Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The nurses coming out of training are actively engaged with the nurses who have left and who work in the NHS in England or in other countries. They tell them about the current situation. I take the Deputy's point about teachers not having full-time contracts and not being able to get them. The case to which he referred seems to be extraordinary in its timeframe. The Government has sanctioned the employment of considerable numbers of teachers. Last week, the Minister for Education and Skills brought a memorandum to Government, which has been approved, for the appointment of another 610 special needs assistants.

When I talk to Science Foundation Ireland and to many of the companies involved in ICT or in the digital area, I hear that increasing numbers are involved in research and innovation and that there are career opportunities. I was in Dropbox in the Dublin docklands recently. One hundred companies in the docklands are conducting research and innovation and the workers have career paths. The same applies in the colleges of technology and the universities where extraordinary research in a number of fields is being carried on. It may not be as strong as we would like it to be but I hope that the challenge for the Government as set out in this budget and in the previous budgets is to secure that recovery for the people.

Deputy McDonald mentioned the housing situation in Dublin. I cannot but agree that this is a real challenge. I met the Ard-Mhéara and I had a brief discussion with her. I wished her the best of luck in her responsibilities as Ard-Mhéara. I pointed out to her that we need to have a discussion about her views on housing and we will follow through with some really focused attention on a package of measures to increase the supply of houses. No matter what we talk about in this House, no matter what proposals are made by the Deputy, we need blocks and concrete on the ground to provide extra accommodation for people who need it. It requires building works as well as using the voids, the reconstructed voids and the social housing programmes under the local authorities. However, we also need to get the private construction sector back into action.

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