Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If the Deputy likes, I will give figures for each year. At the end of 2020, the total number of apprenticeship registrations was 5,326. At the end of 2021, it was 8,607. At the end of 2022, it was 8,286. I can break that down further. Of the 8,286, 6,299 were craft apprentices and 1,987 were apprentices engaged in the various consortia apprenticeships. At the end of last year, the total apprentice population was 26,325. That number had grown since the previous year, when it was 24,212.

I will give the Deputy the backlog figures because they comprise a quite topical subject that we speak about a lot. At the end of 2020, the backlog was 8,453, of whom 5,227 were waiting more than six months. In 2021, there were 8,797 on the waiting list, with 5,607 waiting for more than six months. At the end of last year, there were 8,474 on the waiting list, with the number waiting for more than six months having dropped to 4,867. Inroads are, therefore, being made. There was a decrease of 13.2% on 2021 and of 6.9% on 2020.