Ms Claire McGee:

The reason we implemented that is because businesses are investing in those areas. For the two businesses the Senator mentioned, with €55,000 put into their solar panels, they probably changed practices elsewhere across their systems. They need to be able to make sure they understand how they are used and how they can use the data coming out of the new systems to improve and change their behaviours. That is where we are coming in, particularly on the National Training Fund, to say that if businesses are introducing new technology, they need to be able to support staff and themselves to be able to use that technology and get the best out of it and out of the data and information.

I have a good example from one of our member companies recently, a small SME within the experience economy. It looks after a lot of the laundry that comes through hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. They put in new washing machines to become more energy efficient, but after the investment, they had no means to train the staff to be able to do it. There is no programme under the National Training Fund currently to support that business to be able to use the technology better. They are not going to get it through an apprenticeship or Springboard+ programme. However, a training voucher coupled with external grants through other areas would probably weave together very nicely. That is where we are coming from, to be able to support companies to make a technological investment. Business owners can only make a technological investment if they are supporting their employees to be able to use it to its full purposes to make the positive outcome. That is our position for today around the National Training Fund, to be able to complement that investment into the future.