James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I fully agree with Deputy Timmins. There are a couple of ways to look at this. The promotion of further education options and apprenticeships is really important. We have a job of work to do as a country and a society in persuading people of that and advocating for it. I make the argument every day that apprenticeships and further education in general should never be seen as second best or some kind of rung below. They are absolutely equal, exciting, tangible and can be a very rewarding pathway into a career as a first-choice option. That is a message we need to repeat. We must align our access to education through combined pathways and continue to promote that message through guidance counselling and all those areas. It is key we do that. I have visited a number of ETB schools, which have both second level and further education going on in the building. I was in Gorey Institute of Further Education recently and Mullingar Community College not so long ago and a number of what we call dual schools. They could do a body of work promoting options within them. Indeed, non-ETB schools could do the same. I am not going to trespass on Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee's area because second level education and guidance counselling, etc., comes under her remit, but that is something we would all be supportive of.

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