Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In my constituency of Sligo-Leitrim, a lot of students over the years have used Coleraine, Jordanstown, Queen's University Belfast and Enniskillen. Perhaps it is the same in the Minister's constituency of Donegal. There is great concern among students and parents about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. What will the implications be for the students? The Minister also mentioned students coming from Northern Ireland to the likes of Sligo Institute of Technology or Letterkenny Institute of Technology. Does the Minister see any implications for them?

I welcome the Minister of State's comments on apprenticeships. I was involved in the business for many years prior to being here. So many businesses were looking after apprentices but for quite a number of years this fell flat and there was nothing happening. To try to get apprentices such as block layers, electricians or various other people is difficult now. They are very scarce on the ground. Any incentive that could be made available to employers to take them on would be helpful. We are out of the recession. During that time, builders and various others were very reluctant to take on any young people, male or female, as apprentices because of the cost factor. Now things have changed. I would like to see that everybody would be encouraged to take on new apprentices. There are a lot of people who would have loved to go down that route but were discouraged because there were no opportunities or incentives for them for a number of years. Perhaps the Minister of State could give me some detail on that.