Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On mental health supports, as part of the July Covid funding there was a complete package of €168 million. It was broken down into various component parts, including €20 million for student assistance funding and a scheme to purchase 17,000 laptops. I do not have the exact amount for mental health supports but I think it was €3.4 million to fund additional mental health supports in each of our institutions through their support services to engage additional psychologists and counsellors to provide extra capacity for students, particularly in the pandemic year.

Our agricultural colleges were raised in this committee and in the Dáil and Seanad. The agricultural colleges do not come under our remit but come under the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. In recent days, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine has made €200,000 available for a hardship fund for students attending agricultural colleges to cover mental health supports and the purchase of IT equipment or Internet connectivity. It is basically a catch-all fund to support students who are experiencing hardship and do not have the financial wherewithal to purchase the supports and the IT equipment needed.

We are very conscious of the shortage of people in the trades. The apprenticeship action plan is being drafted at present and will be published early in the new year. It is envisaged that a number of new apprenticeships will be offered. A €3,000 incentive is being offered to employers to take on an apprentice, with I believe €1,000 on signing on and €2,000 after a year - it might be vice versa. That incentive has been very popular and has been extended to the middle of next year when it will be reviewed. It has been quite attractive in encouraging employers to take on apprentices. I believe about 700 apprentices have been engaged through that incentive to date.