Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am mindful of the Cathaoirleach's ruling. I want to record my satisfaction with the development that there will be a fresh investigation into the disappearance of Mary Boyle nearly 40 years ago, a matter I raised in this House last week. The investigation is the result of hard work by journalists and investigative reporters. Their job is often a thankless one but this is an example of how they can shake up bureaucracy and take steps that people believe are justified.

The culinary and hospitality industry is probably the second fastest growing industry in Ireland. Therefore, the development of culinary courses is vital for the growth of the sector. These days we are very conscious of the impact of Brexit and how it will impact on tourist numbers from Britain. This is all the more reason to make sure that our culinary and hospitality industry is at its best so we can be at our most attractive to tourists from abroad and from home.

At present the industry is experiencing a shortage of chefs. An estimated 5,000 chefs need to be trained each year, by 2020, if demand is to be met. These figures were published in November 2015 after extensive work on the hospitality sector had been done by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs. Since the merging of the Council for Education, Recruitment and Training, CERT, into the new Fáilte Ireland there has been little funding for industry training other than what was given to institutes of technology. Only 1,300 chefs are trained each year. Chefs are needed all over the place and not just in restaurants, hotels, gastropubs, contract caterers, coffee shops, food production units and more. The Restaurants Association of Ireland, with whom I have been in contact, receives calls every day from members struggling to find trained chefs. There are over 800 vacancies for chefs of all grades at the moment. We should hear from the Government about this matter. A solution would be the re-establishment of CERT. More important, today I would like the relevant Minister to come into the House, perhaps in the context of another debate or on this issue, to address how the skills shortage and the shortage of chefs is to be addressed.