Mr. John Kearney:

To briefly return to the Senator's query, I reassure him that the sector very much shares his concern in respect of the apprenticeship backlog and the emergency needs in the context of the housing crisis. As such, the focus is very much on delivery of the three focal apprenticeships, that is, electrical, plumbing and carpentry, with a view to decompressing the backlog and responding adequately to the emergency needs. I am very confident that in the next academic year we will get back on track in the context of the backlog, which will also involve our third level colleagues in terms of the delivery of apprenticeships.