Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 25 September 2025

Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community

Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme: Discussion

2:00 am

Ms Bridget Kelly:

I cannot say they successfully finish their apprenticeship, because our programme is only a pilot. I know apprentices in their second or third year. We are only in the third year of the pilot programme. To date, we have not seen anyone drop out. The issue of racism and discrimination is still significant. We are still losing out. For example, looking at statistics, we have funded 150 but we are losing many members of the Traveller community because the employers are not there. It is an area that we need to work on. The employers need to work with us. They need to be open and more inclusive to take on members of the Traveller community. They need to set a target and be more open to taking on Travellers in the workplace and Traveller apprentices. Does Mr. Stokes want to answer the question about companies?