Mr. Tony Donohoe:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to address it on what is a critical issue for employers. Given the strong performance of the Irish economy, high employment demand has given rise to skills and labour shortages. The policy challenge now is minimise these shortages by developing a suite of interventions which respond swiftly to emerging and future skills need. Therefore, it is appropriate that the committee has asked us to address the issues of apprenticeships and the issuing of work permits, in particular how they might be used to address skills gaps. With the permission of the Chair, I will ask my colleagues to bring specific insights on some of the issues. They represent different sectors within IBEC and have some practical learning in those sectors.