POLITICIANS "waffle" on about reports but nothing is ever done about them, Mr Frank Fahey (FF), said yesterday during a debate on the Forfas report, Shaping Our Future.
While this report was exceptional, "we politicians will fail to implement it", he said.
Mr Shane Ross (FG) said the report will never be implemented because of political tensions within the Coalition between left and right.
Mr Feargal Quinn (Ind) said the aspirations set by the report for Ireland are far too low.
The goal of cutting unemployment in half by the year 2010 is too modest. "Is our ambition so miniscule that we could tolerate in our minds this enormous level of unemployment 15 years down the road?"
He said the report underestimates the number of net new jobs between now and 2010 coming from the service industries at 85 per cent.
Mr John V. Farrelly (FG) said the people who put the report together missed out on the substantial area of apprenticeship training. "Grants should be given to encourage people to take on apprentices and give them proper training. Otherwise we will miss out on a whole generation of skilled craftsmen."