Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What I want to know is when the backlog will be dealt with because I get a different answer every time I ask this question. It is difficult to compare figures. Last year we were working on a waiting list of more than 8,000 people. This year we get the number of people that are waiting just under six months. The figures are difficult to decipher. In the meantime, we have a situation where many apprentices are waiting and I know they are contacting the Minister as well because they are contacting me. I am really concerned about the impact this is having on them financially and on their mental health and well-being. We need to look as well at the number of apprentices who have dropped out of the system because of this. Whatever about new apprentices, which I always welcome, we have to deal with the backlog and face up to the current situation where people are having to wait too long. They are having to wait to do an apprenticeship that was supposed to take four years and is now taking five and six years and it is just not on.

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