Mr. Aebhric McGibney:

I wish to pick up on the thread of a couple of comments. First, in response to Senator Harmon - and it relates to housing as well – if issues of childcare and housing for an apprenticeship are solved, once the apprenticeship is over, those issues still persist. There are wider questions in that sense. From a Chambers Ireland perspective, we would like to see the current, massive increase in subventions and supports in early childhood education and on-site childcare facilities that have cut of the cost of childcare in recent years, where there is effectively a universal subsidy and then a means-tested subsidy, continued. That is important because it stops such supports being connected to a job or an employment. We want a universal solution. I have to confess that I am a personal beneficiary of those supports, so I have to declare my interest in that regard.

The same is true of housing. There are wider questions. It is the single biggest issue for every business. The availability of affordable accommodation, whether it is rental or purchase, is top of the agenda. We are very much looking forward to seeing the work of the accelerating infrastructure task force. We look forward to seeing the recommendations of Mr. Sean O’Driscoll’s group implemented. That is how we would like to see those issues tackled.

We must remind ourselves that childcare can sometimes be conflated. It is a parents’ issue, either for both parents or, if it is a single-parent family, for the one parent. We should not conflate the two issues. We would like to ensure that it is a solution that is understood for both men and women who are working in the workforce.