Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Am I correct stating that as many people are waiting now as have been cleared from the waiting list? I appreciate the efforts the Government is making, but it is still worrying. The senior Minister made many pronouncements recently about the necessity for a greater parity of esteem between people going to apprenticeships and those going into the more academic sector, with which I completely agree. If one looks at the emphasis on ensuring that there are not backlogs in the higher education sector in the practical side of medicine, dentistry, etc., compared with the waiting lists which have built up in the areas to which I referred in the original question, it does not reflect that Government priority. The Minister also announced very ambitious targets about getting new people into the trade sector. I am not sure if the Minister of State shares the ambition of the Minister. Maybe it is the case that not many people in the House share his level of ambition. The problem is that sometimes the performance of the Department he leads does not quite match up to his ambition. I am worried that that will be the case in this instance.

I welcome the ambitious targets and the announcements that the Minister of State has made. At this stage, however, we have to say that there are as many people waiting as there are those who have been cleared through the apprenticeship system. If we are going to attract those apprentices - and we all agree that we need them - we have to ensure that they can be guaranteed to get through their apprenticeships in the timeframe set out at the start and that said timeframe does not change from four to seven years in the middle.

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