Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When we are talking about this issue, and while we acknowledge the positives, it is important to recognise the underlying threats. We face an obvious threat in the context of Brexit and the impact that may have on the broader economy. There are skills shortages across all sectors of the economy and I do not detect any discernible positive efforts being made to address these, either in the current context or into the future. Even the expert group only looks at a horizon of five years. We must look beyond that to assess what we need in the years ahead and act now as opposed to waiting for the inevitable to happen when we lose further competitiveness due to skills shortages across all major sectors of the economy.

See this speech in context