Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I strongly welcome the apprenticeship action plan. It is important to acknowledge the decades-long tradition of Irish tradespeople being welcomed all over the world because the quality of their apprenticeship training was so high. I will refer briefly to the town centres first policy that is written into the programme for Government. If we are to revitalise the centres of our towns and villages, there will be huge demand for people with heritage crafts and skills. In that context, I urge the Department to engage with the Minister of State with responsibility for heritage, Deputy Noonan. If we are developing a new range of apprenticeships, we should also consider heritage apprenticeships in areas like food and heritage buildings. If we are to revitalise our towns and villages, there will be a need for particular skill sets and there are huge opportunities there. There are also opportunities in the retrofitting space. Heritage skills could be put to very good use in terms of unlocking the older housing stock. I urge the Department to include that in its work programme.