Chapter 3: Investment in Education and Training
Participation in education has an unambiguously positive impact on earnings.
Due to a market failure, individuals do not invest in the optimum level of education and training.
The State, therefore, is justified in intervening in the market for education and training at certain levels, notably at primary and secondary level, and for certain target groups (for example, individuals who left formal education without completing a leaving certificate or equivalent).
In the years ahead, labour productivity will be the key determinant of economic growth in Ireland, and increasing productivity will depend to a large extent on education and training. A workforce that is better educated and trained can produce higher value goods and services, and is more likely to innovate.
Improved education and training also yield a social dividend: they result in better social cohesion and public health, and mitigate against poverty, crime and social welfare dependency.
Finally, globalisation requires a flexible workforce. Ireland, as a small open economy, must be able to respond rapidly to changes in the world economic and technological environment; only a welleducated population is able to respond in this way.
Sustained and enhanced investment in the educational and training infrastructure is thus necessary and desirable for the foreseeable future.
