Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. The Minister, Deputy Niall Collins, should be aware that additional time will be made available to allow more Deputies contribute.

Regarding apprenticeships in the hospitality sector, I have spoken to a number of hoteliers on this issue in the past few months since this new Department was set up and there is a real focus on apprenticeships. I refer to the need to reboot the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. We saw the way the hospitality sector assisted the economic recovery following the financial crash but following that there was a huge shortage of chefs, jobs in areas of hotel management and so on. I believe the hotel and catering college is still operating in Shannon, County Clare, and before that we had CERT. My constituency office, and I am sure it is the case with other members' constituency offices also, has had contact from chefs in other countries who are trying to come here to work in hotels but who are facing work visa issues and so on. I ask the Minister of State, who has responsibility for apprenticeships, to look at the area of chefs specifically because when we come out the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic the hotel and hospitality sector will be hugely important in the recovery of our economy. It is an area the Minister of State might be able to work on with the hotel and hospitality sector. I hope to bring the representatives of the sector before this committee in the coming 12 to 18 months to get their views on that because it has been raised with me.