Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising the issue of Ballyhaunis. I will ask my officials to engage with SOLAS regarding it. A competitive call is under way now and, from memory, applications are due in by the first week of April. It will be up to the local ETBs to prioritise the projects they wish to see funded in the first competitive capital call. I will ensure that my officials and SOLAS are aware of Ballyhaunis.

The Deputy has pointed out the reduced number of apprentices who fully qualified in a year. We must, though, also be truthful about why that was. We had significant lockdowns and restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have seen heroic work done across the sector and people trying to reduce those times now when the sector is back at full throttle. We have allocated a great deal of additional support. That would be acknowledged by SOLAS and the ETBs. We are taking on additional trainers and saying that the backlog for phases 4 and 6 will be cleared by April. We are also saying that by the end of the year, the waiting list for phase 2 will effectively be cleared, if not fully cleared. I and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, who is away on Government business tonight, will be monitoring this aspect closely and Deputy Conway-Walsh will be asking me about this issue every time we have questions too.

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