Results 141-160 of 2,732 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Niall Collins

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Jul 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. A key objective of the action plan for apprenticeships for 2021 to 2025 is to ensure that the apprenticeship system will increase its contribution to meeting Ireland's skills and human capital requirements by delivering on a target of 10,000 apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. At the end of June, there had been 3,057 apprentice registrations, made up of 2,667...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Jul 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. There are currently 65 apprenticeship programmes on offer, 25 of which are craft programmes. Some 40 programmes have been introduced since 2016 and eight new programmes were launched over the period of 2020 to 2021, despite the pandemic. Those programmes relate to arboriculture, equipment systems engineering, healthcare assistance, principal engineering, professional...

European Parliament and Council Directive on Protecting Persons who engage in Public Participation: Motion (6 Jul 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank all Deputies who have contributed and those who have indicated they intend to support the motion. I will make some specific points and, in doing so, I will underline the importance of the proposal and our opting in to it at this stage. The Government has decided that, subject to the approval of the Dáil and Seanad, Ireland should opt in to the proposal at this stage to ensure...

European Parliament and Council Directive on Protecting Persons who engage in Public Participation: Motion (6 Jul 2022)

Niall Collins: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following...

Irish Apprenticeship System: Statements (26 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank all the contributors to these statements. The importance of apprenticeships in society, both now and into the future, has never been more apparent than it is today. The action plan sets out new ways of structuring, funding and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship more accessible to employers and learners. Expansion to date has widened the impact of apprenticeship to...

Irish Apprenticeship System: Statements (26 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I will finish my contribution then.

Irish Apprenticeship System: Statements (26 May 2022)

Niall Collins: Apprenticeship is a statutory-based programme of structured education and training that formally combines learning in the workplace with learning in an education or training centre. The completion of an apprenticeship prepares the participant for a specific occupation and leads to a qualification recognised under the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, from level 5 upwards....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank Deputy Calleary. This is of high priority. Our Department is engaged actively and proactively through each of our ETBs. There have been several reports arising from the work of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and also the work on having a zero-carbon economy. They have produced targets in respect of which we are trying actively to create awareness and ensure that all...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: In reply to Deputy Calleary, an NZEB centre in Sligo is being worked on and is to be opened soon. On Deputy Conway-Walsh's concerns, we will talk to the national apprenticeship office.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputies for the question. A range of skills are needed to support delivery of the new national retrofit scheme, including general operatives, those with short retrofit-related courses, craft apprentices and those with professional qualifications in areas such as architecture and engineering. Consequently, education and training relevant to the skills needed for retrofitting...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank Deputy McNamara for his question. I know he has raised it previously. The backdrop to the current waiting lists for essential practical training for apprentices is reflected in the extended shutdown of on-site learning activity from March 2020. The closure of education and training facilities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic precluded access to off-the-job training. The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. We all share the same ambitions and it is good to see that those ambitions are, in the main, being realised. The apprenticeship action plan set out a target to achieve 10,000 new apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. In the year 2021, a record 8,607 new apprentices were registered on the system. That is an increase of nearly 40% on the comparator year,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (19 May 2022)

Niall Collins: It is important to reiterate that significant money was applied towards creating additional capacity. I have explained to the Deputy the additional number of posts that have been approved, which is more than 100. There were also other interventions in the delivery structures of phase 2 off-the-job training and the facilitation of a third intake. Last December, there was an opt-in rapid...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for the question. The action plan for apprenticeships 2021-2025 sets out new ways of structuring, funding and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeships more accessible to employers and learners in order to achieve a target of 10,000 annual registrations across a wide range of programmes by 2025. Expanding apprenticeship across all sectors of the economy has...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: On the last point raised by Deputy Stanton, that is an issue which the Minister, Deputy Harris, and I have raised with the new director of the National Apprenticeship Office. It is something which is very much on its work programme. There is a dropout rate similar to that across all sectors, but it is something we are conscious and aware of. On the point raised by Deputy Smyth, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: We discussed this earlier. Across 2021 and 2022, €37 million has been provided to address the significant backlog which arose due to the Covid pandemic and the restrictions that were imposed throughout various lockdowns that significantly impacted the off the job training available to apprentices. SOLAS and our ETBs are providing extra capacity and are hiring extra trainers. They...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for her comments. In the initial reply I outlined to the Deputy that significant money had been applied to this issue and I believe she has acknowledged that. In total, across both this year and last year, €37 million will have been made available to address this issue. This includes a change in the structure of phase 2 off-the-job training which will facilitate a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: With respect to the Deputy, that is total nonsense. To try to present a scenario that we are trying to accrue savings and not invest in apprenticeships or not reform the whole space is simply not the case, and the Deputy knows this. We have 62 apprenticeships up and running, as the Deputy is aware, and we have approximately another 20 in development and approximately another 15 expressions...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (8 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for her question. The backlog in apprenticeship training to which reference was made results from the adverse impact of Covid public health restrictions on the operation of the education and training sector. In responding to these restrictions, it has been a priority to seek to facilitate, whenever possible, access to on-site teaching and learning for essential...

Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Referral to Select Committee (2 Feb 2022)

Niall Collins: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.