John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To take the second question, a new funding mechanism is being discussed with employers at present and I will keep the Deputy informed as to how that is progressing. On the first question, there is already a new call out for apprenticeships and perhaps the valuable proposal the Deputy makes will come into that. Given the previous position of apprenticeships, which had reduced in number to approximately 3,670, there has been phenomenal development across the spectrum in the past two to three years. As to whether we will reach the target and whether the money is available, as I said, a call is out. We have seen the value of investing in apprenticeships and the take-up has been phenomenal. There is no reason we would not want that to continue.

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