businesses out there. There is a big danger around competitiveness, wage inflation and all those issues. People need to survive in the real economy. They tell me about house prices and the cost of childcare. Is it not a catch-22 scenario? This year's budget has earmarked an additional €200 million for social housing. Rents will continue to go up. We are still not even catching up, never mind dealing with the lag that is there. Will that not put more pressure on businesses, and the wage demands that will come from workers? If they are operating in Dublin or its environs, or Cork or other areas, rents and house prices are going up, and wages need to match that. The cost of childcare is the second highest in Europe for couples and the highest for single parents. Is the way to deal with competitiveness within the sector to ensure we make that investment, especially in childcare, which can help to grow the labour force, to ensure businesses can survive in a scenario where we may be close to full employment?