Mr. Colin Donnery:

My colleagues' companies have all the big solutions. In the context of recruitment, there is a worldwide war going on in attracting talent. As Mr. Cunningham stated, when a person from Russia or elsewhere applies for a job in Ireland, he or she is also probably applying for jobs in ten other countries. We have a small window of opportunity in attracting these individuals and if we do not grab them as quickly as possible, we lose them. There was a work authorisation programme in Ireland up to 2009. A former Minister, Mary Harney, got rid of the programme, which created huge difficulties at the time. We had not actually lost any IT jobs at that point, but we were losing them in other areas. The programme in question allowed us to bring people into Ireland in approximately two weeks. At present, it takes two weeks just to get someone into the country in order that he or she might attend an interview. If the person is from Azerbaijan or some other country where there is no Irish consulate, we must make an application through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and via another country's consulate in getting him or her to Ireland. As a result, the interview process is delayed. In addition, the process relating to green card applications takes six to eight weeks to complete.

I accept that we have been hammering on about this matter for a long period. However, the position is becoming serious, not just for Apple and other major companies but also for small indigenous Irish companies which are really suffering. The process is having a knock-on effect on wages in this country because people who are here are receiving seven or eight offers when they seek employment elsewhere. Salaries are increasing and the smaller indigenous Irish companies that are creating great products and in which those emerging from our universities with specialist skills will seek positions are unable to compete. There is a need to expedite matters and make this an open country in order that we can attract both companies and the relevant specialists required to fill particular roles.

We have been involved in discussions with successive Ministers for the past four to five years on this matter. Let us consider an example. Pramerica Systems Ireland Limited in County Donegal has been in operation since 1999. It started out with ten staff and now has 900. It built its workforce on the back of the work authorisation programme. Top-level staff were brought in from Singapore, Russia, the United States, etc., and the company grew its teams around them. It now takes on graduates from Irish universities each year. There is no reason we cannot be winners on the worldwide stage.