Joan Freeman (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Senator Ó Céidigh on organising this event. I have been enlightened in so many ways. I address my first question to Ms O'Toole and the second to Mr. Doheny. I have just come back from travelling the country. Ireland exists outside of Dublin, even though most people think that it does not. I have seen that many counties have been neglected, especially in the area of employment. Ms O'Toole decided to keep her business in Connemara, which is commendable because she is creating employment there. As a female, what can she do to encourage other young women to have the courage to start up a business and remain in rural areas?

I started a suicide intervention charity in 2006 and the economic crisis hit us a couple of years later. One of the awful things about that was an immediate rise in suicides among construction workers. I heard Mr. Doheny state it was not possible to get the personnel that are needed. Is there a project in schools to encourage young people to consider construction as a possible career path? I refer in particular to apprenticeships. We could have another economic crisis and it would severely impact on farmers and construction workers. Is a plan in place that would kick in if that were to happen again?