Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I congratulate him on his election as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad and I look forward to working with all colleagues across the House on various issues during the term of this Seanad. I also wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to those affected by the Orlando killings, which were terrible. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those in the LGBT community and all those affected by those horrible killings.

I call on the Leader of the House to arrange a debate on the future employment skills needs of the country. As the economy recovers, we see employers struggle to find workers with the appropriate skill sets to fill the vacancies being advertised in locations throughout the country. As a former apprentice myself, I think this is an area that certainly needs review and reform. We should always be evaluating and considering lifelong learning, reskilling and training, but there is a particular need for this now, especially in the construction sector, where there is a lack of apprentices coming through in the various trades, as the economy recovers and demand increases.

It is important we have a debate in the House and that we bring in the various Ministers responsible for education, employment and jobs and have an in-depth analysis of the current and future skills needs not only in Dublin but in all regions. Languages are another area in which there are huge job opportunities for the country. We need to improve the language capabilities of students who are qualifying given the job opportunities that are available to them. I ask the Leader to make provision for a debate in this House on skills needs and future requirements and demands.