Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I apologise for missing the start but I was in the Seanad Chamber. I hope I do not repeat what has gone before. I will pursue what was said by Deputies Smith and Connolly. Before I entered the House, I was the first and only employee of a company 30-odd years ago. In that scenario, you make the coffee, do accounts, fix the machines and sweep the floor. You need somebody and could provide training for an apprentice but you cannot and you do not join IBEC or chambers. You do not have time for any of that crack but you would love more employees to share the work. These companies fall between the cracks because they are not members of Mr. Talbot's organisation or any other organisation. The entrepreneurs are out there - SMEs, the self-employed and businesses with two, three, four or five employees. Someone my age was lucky that we had Bord na Móna. We had fitters, welders and mechanics coming out of the board looking for jobs or to set up their own companies. That day is gone. I am thinking of builders and block layers in particular. We all know the demand. We cannot turn on the television or radio without being told how we will not build the houses without the tradespeople. 3-D printing is coming online. A block layer with two, three, four or five employees is flat to the mat. They have heard about this concept, seen it and would love to do it but how do they take on apprentices for something that is an entirely new concept to them or where do they find them? I am not condoning this but back in my day, we watched apprentices coming out of bigger companies and tried to make them an offer and rob them, in simple terms. We tried to entice them and let someone else have a shot. I am not condoning that but for a lot of companies, the only way to get a trained employee is to let someone do the donkey work and that is bad policy. Will Mr. Talbot comment on that? I know he touched on it at the end. There are a lot of SMEs and small, rural businesses that just do not have the time or personnel for this. They do not have the HR department that the companies we think about when we talk about all this training and apprenticeships do have.