John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have the action plan to expand apprenticeships and traineeships, which runs from 2016 to 2020. The objective is to reach between 40,000 and 50,000 new apprenticeships. At one stage, before the recession, there were approximately 30,000 to 32,000 apprenticeships, which came all the way down to approximately 2,500 to 3,000. This figure covered apprenticeships at all levels, including basic apprenticeships, and there are many reasons for this drop. The objective is to bring the number past the 30,000, which it was in the past. For instance, there are already 2,400 places in existing traineeships and 800 registrations for new apprenticeships for 2017 alone. There were no questions on the FET programme but I would like to inform members there have been 320,000 beneficiaries of this programme across a wide range of provisions, both part-time and full-time, from levels 1 to 6. If Deputy Thomas Byrne wants any information, I will get him the booklet explaining everything in the action plan. There will be a much wider range of apprenticeships on offer as a result of new calls for proposals over the next few years. One such call went out only last week. I met a business group today, which I cannot name, and it was asking for a new call for apprenticeships in the business in which it is in. I am confident we will reach the proposed target by 2020.