Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is saying the progress relates to last year and, while everything is being rolled out, nothing has actually been rolled out. Has the Minister had a chance to visit fifth year, sixth year or transition year groups in secondary schools around the country to ask the young women how many of them are interested in apprenticeships? In Austria and Germany it has been shown that, with buy-in from employers, it is quite possible to get women into craft areas traditionally dominated by men. In the previous Government I was involved in widening the range of apprenticeships available to women. At the end of an apprenticeship, someone has the possibility of not only getting a job but also of forming a small business. There is a lot of interest in apprenticeships in rural Ireland but the opportunities, for boys and girls, are extremely limited.

See this speech in context