Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)

I have a couple of broad-ranging questions. I am a Whip in the Seanad and there a possibility of another vote so if I have asked the questions and I have to leave I will see the answers. Last night, I got a message in a WhatsApp group and it was one of those messages that says something will be organised if enough people are interested. Regarding apprenticeships, if some people are interested but not enough other people are how is a decision made on a particular apprenticeship? How feasible is it to provide an apprenticeship for one business or one manufacturer? Is there a cut off or can a training course be done for one person in one company? In that scenario, how are instructors for emerging technologies found? AI was mentioned a second ago. Where does AI fit into all this going forward?

Regarding the international aspect, and recognition and upskilling in particular, do we have the resources to upskill someone who was trained outside of Ireland? Conversely, how recognised are Irish apprenticeships and qualifications for Irish people who decide to travel and work somewhere else? If there is an emergent technology in whatever their field is and they need to upskill elsewhere, how well are we tied in internationally? Lifelong learning is a buzzword nowadays. A person may have done their foundation studies in Poland but end up in Ireland, and then need to upskill. How compatible is the training from other jurisdictions? Will the witnesses make some broad comments on that? There is no real question in there other than observations, and I would like to hear the witnesses' views.