Ms Jenny De Saulles:

In terms of overseas, we currently have a tender out at the moment. As Mr. Cummins mentioned, there is a lot of good work being done by employers to secure international staff. One of the things that we are looking to do is map the markets and identify where Ireland can be competitive in an incredibly competitive market, which has been said. We must identify the access points and we, in Fáilte Ireland, will help businesses to access them.

One of the other key points about recruitment is capability. We need to remember that many tourism businesses are small SME businesses and they do not have human resources or HR teams. One of the big things that we are doing is helping them to build competitiveness in the recruitment process. As Mr. Fenn has said, with 5% unemployment the market is no longer about where a person can get a job but which job to take. It is important that businesses within the tourism and hospitality sector showcase their job in the best way and it is not always just about salary. That is one of the big things to emerge following Covid is that people want flexibility and a work-life balance. We have provided a programme that educates people on how to recruit in a competitive market, interview to win and do other key pieces to onboard their staff successfully. Sometimes businesses recruit but they do not give the time and energy to get the person settled into the business in the first four weeks and because the person has choices he or she decides to leave.

There is a lot of work happening, as well as the recruitment campaign Mr. Kelly mentioned. The other key piece is the appeal and that is where we talk about our excellent employer programme.