Ms Olivia Buckley:

I thank the Chairman and the Senator. We have touched on increasing living standards, which Mr. Talbot mentioned earlier, and the quality and the calibre of jobs. It is something Senator Gavan is touching on in terms of people's pay. We need to see how we expand and create jobs in this country that have a higher level of salary for people. That is where everybody wants to get to. The Irish Tax Institute is doing a lot of research in this area in terms of looking at Irish business and where the opportunities are for Ireland because that is the best starting point. The services area globally is the greatest area of growth. It is outpacing manufacturing and industry. In fact, the growth rate globally in services is 10% per annum, which is huge. One of the greatest areas of opportunity for this country, as we are becoming more of a service economy than a manufacturing one, is in information and computer services, or anything in ICT and communications. A recent OECD report, looking at the gazelle companies which are high growth, high speed, high revenue companies across the OECD, tells us that computer programming, information services and the whole area of ICT is where success is and where we should be focussed.

The Boston Consulting Group did a report a year ago looking at the digital economy. It listed Ireland as one of the top nine front-runner countries in terms of digitised capability and where the greatest opportunity for us as a country is. We know, however, that we have a digital skills shortage in terms of younger and older people. We know we have a digital skills shortage in terms of talent in the country. Across Europe, 40% of companies are looking for the same people and yet they cannot get them qualified in ICT.

I refer to where we, as policy-makers, can make a real difference in terms of our legislation. In our area, we are looking at tax policy, in particular, personal tax rates, and at the burden on business. What is the strategy for us as a country so that we can create the kind of jobs, we grab the opportunity that is there globally and we can give our people higher paid jobs? That is where one can make a real difference, that is, when it is possible to say to somebody that the growth is in services and that there are global opportunities.

Our SMEs are not as e-commerce focused as they should be. Some of them are not online. There are perhaps broadband issues, but there are a multitude of issues. Where is the opportunity for Ireland? How can we, as policy-makers, get our strategy right so that we can give our people and companies the best chance and that an employer can increase a person's salary from €27,000 to €35,000 and upwards? We need to be able to grab the opportunities. We need to be searching in the right space if we are going to make a difference to people.

I thank the members very much for their comments.