Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Apprenticeships fell by 80% but Government is committed to increasing the trend in this area of training and education. Of course we should remember the role Fianna Fáil played in regard to FÁS as well. Then again, Senator Clifford-Lee might get into hysterics again.

Government is about strong pathways for education and training. Government is cognisant of the scar that the training and education sectors felt during the recession. That is why we have seen an increase of 25% in the number of people choosing apprenticeships, and that is welcome.

I have said it in the House before and I will say it again: we should not simply always be about third level education. While postgraduates and graduates in third level are important, we should ensure that we have a strong group of people who are involved in further education and training as well. As I said before, I commend Senator Wilson on the role he plays in that regard. Let us be assured that Government is committed to a quality apprenticeship scheme.

Senator Ardagh also made reference to the issue around the construction sector. Today the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, are hosting the third housing summit with chief executives of local authorities in Ireland. Government is committed to expanding and increasing all forms of social housing delivery and all delivery of housing. That is why we have seen strong growth in employment in the construction sector. I call on Senator Ardagh to cast her mind back to the national economic dialogue forum last week. We saw figures coming from independent sources indicating strong growth in the construction sector. The indicators are that the housing sector is beginning to grow again and we welcome that.

Senators Boyhan, McDowell, Craughwell, Bacik, Humphreys, Norris, Marie-Louise O'Donnell, Clifford-Lee and Mullen raised the issue of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. Subject to the vote, the debate will take place later on. I am confident, as is the Government, that there has been well-informed debate on the matter. I am not accepting the proposed amendment to the Order of Business. I am not going to get into a political war of words with Members this afternoon other than to say that I will not accept the proposed amendment to the Order of Business. Government does not support the amendment. We are confident that what Government is proposing is the correct course of action notwithstanding the differing viewpoints around the Bill and the views expressed on the GRECO report. We have had a well-documented debate on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill for over 12 months. We had a good Second Stage debate. We have discussed it on the Order of Business on numerous occasions.