Mr. Mark McSherry:

I am a bricklayer and people think the only tools a bricklayer needs are a trowel and a level. An apprentice chippy or carpenter, electrician or plumber need a lot more equipment than I do to do their job. One does not get equipment as one gets on. I mean one's tools might get more expensive as time goes by if one decides to upgrade but the bare minimum amount of equipment still costs about €1,600. So, to pay for equipment, and to have a car and run it means that €250 a week does not go far. I am lucky that my father was a bricklayer who had just retired when I started my apprenticeship and, therefore, I did not need to buy my first set of power tools, a concrete saw or consaw etc. because I inherited his tools. However, as I progressed I had to put my hand in my pocket and buy more equipment. If I had a grant then I probably could have bought the equipment at the time.