Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if a sectoral analysis has been carried out of skills shortages in the economy for the next five, ten, 15 and 20-year period; the impact skills shortages are having on Irish competitiveness levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22973/18]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister has a sectoral analysis been carried out of skills shortages in the economy for the next five, ten, 15 and 20-year periods and the impact skills shortages are having on Irish competitiveness levels. The Minister will have seen the most recent report where we are now burning at an alarming rate through our competitiveness advantagesvis-à-visour international competitors. This is a worrying development that has just been announced in the context of Ireland dropping in the competitiveness stakes. The issue of skills shortages is something that has to be confronted because there are skills shortages now in major areas of the economy, such as agriculture, transport and hospitality, and climbing up the chain of the economy, we have skills shortages across almost every sector.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I will try to stick to the time.

Access to a high quality, innovative and adaptable talent pool is critical for the sustainable growth of the Irish economy and keeping Ireland competitive. For this reason, equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and for those of tomorrow is a strategic priority for the Government.

While skills policy is primarily a matter for the Department of Education and Skills, my Department supports the work of the expert group for future skills needs, EGFSN. The EGFSN is an independent body, comprised of business representatives, education providers, trade unions and Government bodies. The body plays a key role in identifying future skills needs of enterprises and advising Government on how those needs can be met so as to enhance competitiveness.

Over the last 20 years, the EGFSN has forecasted skills availability across a wide range of sectors. In recent years, these studies have included sectors such as the marine economy; freight, transport, logistics and distribution, biopharma and hospitality. These reports include a horizon scanning exercise and generate forecasts for skills demand over a five-year period so as to ensure accuracy in forecasting demands.

A relevant example of this is the work undertaken on ICT skills demand forecast this year. In 2013, the EGFSN published the study, Addressing Future Demand for High-Level ICT Skills. This study included a demand forecast for ICT skills over the period 2013-2018. The findings and recommendations of this report were essential inputs into the development of the ICT Skills Action Plan 2014-2018. This year, the EGFSN has engaged in a refresh of the demand forecast exercise undertaken in 2013 for the period 2017-22. This analysis will inform the upcoming ICT skills action plan.

Other EGFSN work under way in 2018 includes skills forecasts across sectors such as food and drink, design, freight transport, distribution and logistics and skills for the digital economy.

My Department provides works permits for those key skills which are in short supply through the employment permits system. This system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA migrants to fill skills shortages. The objective is balanced by the need to ensure there are no suitably qualified Irish or EEA nationals available to undertake the work and the shortage is genuine. The employment permits system is managed by the operation of the highly skilled eligible occupations list and the ineligible categories list. The rationale underpinning the inclusion or omission from the occupation lists is informed by the EGFSN and the skills and labour market research unit in SOLAS and is augmented by a consultation process.

I will deal with the competition issue.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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There are 40 seconds gone.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I will deal with the competition in the next round of the question.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Whatever the Minister of State wishes.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is no point in us pretending about the impact the skills shortages will have across all sectors of the economy. We have rapid growth, our GDP has increased and our debt ratios have dropped dramatically but underneath all the positive news, are the alarm bells beginning to ring due to the drop in competitiveness?

If we do not arrest that particular issue, we will have the same difficulties and challenges facing the country in a few years as we had previously. The reason I say that is it takes time to train people. It takes time to upskill people. It takes time to attract people back into the economy.

We no longer have the pool of labour available to us from the eastern European states that we had on the previous occasion we had a major expansion in the economy because their economies have converged more with the rest of Europe in terms of growth and we will have skills shortages. It is evident already. In the areas of agriculture, hospitality and transport, we already have massive shortages and the construction sector is now beginning to bite severely. Beyond that, in the trades and the higher skills, we also will have considerable difficulties.

The idea that the expert group for future skills needs would look at a five-year horizon is baffling when it takes at least four to five years for an engineer to qualify and three-to-four years for a tradesperson to be fully qualified. We must look beyond that short timeframe.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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11 o’clock

The Department of Education and Skills, the national skills council, the regional skills fora and the expert group on future skills needs are all looking at the issue. That is the reason we have so many FDI companies operating in various sectors in this country. Deputy Kelleher is correct in that it is important that we update the skills.

The drop in competitiveness that was evident from last night's report is disappointing. We have gone from sixth place to 12th in the world economy but we are still in the top 15, which is important. We are ahead of China. The top five seem to remain in place all the time. The USA had dropped but it is back up again. Hong Kong had taken over. The first three are now the USA, Hong Kong and Singapore. We still remain in the top three within the European Union and it is important to acknowledge that.

That is just one issue. We should bear in mind the successes we have had in our ranking in other areas. The UK is currently 20th while we are 12th. We are ranked first in the world by the IMD World Competitiveness Center for productivity in industry and the flexibility and adaptability of our workforce. We also perform very well in attracting and retaining talent. That is extremely important for us. The focus is very much on upskilling and reskilling people where jobs are changing. The future of work of changing.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Kelleher.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Only last Friday-----

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Nobody is listening to me.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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-----the EU Commissioner ranked Ireland sixth in the context of the digital economy and how we have embraced the skills, which is up three places. We are going in a very positive direction.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Kelleher has one minute.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have been very well behaved this morning.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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It is difficult to stop when one has such good news to report.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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We have acknowledged that there are skills shortages and that things are changing. However, we have to take account of the collaboration that is taking place to address the situation. First, there is interdepartmental collaboration and then there is collaboration between multinational companies in the private sector with third-level institutions and the Department. That is key. There is a significant focus on apprenticeships and there are opportunities for students to pursue apprenticeships in collaboration with the big multinational companies. That is where the third-level institutions come into play.

Our unemployment rate has gone from a high of 15.1% down to 5.9%. We are very conscious that we are almost at full employment. We are also very conscious of the future needs of the growing population. That is why we put Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework, in place. We have the resources to ensure we are ready for the change that is coming and to ensure that we have a skilled workforce because we have a very young workforce and a well educated population.