Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy makes a fair point. In regard to the national broadband roll-out plan, I am getting a lot of information from industry that there is potential in this regard. If the roll-out is to go to every single house in the country, we should be planning and preparing for that. I am glad the officials are already having those conversations. There must be joined-up thinking between the different interdepartmental groups and the various Ministers. It is about upping the ante and co-ordinating our efforts. There is scope to look at bringing in people who are coming out of certain courses and looking to add value to their qualification. Ensuring there is a component of skilled apprenticeships is a social dividend, as the Deputy noted. I thank him for raising this particular issue.

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