Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I acknowledge the comments of Senators Davitt and Byrne with regard to his commitment to his role. I have a couple of short points to make. The important point to begin with is that Sinn Féin supports the National Training Fund policy. We think it is a progressive policy which puts us much more in line with best practice in Europe. We welcome the fact that it is financed through a levy on employers. We think that is the only practical way to go about this business. We believe that the funds for this policy should be prioritised towards apprenticeship programmes. Our current apprenticeship structure still leaves a lot to be desired. In 2017 just 391 people took part in the Government's newly established programme and only nine of the promised 15 programmes were introduced. Our party's own policy proposals, with which I ask the Minister of State and his Department to engage, set out a five-year plan to increase the number of apprentices to 60,000 and to develop 63 further programmes. We believe we urgently need to prioritise this sector. If one looks at countries like Germany, one sees that there is a much wider range of apprenticeships available. These are hugely beneficial not only to the people involved, but to the economy overall. It is what good long-term economic planning should be about.

With regard to recent national training fund developments, I am worried about the decision to give greater power and say to big business in terms of how the fund is spent. This may be an ideological difference between ourselves on the left and our colleagues in the Chamber. The money is to be spent in a way which keeps the public interest central yet we are allowing private enterprise to dictate to the State how this money should be spent. I know the Minister of State takes good cognisance of the trade union movement and I am glad to say that the ICTU and a host of academics have come out quite strongly against this idea. For instance, Professor Kathleen Lynch of UCD has criticised the move as allowing commercial interests to influence State education. The general secretary of ICTU, Patricia King, was also unequivocal in her stance against this development. She stated:

Education policy and decision-making must continue to be autonomous and unconstrained of employers. This move not only erodes academic freedom; such a policy approach is out of step with the times...

She further stated, "The Fund’s priority cannot be confined to initiatives directly relevant to the needs of employers." I ask the Minister of State and the Department to take cognisance of those words because - let us be clear - the trade union movement has, or at least should have, a massive role to play in respect of the apprenticeships schemes. I ask the Minister of State to recognise that this move is problematic. The education sector and the private for-profit sector do not share the same objectives or interests. To conflate the motives of these two groups is to be naive and is potentially very dangerous.