Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I had hoped to address this issue with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, but I appreciate the attendance of the Minister for Education and Skills as this matter is relevant to his Department and he is fully aware of the importance of the high-tech sector to the economy. Considering the attention the Government has given to the sector, be it in terms of gaming, research and development, digital design or cloud computing, it is clear that the Government understands its importance and is fully committed to it. From speaking to people in the industry, they are happy about this as it is a new approach.

I attended the Dublin web summit in June, at which a speaker addressed approximately 1,000 people working in the sector who were there to network, hear new ideas and get investments. The organisers had invited successful entrepreneurs from abroad to speak and pass on some of their knowledge. At a questions and answers session, someone asked how an entrepreneur decided where to set up and what his first consideration was. His answer was that he went where the developers and talent were. A friend of mine who works in the area looked over his shoulder and gave me a knowing look.

I have discussed in the House the need to incentivise foreign entrepreneurs to set up companies in Ireland, especially in the high-tech sector, as part of the three pillar approach. We could cut all the red tape we desire, but entrepreneurs and foreign companies will not come to Ireland if they cannot get the staff. In July, a significant international player and large employer in Ireland briefed the Cabinet on its concern that the Irish system was not producing enough high-end, high-skilled graduates. This is a worrying development. The secondary effect is that, when this player can find the relevant employees, it hoovers them all up and smaller and start-up companies cannot get the staff because they cannot afford to hire any from abroad. Those companies end up relocating abroad, which means we lose them, the staff and the revenue.

I do not want to overstate the case, but it is important that we address it. The previous Government never did when it had the chance and knew it needed to. To our cost, that Government did not engage in future proofing, but we must consider what is necessary now and in future. Last week, the Irish Internet Association, IIA, told us that there were 2,500 unfilled jobs in the high-tech sector. If the Government continues focusing on this sector, trying to create jobs and trying to position Ireland as a digital or Internet capital for Europe, it will create further jobs. This is a good measure and we do not want to turn a positive into a negative.

We must examine the education system and get more children studying mathematics and science at a high level all the way through school, into relevant university courses and on into the industry. That is a longer-term solution, but we must act now. The battle to establish ourselves as European leaders in cloud computing, gaming, research and development and so on will take place in the next three to five years. That is when we will win or lose. For this reason, it is imperative that we examine immediate solutions.

The Minister will be interested in a number of near-term proposals, given his architectural background. For example, unemployed architecture and engineering graduates could be retrained as web developers. This idea has a great deal of potential and should be discussed by the House at another time. I wish to address a more immediate-term initiative proposed by the IIA in the context of the Government's wider jobs initiative. Under the latter, taxation measures will be used to increase employment levels in sectors where there is a need. The Minister has been briefed on the association's initiative, as I sent his Department the details. It is proposing a programme to identify the critical skills required, the areas of greatest skills shortage and the number of people available in the marketplace and to use this information to target and fill gaps by rewarding people financially, whether in terms of tax credits, PRSI initiatives or repatriation grants for those who are abroad. It is about providing financial incentives to those with the relevant skills who want to stay in or return home to Ireland to do so. It is an encouraging proposal.

The jobs initiative is not the solution, but it is a first step in underlining our commitment to making the sector a cornerstone of our future economy and a first step in rebuilding our international reputation for producing high-end graduates. It is about getting more of them, attracting them back from abroad and getting them working in our economy. It is also another crucial step in returning people to work.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment and for speaking directly to my office about it. I understand that he wished to discuss the recently published IIA report and proposals to provide incentives for people to work in the IT sector. As most such proposals would fall under the responsibility of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, I will for the most part restrict myself to comments on how the Department of Education and Skills is working to increase the ICT skills set of our population.

The ICT sector plays a critical role in the economy. It is composed of more than 8,000 foreign and Irish-owned companies, including 780 foreign-owned companies that employ 65,000 staff with exports valued at nearly €50 billion per annum and 400 Enterprise Ireland-assisted software companies that employ 8,000 staff and generate €1 billion in export sales per annum.

While the downturn has impacted significantly on levels of employment across the economy, significant employment opportunities are emerging in export-led sectors such as ICT. At a time of strong demand globally for graduates with high-level ICT skills, the sector in Ireland is also experiencing difficulties in filling some vacancies. In recent months, departmental officials have been working closely with the secretariat to the expert group on future skills needs, EGFSN, the Higher Education Authority, HEA, and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to clarify issues more precisely in respect of skills gaps in the sector and how they might be addressed. Discussions have taken place with more than 25 foreign-owned and indigenous companies to establish information on the scale and nature of positions involved and the reasons for reported difficulties.

The skills needs of the ICT sector are not uniform and are continually evolving. A key issue that has been identified is a shortage in the domestic supply of honours degree level computing and electronic engineering graduates. This stems from the fall-off in demand from students for ICT related programmes following the dotcom collapse, allied with the significant recent growth and expansion of the sector. While it is positive that third level enrolments in these disciplines have increased by some 30% since 2008, there will be a time lag before this increased demand from students feeds through into increased graduate output.

The Minister has met representatives of the ICT sector in recent weeks and has confirmed his commitment to working collaboratively with them on measures to increase the numbers and quality of graduates in the longer term and to address the skills needs of the sector in the interim through an expansion of conversion and reskilling opportunities.

A key initiative that can make a contribution in the short term is Springboard, which is providing 6,000 part-time higher education places for unemployed people as part of the Government's jobs initiative. The tendering documentation for Springboard was developed in close collaboration with the EGFSN and with input from industry representatives to ensure programmes would be provided in areas where future employment opportunities are expected to arise. The selection criteria for Springboard took account of the extent to which providers engaged with employers in the development of their programmes. A number of the programmes also provide work experience opportunities with employers.

More than 2,000 of the Springboard course places are on ICT programmes ranging from certificate to masters degree level. Some 65 separate ICT programmes are being funded in areas such as computer programming, cloud computing, computer game design and digital forensics. A number of the programmes being offered are designed to build on and support the conversion of existing graduate skills in engineering and other disciplines, as the Deputy mentioned. A further 1,400 Springboard places are being provided on programmes designed to address cross-sectoral skills needs, including programmes on Six Sigma, Lean manufacturing, technology commercialisation and entrepreneurship, with the balance in other areas of potential growth, including the bio-pharma, medical devices and food sectors. Applications for places on all of these programmes can be made through the www.bluebrick.ie website.

A key priority for the Government and the Department is to continue to work with the ICT sector to identify measures to increase the domestic supply of graduates with the appropriate levels of skills to support the expansion and growth of the ICT sector.