Mr. Adrian Cummins:

I thank Deputy Cannon for what are very good questions. An apprenticeship scheme is very prohibitive from a cost basis because when an apprentice goes to college, the employer has to pay the apprentice while he or she is there. In other apprenticeship schemes, the State covers that cost. The cost can be between €3,000 and €6,000, depending on the number of days the apprentice is in college. It is very cost inefficient for us and is not fit for purpose. We need to look at it from an efficiency point of view.

Regarding the regulatory environment, there are 22 different licences that we must deal with in the restaurant industry. One example is the outdoor seating licence. Applications for that licence should be moved online, the process should be uniform across the country and the fees for same should be waived during this crisis. We can determine how to reintroduce those fees in the future. Business improvement districts levies should be waived. Indeed, all such levies should be abolished while we are in this crisis. We need to make sure that everything is streamlined, fit for purpose and that costs are reduced for the industry. I will give way to my colleagues now.