Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Good. I do not want to leave out the Minister of State, Deputy Collins. He said there were more than 10,000 apprenticeships on the waiting list when we last spoke in July. I have received figures from his Department indicating the number was 13,440 at the end of June. That is a significant increase. It means that something like 67% of apprenticeships are waiting for off-site training. I am concerned about that. I am also concerned that there were savings of €6.7 million in 2020 due to the reduced numbers of apprentices accessing off-site training and only €12 million was allocated to address the backlog in waiting lists. Will the Minister of State please make sense of all that for me? I am concerned about the apprentices. I welcome the announcements about new apprenticeships, broadening the range, increasing the numbers and so on, but 67% of all apprentices are waiting for training as matters stand.