Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the view on experiential learning. The agenda of translating a person's experience in the workplace into a qualification is with the national qualifications framework, FETAC and HETAC, with a view to developing a template by which one can enable somebody who wanted to start a particular programme to get credit for their experience in industry or in services. That is an issue about which I am enthusiastic since I was Minister for Education and Science many years ago. I was involved in setting up the national qualifications framework and in putting the legislation through. At that time I envisaged that the whole area of experiential learning would be accommodated. I am concerned at the pace at which it is progressing. There are complexities attached to it but it is important. Our emphasis on skills development is on the workers in existing enterprises. The 500,000 people we have identified in the national skills challenge, to which Deputy Penrose alluded earlier, are all workers. We have to incentivise people to go on programmes to upskill themselves. The value of their experiences is useful in this context.

The dairy investment fund had a good impact on the midlands. Under the dairy investment fund which is managed by Enterprise Ireland and announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Mary Coughlan with European funding, Glenisk Limited in the midlands was awarded €3.1 million and €8 million for an organic yoghurt and milk project. If one goes into the self-service restaurant one will see its products proudly displayed. I recommend them to all concerned. Projects such as this did very well out of the dairy investment fund.

I was in the US last week and it was fantastic to hear what a company such as Boston Scientific had to say about the workforce in Galway and the degree to which the technology developed there impacted on its global performance. There is a great deal of strong technology in industry in the west and in the midlands, for example, in Athlone, in pharmaceuticals and life sciences. In respect of SISCO's recent announcement in Galway there are 200 highly qualified research and development people. There are a lot of positives there.

See this speech in context