Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is correct that many companies, including those in his constituency, are struggling to find employees at the moment. That is why it is so important that we make sure we have a system that is fair, quick and easily accessible to both employers and people seeking work. Thankfully, we have a very good situation in Ireland where, at the moment, we have almost full employment. The Senator is also correct that this is not something the Government can take for granted. Ultimately, it is only down to prudent management of Exchequer funds that this can continue. It is obviously something we only have in our gift until the next election and after that, it is the mandate of the people to decide what happens and who is in charge of our economy going forward.

For that reason, we are working to modernise the system. Part of that is appreciating that employment opportunities nowadays are often advertised online, which is probably the easiest way for many people to access employment opportunities. That is why it is very important that we look to online as we seek to modernise the system, although the Senator is right that the national press has a key role to play. We will deal with this in the regulations. I appreciate his feedback. Baked into this legislation is the ability to improve the agility of the system by moving operational details to regulation, which is for easy modification as the circumstances require it. He has outlined the changing circumstances and, for example, moving the detailed requirement of the labour market needs test to regulations is something we are looking at. This can be dealt with in regulation. I will engage with him on it.