Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have had many debates and discussions on job creation and high unemployment levels. I saw comments by Louise Phelan, the Irish head of PayPal, where she said that young graduates are completely unprepared for work, not hungry enough to succeed in today's environment, and that they have a sense of entitlement, expecting everything to be handed to them on a plate. She said they have great graduates working in PayPal but others arrive with a sense of entitlement, unprepared for the workplace in which they are to operate. We all wonder why this is. Is it because during the property bubble everything seemed so much easier and everyone seemed to succeed?

Ms Phelan talked about Ireland being a great place in which to do business but worries that the younger generation is woefully unprepared for the workplace. We must have a debate with the Minister on how multinational companies view Ireland, our graduates and their preparedness for work. If Ms Phelan's feelings are shared by other multinational companies, we should be seriously worried about future investment. We must discuss this with the Minister as a matter of urgency. I would ask the Leader to facilitate that debate in the coming weeks.