Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the challenges identified by the report Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge 2022 is the need to enhance labour market performance for the purpose of increased productivity and competitiveness. The report finds that increased performance can be achieved by increasing participation and fostering skills and calls for these productivity gains to be shared with workers which is an important emphasis that should be noted by the Government and by employers. Digital literacy and skills are identified as core competencies to be embedded throughout the workforce. It is timely as the global theme of this year's International Women's Day is the unprecedented potential that now exists to eliminate disparity and inequality in the lives of women through technology, in particular women and girls from disadvantaged communities. There remain significant access gaps which require better digital infrastructure, coupled with provisions around affordability, accessibility, online privacy and safety to ensure meaningfully that more women are connected. More generally, we know that computer use is split according to socioeconomic status, with half of those in lower socioeconomic groups - that means poorer people - using computers daily compared to those on higher incomes. The report notes that without quality education, upskilling and reskilling opportunities throughout the life cycle, the economy is at risk of being constrained. The Government's ongoing refusal to regularise the contracts of education and training board, ETB, adult tutors is even harder to comprehend when set against this advice from the council. When will the Taoiseach recommit his Government to addressing the economic and gender blockages to digital access?

See this speech in context