Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The structures are as good as can be designed. FÁS training is being integrated with the VECs and we will have a good capacity to deliver training. The issue is to make sure that delivery is to a standard and meets the needs of employers. The challenge for SOLAS is to build those quality interventions that move people into the areas of opportunity. The Senator is right is pointing out that the areas of opportunity are changing. We cannot provide training for skills that are not in growth areas.

Manufacturing is not to be written off by any means. The food sector is thriving in terms of growth and it is very strong. The Irish whiskey sector is also thriving. The medical devices sector is a strength in our economy, as is the pharmaceutical sector. There are many strong manufacturing sectors, including engineering, across the country. One has to be smart to survive and there are some excellent companies that are growing to scale. Combilift is one of them and I could name dozens but there is no point in naming only some of them; they are doing well from rural bases and they are adapting skills and delivering a quality product at a price point that people will buy.

We would write off manufacturing at our peril. It is one area that we need to develop and one of the plans we have for the coming years is to try to lift the capacity of our manufacturing sectors which, as the Senator rightly said, have a skill spread. He is also right in saying that start-up is key. We are reviewing entrepreneurship policy and we want to promote start-ups. Two thirds of all new jobs come from companies in the first five years of their existence. Therefore, we want to try to build a better start-up environment. Start-ups took a big hit in the collapse but those companies are resilient and that is the area we can develop. It has mixed skills requirements. The Deputy is right in saying that skills shortages are a challenge but it is also fair to say that the Department of Education and Skills is doubling its output of ICT graduates. It planned to do so by 2018 but I understand it will beat that target and it will be delivered before 2018. The institutions we have are delivering but the more one does and the more one bangs the door for more to be done, the better.