Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I do not want to get into too much detail in the time available to me. By 2010, the cancellation of courses for apprentices will affect 4.8 permanent whole-time teachers who are qualified to teach in this area. If the Department's requirements are to be met, part-time teachers in the post-leaving certificate sector will have to be let go. It is ridiculous that 4.8 teachers will be walking around doing nothing because certain requirements have to be met. There is a simple way out of this. Skills will be needed in certain sectors of the construction industry in the future. The college referred to in my original question has identified two courses — conservation and the built environment, and sustainable construction technology and practice — that should be developed further. The 4.8 teachers I have mentioned are capable of teaching those courses. We need to continue to give people skills for the future. It would be wrong if 4.8 teachers were doing nothing, simply to meet a departmental requirement, at a time when courses are being cancelled. It is time to think differently about the training of apprentices. I do not understand why the retraining agency, FÁS, needs to be involved in education.

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