John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not mean to cut across Deputy Burton. On her point about apprenticeship, is there a role for politicians or Government? The perception that exists in this country for those who are leaving second level, and for their families even more so, is that one has to go to third level and if one does not go to third level, one is a failure. We ourselves created that perception, possibly in coming from a position where so few of our parent's generation went to third level. It has created an industry of courses, as I stated previously. There are courses, which I will not name on this occasion, in third level institutions in this country that provide no prospects for students and yet students leaving second level every year take them up, and we have those real problems that Deputy Burton raised, in particular, in the hospitality sector.

I deal with a language school in Kilkenny that brings students from Germany and Austria and places them in businesses to learn English and the last two students who came to me were Austrian. These 19 year old students had a full-scale debate with me on how negatively they perceived corporation tax rates in Ireland. Both of these guys were doing apprenticeships in office management, not going to third level. How do we change the perception that exists, whether we like it or not, that unless one goes into third level on leaving secondary school, one has failed? Does Mr. O'Brien have any advice? It is a big question. How does he think we can do that?