“It’s a type of housing people used to moving around for work expect to have access to,” says Keevans, “and providing more of them here would free up existing houses that are being shared for families while making it easier to attract more to Ireland to fill the roles.”
The tightness of the market varies from sector to sector. With 2.61 million people in employment, it is one of the lowest vacancy rates in Europe, but it is more than double in public administration and defence what it is in information and communication technology after what has been a comparatively rough few months for employment in the tech sector.
In the short term they could fill gaps in his rosters, but the bigger issue, he says, is that such shifts were previously a way into a sector that a portion of part-time workers then decided they would like to make a career for themselves in. Apprentices are not covered by minimum wage legislation. Why would a young adult sign up to work in all weathers for a fraction of what the local German supermarket will pay? So a simple answer is decent pay and conditionsFor Laura Bambrick, head of social affairs and employment policy at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the key issue is more immediate.