Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The important thing today is the follow-up. There are two suggestions for separate projects. One relates to the data and analysis of where skills shortages are emerging. The second project relates to the categories of employees who are leaving. Do they include young doctors or plumbers? The question is who is leaving. That is important because it is complex.

A friend of mine went to London to work as a teacher a year and a half ago. I met him a month ago. He came back home and was getting his CV ready. He wanted to go to the education and training board and the schools. He wanted to put his name out to get a job in a school in Donegal. He was all excited about it. I met his mother last night. His mother said that he had got a promotion in the school in London as head of the biology department. Now, he is faced with a decision. Does he take that promotion and get that good experience? It would help his CV. Does he come back home?

It is complex. I am a former emigrant, having lived in Dubai. I remember spending a year there. I was warned at the time that if I spent more than two years there, the temptation would be to stay. A variety of complex push-pull factors are at play. There is work we can do to analyse them because we have skills shortages in various areas. People are in different parts of the world. How we can try to reach out to them and incentivise them?

I thank both Deputies today for the question. This is an area of work I am keen to pursue as well. I will suggest some follow-up. I met one of the officials from the CSO yesterday. He is from west Cork. I will not name him. He is a pragmatic and interesting person on this subject. Perhaps a meeting with him and the two Deputies might be appropriate. I would be happy to do that.

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