Mr. Mark McGowan:

Let me give the Deputy an idea of the position on wage inflation from the restaurant perspective. Most of our members have labour costs of 37% to 38% at the minute, making it impossible to trade in the environment. When we talk about a skills shortage, it generally means the owner of the business, restaurant or café running around trying to do every single job that is to be done.

The Deputy mentioned accommodation. It is an enormous problem in the north east and all over the rest of the country. When we are recruiting, the first question that a prospective employee asks is where he or she is going to live if he or she is to come from abroad. With the rising cost of housing and rent, rising costs make it virtually impossible to employ staff.

We were talking about training. The Restaurants Association of Ireland and all its members have trained up most of the chefs in the country in terms of kitchen porters coming through and working their way up. It is just not really viable. That is another point that must be mentioned. Last summer, we survived with 17- and 18-year-olds coming through. They held the restaurant side together by running around on the floor. We are training staff and then exporting them. They are availing of J1 visas etc., which is another part of the problem.