Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)

I thank the witnesses. It is very welcome that the range of traditional craft apprenticeships has expanded. I was on the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board, WWETB, for about a decade. We often spoke there about how far behind we are compared to places like Germany that have 300 to 400 apprenticeships in all sorts of areas. In the past, people would have looked down their noses at traditional apprenticeships, but we are left without basic skills now. Many people have moved towards university and college degrees, and the basics have been forgotten.

Has there been much demand in areas like retrofitting? This is obviously a great career path for a lot of young people. There is great money and a great future in it. It is hard to get bricklayers now. We definitely need them as well. What is the demand for this type of apprenticeship and are such apprenticeships being developed?

Bus drivers are also needed. We are still in the middle of a public transport crisis because it is not possible to get bus drivers. They have to be trained and certified. I know people who have three buses ready to go. Yes, in the middle of October, there is still no bus available to transport about 35 children in my constituency to school. The reason we are often given for this is that we do not have bus drivers. Can anything be done through SOLAS, with the ETBs, in this area? It is certainly a practical, basic thing that needs to be done. I would like to get the witnesses' thoughts on this point.