Mr. David Hegarty:

There have been some job losses in the technology sector recently but that has been fairly muted overall. Ireland is probably fortunate in that it has a presence in a number of high-tech sectors, such as ICT and life sciences, which have come through a number of disturbances in the international economy and performed very well. Some correction and some job losses are now going on in the ICT sector but not yet on a very significant scale.

I will take note of the Senator's comments on apprenticeships in green jobs. Apprenticeship policy is not with our Department but we obviously have an interest in it. We will take note of that. I agree with the Senator on the broad remit of the Department. We have a lot of-----