Mr. Paul Sweetman:

The ICT Action Plan and Skills Programme was launched in January 2012 by the Ministers for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Education and Skills. There was a series of actions within that, one of which directly addressed the situation described by Senator Clune. This was the foresight group. It is a good beginning and brings industry and academic leaders together to discuss what relationship is required to deliver courses that respond to companies' needs in the medium to long term. That is highly populated with leaders from the technology sector.

On the other side of that and reflecting what Mr. O'Sullivan said about image and careers within the sector, over the past 18 months we have seen quite a shift in the perception of the technology sector. It is now seen not just as a very strong sector for jobs but a very strong sector for a good career. We see that in CAO application rates, which have increased from between 20% to 60% in particular colleges. We are moving in the right direction with regard to creating a larger pool of graduates available to the sector and with regard to quality as well. Certainly the foresight group will be a powerful vehicle to influence change.