Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In November 2018, the number of female apprentices surpassed the 2018 target, which was 300. It stood at 323. This is good news and very welcome. I would be grateful if the Minister will comment on how this came about. What plans does he have to reach the ambitious target for 2019 to double this and bring the number of female apprentices up to 600?

The increase in the national training fund levy is maintaining a substantial surplus that will go to the human capital initiative from next year until 2024. I appreciate that this is still a year away, and Brexit will occur between now and then, but does the Minister have information on how exactly the initiative will operate?

On subhead 5, SOLAS and further education grants, the number of apprentices and trainees has doubled since 2016 from 6,000 to over 12,000, yet the combined allocation has only increased by 9%. Can the Minister elaborate on this?