Ms Claire McGee:

Late in 2021 and into 2022 we were told there was this cap and that the Government was unable to do it. Given the exponential increase there has been we are at the point where no one can continue to focus on that. There is pressure on the system because I understand that the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General has focused its thinking on this and I have seen that. There is pressure and I understand that the Minister feels the pressure to be able to spend this money in an appropriate way. There has to be some change in it and it is no longer tenable to say we have a ceiling cap given the scale of the challenge we have. Knowing that the fiscal rules and space are changing all the time, given different windfalls through corporation tax etc., we have this significant challenge that is external to the system and therefore it has to be spent. That is why IBEC has been forthright in its ambition to be able to draw down this National Training Fund money and to provide recommendations for the surplus to be spent in these short and sharp interventions.

We cannot wait for the downturn, which will come as that is the natural cycle of economics. We need to invest this now so that we are resilient when that downturn comes. If we are going to operate a go-for-broke strategy it takes much longer to reinvest that money. That is why we are probably quite well-aligned across many different stakeholders in this sector to be able to say we have this strategic asset, let us see it as a strategic asset and let us spend the money. The common theme we want to focus on are those large challenges around digitalisation, addressing climate challenges and supporting the workforce to be able to take the opportunities that are presented by those.