Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

Earlier in the debate, the Minister of State referred to the long-anticipated downturn in construction activity as a correction. As someone who probably will enter negative equity by next summer, it feels like somewhat more than a correction to me, as well as to many people of my generation.

FÁS has 28,500 apprentices at present, 90% of whom are being trained for construction jobs. As the Minister of State has noted, the downturn in construction was anticipated. In such circumstances, would it not have been appropriate for FÁS to have begun to shift away much sooner from construction apprenticeships to other areas in which skill gaps exist, such as HGV drivers etc.? Would it not have been appropriate for the Department to offer FÁS advice to that effect?

Most importantly, quite a number of these apprentices will probably lose their jobs halfway through their training. What measures will be put in place to ensure that those affected either have the opportunity to undergo alternative training or can somehow complete their training, even if a job is not available to them at the time?

See this speech in context