Mr. Tom Phillips:

The skills shortage is a big issue for us. It is not just bricklayers and builders, but other skills that are required for the construction industry, including people like planners. I lecture in the planning department in UCD. We went from 50 students a year to five because parents were discouraging their children from getting involved in the construction industry. There are also people who were builders who were perhaps 48 when the recession happened. Those people are now 60, and they are not going to return to the building trade. The skills shortage right across the construction industry is a big challenge. It is one thing to say that we have to build more houses. If we get things right on the financial side, it might be the case that we have nobody to build those houses. We have to ensure that we have the correct educational facilities in place and that the correct encouragement is given to get people back into the trades. In this I include not just younger people but also older people who have the skill sets and can mentor the younger people. They might be bricklayers, carpenters, planning consultants, architects or others. We have to look at this across all ages and take an intergenerational approach to solving the skills shortage.