Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I apologise. I was at a meeting earlier and missed the witnesses' contributions. With regard to Gerard Smith's contribution on the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, I am aware that people who have visited have been extremely impressed by it. I expect nothing less from Martin O'Brien, having known him when he was our ETB CEO. I congratulate all who have been involved in that particular development. I have two or three quick questions. Mr. Smith mentioned that a dedicated funding line was needed for the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence within the education and training board's budget. Are there any other such centres throughout the country? If so, are they under the direct remit of an ETB?

Mr. Smith also mentioned that "it was a strategic response to a national and regional skills gaps, backed by evidence and rooted in a long-term vision to train and upskill locally and export skills globally." Will he explain the phrase "export skills globally"? If a person was to take that at face value, it would suggest that we would be losing people with skills rather than retaining them. Perhaps I have taken that up completely incorrectly.

I am glad that it was mentioned that the centre does not operate in isolation. There are unfortunately too many silos in this country and that needs to be addressed. Collaboration with industry is hugely important. I assume the centre's access to Dundalk Institute of Technology is key to its success. Is it possible to have satellite centres or other centres working directly under Mr. Smith's centre in the whole area it covers?

I am glad that Mr. Smith mentioned cybersecurity. That is a high-demand area. For the last few days, I was at a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The president of the Baltic Assembly, who is a member of the Latvian Parliament, was there and he indicated the huge problems those countries have with a certain neighbour to their east that is creating trouble morning, noon and night for those Baltic countries and other countries on the eastern side of the European Union. Based on the demand for cybersecurity courses being seen by the centre, is there a growing awareness of the need for us to invest more in cybersecurity? It is not just the big players that need it. I remember reading a statistic saying that most cyberattacks in this country were on small and medium enterprises. Will Mr. Smith give me some reflection on the whole area of cybersecurity and increasing awareness and the training of people in that particular skill?