Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Bill allows us to address many anomalies whereby the long-term unemployed find it extremely difficult or impossible in many cases to return to the workforce. Graduates are also finding it difficult to get on the jobs ladder. The stark reality is that 25% of our third level graduates are unemployed. This cannot be allowed to continue. Thousands of well-skilled and educated people, including those with qualifications in construction, engineering, information technology and science, and highly qualified nurses have left our shores in droves in recent years. This is a huge drain of our best resources. We have wonderful talented people but in many cases they had no option but to pack up and leave and try their hand in far-off shores. We must get back to basics and shows some light at the end of the tunnel for this sector of society. Addressing this matter is paramount to the requirements of lifting the country out of the doldrums. In the short term we must address this neglect which is demoralising for our citizens who see no hope on the horizon.

A recent survey and audit was carried out by Brightwater on the deficiencies in our IT sector with regard to suitably qualified computer programmers. It stated a large factor in the shortfall was that the focus in our colleges was too much on theory and not enough on practice. Another major deficiency according to the survey was that the universities teach old computer languages which are outdated. We are languishing far behind the modern world and this is pitiful. The rest of the developed world is leaps and bounds ahead of us and we are failing to keep up with the growing demands of this vital sector which is the real growth area in the world economy.

The stark reality is that the foreign direct investment companies which have invested in the IT sector are reasonably satisfied because it gives their management and other staff a higher quality of life. It is a good environment in which to do business and interact socially. We have a lot going in our favour but we need to work on this matter and bring it up to speed to meet the demands.

Such companies are starting off with a number of qualified staff and gradually train new recruits. It has now reached the stage where, before they come into this country, companies want suitably qualified people in place and available to work. Unfortunately, as the Minister knows, there is a shortfall of approximately 5,000 staff who are needed for the IT sector. This problem has been staring us in the face for the last four or five years. A further 10,000 such people will need to come on stream in the near future. It is pitiful and shameful that there are 430,000 on the live register, while we are falling down dramatically in this area.

While we will not solve the problems overnight, a number of factors need to be brought together in this regard. IT is such a growth industry so this shortfall of trained staff will not be accepted in future. These companies are now demanding the availability of fully trained staff as a priority even before they relocate here. Anything up to 15,000 staff will be needed in the near future. It is a poor reflection on our educational enterprise policy which does not appear to have any joined-up thinking. There is potential to treble the projected figure by perhaps going up to 45,000 or 50,000 over the next five years. That would certainly put a big dent in our unemployment figures.

Recently a small Dublin firm, which was started from nothing by an entrepreneur, was employing five computer programmers. The boss of the company needed to build that number up to at least 25, but he had to move abroad due to the lack of qualified staff here. People with the necessary experience were not available so he relocated to Poland where there is widespread availability of suitably qualified staff. The entrepreneur immediately recruited 20 extra staff and now has a small enterprise going there with 25 full-time viable jobs. That is typical of what is happening here at the moment. That company's owner upped sticks and is now flourishing elsewhere with a view to further expansion. The good thing is that his headquarters are still in Dublin, which at least leaves room for some optimism that he may come back in the future, bringing that experience with him. We will have to provide the right environment here, however, to ensure that such people will be welcome in this country. We must be receptive to such firms and ensure that all the necessary facilities are in place to encourage entrepreneurship of that nature.

One can imagine what little confidence direct foreign investors have when a native entrepreneur is forced to leave due to our deficiencies. The Minister for Social Protection should liaise with her fellow Ministers, including Deputy Bruton and Deputy Quinn, on this matter. She should rein in all the stakeholders, including the new education and training boards, and second and third-level institutions, to deal with this void in our economy. This must be done if we are to have any chance of reviving the situation over the next five years and making progress in reducing our huge unemployment figures. We need to get a better skills match between industry's needs and third-level graduates. That matter needs to be addressed by any proposed initiatives.

The transition from social protection schemes to training and upskilling for jobs should be seamless. Entitlements should be provided automatically. Databases should match up so that more immediate interaction can be achieved within existing computer systems. It is annoying for people who may be finishing a training scheme but who do not have full-time work, not to receive payments automatically. I know that efforts have been made in that respect but I have seen a few cases where payments did not come straight through for welfare recipients, so their families had to support them in the meantime.

There have been big reductions in the farm assist scheme, as was mentioned earlier. If a person's €160 payment is reduced to €100 over two years it can mean the loss of some quality of life, particularly with children to support. The Minister should re-examine the farm assist scheme, given the dramatic reductions and the extreme weather conditions which, as we are all well aware, have hit the farming community. The Minister should also examine other schemes such as those for the disabled and carers. In addition, the self-employed are finding it very difficult to access social welfare payments even after paying stamps for years. I hope that matter will be rectified. I know the Minister has established a board to deal with it.

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