Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Since we are talking about the debacle in the Central Remedial Clinic and the charities sector, I wish to alert Senators that the Taoiseach's nominee, Senator Mary Ann O'Brien, wrote a pamphlet on the implementation of the Charities Act 2009 - the how, why and when. It is an excellent paper which was debated in this House. Sometimes I think we have imagined memories and real memories which are all mixed up into one. That document is still sitting on a shelf even though the House debated it. Senator O'Brien wrote about what exactly should happen in the charities sector. It is a very good piece of work which could be implemented quite well.

I wrote a paper on the youth guarantee scheme, the last 15 pages of which dealt with apprenticeships. I sent the document to all the members of the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection. I am not sure if anyone read it but it contains a lot of information. I do not think the Minister's proposals on apprenticeships go far enough because we need a massive creative approach to these apprenticeships as well as pilot programmes to show how these apprenticeships can come about. There is often repetition and duality of purpose while suggestions exist but are lying on shelves. I am in a cranky mood this morning.