Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand the point the Minister made in his initial contribution that we must first look to our EU partners and the capacity of skilled individuals across the Union to fill our gaps. Something we could do quickly would be to agree that apprentices should not be paid any less than the national minimum wage.

We have an SEO in construction and some of these issues could be usefully discussed in the context of SEOs and the general collective bargaining system across construction. Some of the indications I am getting from trade unions about the small number of young people coming through wet trade apprenticeships are frightening and stark. We need to address this issue. One way of doing so would be for the Administration and us as a society to decide that the apprenticeship model should change. I suggest that the Minister work with and get the advice of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, on reviewing rates for apprentices in the wet trades.

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