Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. It is because of the importance and the sensitivity of the issue Deputy Boyd Barrett raises that I want to get him a more substantive reply than I have here. If he would like to send me Áine's correspondence I will certainly discuss that. My understanding on the issue of payment for placements is that it is a matter for a Department other than mine. The Deputy might still let me, as a member of Government, see if I can make progress for him on that and come back to him and to Áine with a more detailed answer.

In response to Deputy Conway Walsh, I do not mean this in any flippant or smart way but we need to have a common and shared understanding of what we mean by "waiting". As we increase the number of people coming in to apprenticeships, and we are seeing a massive increase, there will always be people who are waiting. I think what the Deputy and I both mean is people who are waiting longer than they should be. In respect of the people waiting longer than they should be, I expect during the course of this year for massive progress to be made in that regard. In fairness to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, a large amount has been allocated in additional funding. There has been a lot of flexibility shown by the sector. A lot of it, although not all of it, does arise from the Covid backlog. It is not a lack of resources on our part because we are throwing more money than ever before at apprenticeships. It is so vital. It is requiring physical expansion to capacity and additional staffing as well.

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