Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)

The Government's objective is that by 2030 we will have 12,500 apprenticeships in the system. We are already well on track to achieving that, with, I think, about 9,300 last year. The Deputy said we are relying on migrant workers. Certainly, they play an important role in the sector. We are pleased to see that the sector is working but we also have a responsibility to grow the number of apprenticeships. There is our action plan for construction, which is there up to this year, and we are launching a new action plan. Our objective is to ensure that more people, especially women, see apprenticeships as a viable, exciting, interesting career pathway. I use the word "pathway" because it is not just an end in itself; an apprenticeship is a pathway into so many different areas in the construction sector, some on site, some off site. We are working very diligently to get that message across.

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