Vol. 508 No. 1
150 Mr. Haughey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the practical services in place to allocate specific jobs in the building and construction industry and the tourism industry to Irish emigrants abroad wishing to return home to work; if there are manpower shortages in these industries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17622/99]
Responsibility for filling job vacancies is primarily a matter for employers. It is up to individual employers to determine their own recruitment processes, whether they are seeking to recruit workers in Ireland or from abroad.
FÁS provides employers with the facility to notify its employment service offices throughout the country of vacancies which they are seeking to fill. The employment service offices make the details of these vacancies available to job seekers and FÁS also attempts to match job seekers to the vacancies.
As part of a response to addressing the skill needs of the economy, FÁS has, for a number of years, provided Irish emigrants abroad with information on job opportunities available in sectors of the economy which are experiencing the most acute skills shortages. This year, FÁS's overseas information campaign will be conducted in the UK, France, Germany, the Benelux countries, the USA and Canada. It is primarily targeted at people seeking to work in the teleservices, electronics, computer and construction sectors. FÁS's aim is to build up a database of over 10,000 suitably qualified Irish nationals and other EU citizens who wish to take up employment in Ireland. FÁS will facilitate the matching of these job seekers with Irish based firms seeking to carry out recruitment.
With regard to the specific industries which the Deputy refers to, the construction industry is among the sectors of the economy which is experiencing skills shortages at present. FÁS has assisted the Construction Industry Federation in attracting Irish emigrants living in the UK back to Ireland to take up jobs in the construction industry. There has also been an unprecedented increase in apprenticeship numbers in the construction craft trades in the last two years and this, together with FÁS's overseas information campaign, should help to alleviate the problem in the sector. Responsibility for the human resources needs of the tourism industry rests with my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation.
