John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I was astonished to learn from information that has been made available to me from both the trade union sector and the employer representative agencies such as the Construction Industry Federation that there are only 12 apprentices in the entire country. It begs the question what FÁS was doing and what its function and responsibility were if it was not to ensure sufficient training and an adequate skills set.

There was, as we all know, a dramatic and drastic downturn in the construction sector, but there are tentative signs of recovery. There is a housing shortage, but now it will be compounded by a dramatic and chronic skills shortage.

As recently as 2004, 1,200 apprentices were going through the system on an annual basis. I hark back to the time of AnCO when it was a great opportunity for any young person to be accepted on an apprenticeship programme. It meant they were trained, they became skilled and they had a job and a career path for life. Often, they went on to set up their own businesses and employ others.

As we talk about tackling a drastic housing shortage, it is hard to believe that there are only 12 apprentices in the entire country. It will lead to serious job creation problems and a shortage of skilled labour on building sites throughout the country.

All the stakeholders - employers and the trade union sector - have come together to appeal to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, under whose remit this falls under the newly formed auspices of SOLAS within her Department. I am informed there are 60 staff in the apprenticeship section of the Department. There are 60 staff to look after 12 apprentices. It does not add up. It does not make sense. We will walk into a terrible haymaker unless there is dramatic, drastic, robust and immediate intervention by the Department to get SOLAS to get its act together and ensure we will not have a situation in a year or two where one will not be able to get a qualified plasterer or block layer in this country. It is alarming to think that such could even possibly be the case. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, to outline the plans of the Department of Education and Skills and SOLAS to address this chronic problem.