Mr. Ian Talbot:

If we look at the particular sector the Deputy specified, we are victims of our own success, in many ways. Look at the problems with the NCT, which are being dealt with in a separate committee. It is desperate for mechanics. The NCT company, Applus+, is probably sucking up any available skills in that area. As it is so far behind, it is probably over-recruiting at the moment to clear the backlog. In the late 1980s, we had about 750,000 cars on the road and now we have 2.5 million cars on the road. They all need to be serviced and so on. There has been huge growth. Now we have hit the point where the combination of the new regulation, not that the NCT is new, increased the number of skilled mechanics needed to do the test. A big number of cars and a backlog from Covid has resulted in a huge issue in that particular sector. There simply are not enough people in Ireland interested enough and skilled enough in that role to meet all those opportunities in the sector at the moment. It is a real challenge.