Professor John FitzGerald:

We began investing in education around 1970 with a major ramping up, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. We kept children in school until 16 years of age and they continued on to do the leaving certificate and to go on to university. However, it takes a long time to replace my generation who did not have that opportunity. The effects of education take a very long time.

I said to French counterparts at an international meeting that their problem in France was the high unemployment rate and that low-skilled people were locked out. I said they needed education and they said that would take 20 years. I said it takes 20 years but if they did not start now they would be going nowhere.

The one thing that could speed up the adjustment in Northern Ireland is the fact that there is a very large number of Northern Irish graduates abroad. If they could be attracted back to Northern Ireland that is how to upgrade at the top. However, that would not deal with the problem of the kids who are being failed by the educational system at the bottom. A paper by Iulia Siedschlag of the ESRI for the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland showed that education is hugely important in where foreign direct investment, FDI, locates, not just in these islands but across Europe. That could make a difference in Northern Ireland and would speed up the process. It is urgent that we attract those people back. Large numbers of people emigrated from here in the 1980s and we - and they - thought they were going and never coming back. They turned out to be homing pigeons and research by the ESRI and Professor Alan Barrett shows that people who emigrate and come back bring new skills and a different language with them. Returning emigrants raised productivity by 10%. That would be a quick win for Northern Ireland but I will leave the question of how to achieve it to those who are in Northern Ireland.