Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this. Of course we all appreciate the power that a university education devolves to students. It opens many doors for them. We must not forget, however, that we also need apprentices in all the trades. Consider plasterers, for example. We talk of housing every day here but they will not be built without tradesmen. We need carpenters, we need block layers, we need plasterers and digger drivers. There is an awful lot of work to be done. It would be grand if youngsters could go to college and spend four or five years or whatever in college but go back and embark on a trade if they did not fit into something at university. However, it is too late then. Young fellas need to start at 16 or 17 years of age, if they are interested.

We also need mechanics, which someone mentioned already. It is very important to someone buying a car, a bus, a lorry, a tractor or whatever, that whoever they buy it from has a mechanic that knows what is wrong if something small goes wrong with it. Maybe it is a sensor or some kind of an electric gadget that we know nothing at all about. We would not be able to change clutches or starters and all those kinds of things. We need people versed in that and we need to encourage those people. I wish the Minister and the Minister of State well in their new roles.

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