Mr. Paul Sweetman:

I will address those key points. First, I will deal with the Deputy's views on the third level sector. We are talking about creating a mix in the third level sector. We have strong programmes at third level and are producing levels 7, 8 and 9 graduates. However, competing jurisdictions is what we are putting the real emphasis on here today. As the tech sector is booming globally the talent need is the same in all of the other jurisdictions and we are trying to target a mix. The third level sector is strong but we do not have an appropriate apprenticeship model for the digital sector and digital age. That is what we are talking about here. We also have conversion programmes and bring people in from other non-tech sectors into the tech sector. This is not so much about what we have but about what we are missing which is what the associate professional scheme is about.

Second, I share the Deputy's concern about vacancies and the skills demand piece. Let me give a couple of figures that show we are progressing strongly. When I started this job about five or six years ago, 74,000 people were employed in the tech sector broadly but we now have 105,000 people employed which means there has been a strong increase in employment in the sector of 40%.

Third, the vacancy rate is a good news story as it means there has been very healthy growth in the sector. Going back to my previous point, there is global competition for talent and Ireland has created a competitive advantage. In every jurisdiction every company is trying to find the right skills for their companies. Ireland is doing a lot to put its best foot forward and has done so better than some other countries. Ireland has an ICT skills action plan and the proposed associate professional programme. Ireland is now the victim of its own success because some companies that came here with five or six employees but met their target to find 100 skilled employees ahead of time changed strategy and now wants to hire up to 250 people. Ireland has improved. It is now being recognised as a very strong country for skills and this aspect will continue to grow.