Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes.

How much linkage has the Department on the apprenticeship side of things that it is using with, for example, university students or colleges to promote it? While members are all talking about it, they are a little silo here. Does the rest of the world understand what is available and how much is being done in schools to promote these apprenticeships?

On the subject of procurement, which I acknowledge to be a function of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, many small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in it and, over the years, members have been fighting hard because of the new rule changes associated with procurement. Is there something they can do to encourage the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to allow smaller local companies to become involved in this procurement process? They appear to be excluded based on turnover or insurance. For example, I spoke to the principal of a school last night and while it is saving €300 on toilet roll, it is costing the school €600 to clean out the drains when they get blocked as a result of poor quality toilet roll. While one may be saving on one item, it might cost a great deal more in another way and one must look outside that.

Is the Department satisfied with the staffing level at the enterprise offices? They are involved in a great deal more than the purpose for which they were originally set up. They are involved in school projects apart from the primary role of trying to generate jobs. Can local enterprise offices be refocused whereby it might it be possible to allow them to give grants and funding to people in the service sectors? Although it is not perceived as is manufacturing, when one considers the service sector. it is a major exporting sector within the economy. However, there appears to be a focus on manufacturing and companies that make something instead of on services such as when a company sets up and meets a service or when a service is exported overseas. Could consideration be given to enabling the funding of such enterprises by the LEOs?