Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a couple of issues in dealing with this subject. Why is the Government being so unresponsive to the needs of industry by not offering courses relevant to the jobs market? The Tánaiste mentioned the pick-up in the housing sector, but surely it is apparent that we are not meeting requirements for plasterers, carpenters, bricklayers, painters and decorators. Where are the incentives for employers to provide meaningful training for potential staff? I can see none, to be honest.

Recently, the National Youth Council of Ireland commented on the JobBridge programme. People do not feel like they are a part of productive teams. In many cases, they believe they are being used. The programme should be revamped. As the economy grows, surely we should be providing high quality and well trained interns and apprentices and allowing young people to contribute to the good news stories about the pick-up in the economy.

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