Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before he was the Minister for Finance, he was quite busy in Mr. Watt's Department. He now has two Departments. That is the point I am making. I saw a report from Mr. Watt's Department last month about the growth in public service numbers and the related planning. There is almost full employment. Mr. Watt has spoken of people's unwillingness to go to senior levels because they might have to listen to people like us.

I say this as somebody who, to put it on the record, is chairman of a school board in south Dublin. It is incredibly difficult. Mr. Watt can ask any principal in any school, particularly in south Dublin. It applies everywhere in the greater Dublin region. It is difficult to get staff. It is also difficult to retain staff, particularly if they have links with a rural area. Historically, the teacher might have come up from a rural area to Dublin. All of a sudden, there is a job available down the country, the rent or the house price is a quarter of what it is in Dublin, and the pay is the same. How will Mr. Watt retain and recruit staff, especially in Dublin? I mean that about all the urban centres in the regions. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get staff and that, ultimately, is part of Mr. Watt's gig.