Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. The action plan for apprenticeships, which runs from 2021 to 2025 promotes access, diversity and inclusion in apprenticeships by offering targeted supports to encourage participation from under-represented groups such as the Traveller community.

One of the plan's main objectives is apprenticeship for all to ensure that the apprenticeship population better represents the national population. To advance this the national apprenticeship alliance established an access and inclusion subcommittee in early 2023. In 2023 a tailored programme for access to apprenticeships within the Traveller community was developed and successfully introduced. The initiative was led by the Irish Traveller Movement with advice and support from the above mentioned subcommittee. The Traveller apprenticeship incentive programme aims to increase uptake of and retention of apprenticeships within the Traveller community. It has run an advocacy and awareness campaign to raise the profile of apprenticeships. The programme offers a bursary of €3,000 to successful applicants, and separately a €2,000 grant to eligible employers. To date interest has been very positive and encouraging. The programme went live in April of 2023 and by the end of 2023 a total of 41 Travellers had been funded to the programme.

We are really pleased to confirm that a figure of €450,000 has been secured to continue the programme into 2024. Under the access to apprenticeship incentive, 3,000 bursaries are also available to support those who were experiencing severe socioeconomic disadvantage, with €500,000 being allocated for this in the 2024 bursary and initiative. This is delivered through the Technical University of the Shannon, TUS, and is expanding to all education and training boards, as well as to TUS Limerick campus, TUS Athlone campus, Munster Technological University, and Atlantic Technological University in Galway.

Building on these actions we strongly share the objective reflected in the Deputy's question of continuing to provide greater opportunities for young people in the Traveller community to participate in apprenticeships.

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