Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the key messages I want to convey is the need to keep a firm eye on costs. Costs are rising in the economy and rising costs will make us and our businesses less competitive. That is emerging as a key issue. In respect of the labour market, shortages are emerging. In our constituency work, we are all seeing more enquiries about employment permits, critical visas and so on. There is a need to ramp up the delivery of apprenticeships, not just across the traditional trades but across different sectors, including financial services, where some exist. We need to ensure we are delivering the supply of labour in the areas where it is needed across the economy.

The pressures are emerging. We are listening to businesses and hearing the issues they are encountering. They mention capacity regularly as well as labour shortages and they highlight rising costs. It is a difficult circle to square but it has do be done. Those issues must be addressed while at the same time achieving the level of investment that the economy needs.

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