Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Durkan asked about other countries competing. He should make no mistake about it, they are competing strongly. I have heard of several strong cities, but a number - Paris, Luxembourg, Frankfurt and Singapore - keep cropping up in conversation.

As regards FDI in Limerick, we have seen successes in the jobs announcements. However, that has not been happening in a vacuum. LIT, UL and Mary Immaculate are working closely together. I have not heard from the companies at which we have announced jobs that there is a skills shortage. As with our indigenous businesses, if a company wants to set up in Ireland, it can approach LIT or UL and devise programmes to deliver the necessary skills in the area around Limerick, which includes Clare and other counties. The educational services are responding to the needs of industry. I would love to see more work like that being done across the country. Thousands of jobs have been announced in the area in the recent past. What is happening in Limerick is working well and is an exemplar of what should be done in the education and skills field.

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