Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have raised my first matter previously in the House and it is deeply connected to the lack of supply in the housing market, which I also speak of on a consistent basis in the House. There is a crisis in the construction sector now because of a lack of skilled construction workers. This stems from the fact that in recent years we have completely neglected the operation of apprenticeship schemes in this country. In 2017, for example, a grand total of 121 bricklayer apprentices commenced training. That figure was obtained through a parliamentary question tabled by my colleague, Deputy Niall Collins. This is a drop in the ocean when IBEC estimates an additional 80,000 workers are needed in the sector in order to deal with current housing demand. There are 134,000 workers in the construction sector and the serious lack of investment in apprenticeships in recent years is a matter of grave concern. These skilled workers are not just needed in the short term, they are also very much needed in the long term in order to ensure that we have a sustainable housing supply to deal with future growing demands from the rising population.

Instead of supporting apprenticeship schemes, the Government scrapped the new shared apprenticeship model in March. The latter was a pilot partnership between SOLAS, the Construction Industry Federation and Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board. This pilot programme was deemed a success but, despite this, the Government failed to roll it out nationally. I call on the Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and Education and Skills, Deputy Halligan, as well as the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, to see what they will do about boosting apprenticeship numbers.

My second matter is a call for the public, especially Dubliners, to look at the proposed new Dublin Bus network routes. This will replace the current system, which has 130 routes, and the new proposed network will form around the concept of seven spines around the city running from one end of the city to the other, as well as a circle line. A public consultation process will start in the next month and I urge all Dubliners, as well as people who come here and use the public transport system, to engage with the process and make their views known. Our current system is quite cumbersome and difficult to access; it is it hard to get from one end of the city to another without going through the centre. This new system aims to make Dublin Bus routes more accessible and easier for tourists and others to use. I urge Senators to review the new Dublin Bus network and I ask them to urge supporters and others to review it and submit their opinions to the National Transport Authority in the next month.