Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are areas where the Department has taken action regarding the participation of women in apprenticeships. In fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, there has been some action, although the effect of it remains to be seen in the higher education sector. Within the higher education sector we have the international programme and awards under the Athena SWAN initiative. The universities and institutes of higher education are doing fantastic work to promote gender equality and opportunity but it does not appear that the same is being done for apprenticeships. I do not know if there is an international standard in apprenticeships as there is in higher education, but perhaps that is the reason the pressure is on there. We need to put the pressure on ourselves and the Minister of State must put pressure on himself to ensure that we change the situation because it is not sustainable for civic society to have 95% of participants who are male and no realistic prospect of any substantial increase in the level of participation by women in the coming years. The rate will probably change slightly but we need much more dramatic action.

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