Dr. John Sweeney:

No. Programmes that are very important to unemployment black spots are currently not on the horizon of the Labour Market Council. Senator Higgins's question about flexibility and accommodating people with a capacity to work some hours, or staggered hours, is very true. It is inherent in the council's endorsement of bringing the public employment service to provide services to those who are inactive for whatever reason and are not currently members of the workforce. This is what quality means, having that flexibility, and understanding that people, especially in their 50s and 40s, have very significant household commitments and we cannot expect them to drop those and be full-time employed. That is part of the change in capabilities and culture that the council is pointing to. That is what is required if the public employment service is genuinely to serve all those looking for work.

I thank the committee for this opportunity which I enjoyed much more than I thought. I would say again that when the Labour Market Council's chair passed the committee's invitation to me, I had not realised at the time the very difficult decisions that had been taken in his place of work, Hewlett Packard. I think the committee will fully understand why he was unable to attend and why I am here.