Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If somebody was doing a four-year law degree and it ended up taking him or her six years or more, it would be unacceptable. If we told our teachers that their four-year course was now to last six or six and a half years, it would be unacceptable. Why is it acceptable for plumbers?

Why is it acceptable for plasterers, brickies and carpenters? That is what is happening under the Government. It cannot get away from the figures. The Tánaiste talked about October. In October, 5,514 people were waiting for off-the-job training. The figures in January spiked to 9,000. That is why we told the Government it is taking its eye off the ball. We have apprentices the length and breadth of the country who want to roll up their sleeves and get involved in helping out with the housing crisis, yet they are being frustrated. They are telling the Government in their own words that it does not value them, and that they are waiting a year and a half to two years to get off-the-job training. It is not just about phase 2. It is phases 4 and 6 as well. These numbers are getting worse. That is the problem. The numbers are getting worse overall. The number of people waiting for off-the-job training is getting worse overall.

What are the consequences of that? The Taoiseach told my colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, that of the approximately 6,000 people who are registering every year for craft apprenticeships, more than 1,000 are dropping out because they are sick, sore and tired of waiting month after month for what they should be entitled to within a short number of weeks, which is their training. It is unacceptable. I have heard nothing from the Government on what it will do to fix this.

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