John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne for her important question. When I became Minister of State I was made aware of the difficulty we are having in the area to which she referred.

In 2015, the expert group on future skills needs, EGSFN, carried out a study on the future skills needs of the hospitality sector. It assessed skills demand across the sector so as to ensure provision of the right supply of skills for the sector. The report was published in November 2015, and sets out a clear framework to provide for the skill needs of the sector in the years ahead.

A key recommendation of the study was the need to establish a national oversight and advisory group comprising all the key hospitality stakeholders to monitor progress on the implementation of the recommendations in the report. The hospitality skills oversight group was established last year, with membership including Government Departments and agencies, education providers, SOLAS, ETBs, HEA, the Restaurant Association of Ireland, Vintners Federation of Ireland, the Irish Hotel Federation, the Irish Hospitality Institute and the Licenced Vintners Association.

The group met on eight occasions. I have asked it to publish a report as quickly as possible. I have been told it will publish its first progress report shortly. To date, work has been undertaken on careers promotion via a range of fora such as, for example, the launch of the tourism insight online programme which is aimed at promoting careers in tourism and hospitality, the publication of a draft new specification for junior certificate home economics and the establishment by Skillnets limited of a dedicated training network for the hospitality industry.

Promoted by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the network plans to design tailored programmes covering all aspects of the restaurant, food and beverage industry to SMEs nationally. Work is progressing on the development of a new commis chef apprenticeship, planned to commence later this year, led by the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland which are working with Kerry Education and Training Board.

We are working with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on this issue. We realise that there is a difficulty, but we have taken the right approach in bringing on board all of the shareholders and asking them to report back. The report should be with me very shortly and I will be delighted to send a copy to Senator Byrne. If stakeholders such as the Senator believe they can add to the report, which has not been finalised, they can do so. We are asking stakeholders to come on board to assist us in the development of the apprenticeship model which we know is necessary.

Some months ago I was handing out certificates at an event and it was indicated that there is a shortage of perhaps 8,000 in the sector, which is a significant number. Once we receive the report all of the interested parties can push forward to determine how we can deal with the serious problem the Senator has addressed.