asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will detail the efforts taken by the Electricity Supply Board to overcome the shortage of engineers, to which the slow progress of the rural electrification scheme is attributed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Shortage of Electricity Supply Board Engineers.
I am informed by the Electricity Supply Board that while normally engineers with electrical qualifications are most suitable for work on the rural electrification scheme, the shortage of engineers so qualified has led the board to employ, as the best substitutes available, civil engineers. Such engineers, however, do not regard work on the rural network as affording them useful experience, and they are therefore inclined to seek employment elsewhere on work more closely associated with civil engineering proper. In addition to advertising in the Press the advantages of employment in the Electricity Supply Board were explained to final year electrical engineering students of all the Irish universities. Those interested were asked to present themselves for interview.