Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When discussing further and higher education, I welcome the fact that the vast majority of students are back on campus. Hopefully, that is being done in a safe manner and I know that both the colleges and institutions will do as much as they can to ensure that. One of the issues that has been highlighted by Covid-19 is the shortage in certain professions. I was talking to the Minister about the shortage in teachers. This is an issue that predates Covid-19 because I was a teacher before I was elected in February 2020 and there was a shortage of substitute teachers in certain subjects, especially Irish and French, and after that maths and science, and so on. What is being done to identify and increase the number of students participating in different courses?

I am also spokesperson for disability. The children's disability network teams have been established. There is a shortage of occupational and speech and language therapists and psychologists. What is being done to encourage more people to take up and to qualify in these professions at third level and to go into the public sector given many speech and language therapists and psychologists go into the private sector?

Is there any plan to review apprenticeships? Due to Covid-19, much of the learning was done online. There is capacity to shorten the length of apprenticeships from four years to three, which might encourage more people to take them up. There is a shortage in workers in many construction trades and we need more people to take up apprenticeships as quickly as possible. I thank the Minister of State.