Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On that specific point, I will turn back to a local issue. We often forget that the South East Technological University, SETU, is a Gaeltacht university. We have a Gaeltacht in Port Láirge and SETU stands ready to provide those courses for public services and the Irish language.

I will also turn to the other part of the equation, which is a great untapped resource. According to the census, 1.874 million people report that they can speak Irish with 10% stating they can do so very well and a further 32% reporting they can speak it well. The Minister set a challenge for us to learn a new skill this year during the European Year of Skills. I set people the challenge of brushing up on an old skill, to go back to their Irish language skills, engage with the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge, TEG and find out what level they are at. There is a huge untapped resource of people who have language skills and could build on them to be able to provide for the vacancies that will arise.

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