Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will keep it short this time. The Senator has identified another area of concern. We made changes in the list last year to reflect demand. The Senator identified the area of construction. We made changes to the scheme last year whereby the majority of jobs in the construction sector are eligible for permits or do not need them at all. The Senator also flagged the retrofitting plan. We know we need to go from having 4,000 people in that sector to 17,000 people. We have the potential to achieve this from within the country and within the EU through training programmes that are in place through the education and training boards, the further education and training sector and throughout the education system.Employers and potential employees have to engage in that system and work together. We have responded by doubling the number of potential areas in which people can achieve an apprenticeship over the past couple of years. The number of apprentices has increased from 1,000 to nearly 8,000 per year, and we want to increase that figure to 10,000. This is all achievable, if the system and employer organisations work with us and use the education system which is there to be used.

I stress again that there are supports available for people who are out of work and want to retrain and take up a new career. There are supports for employees and employers. The pathways to work that are in place are not being fully utilised. If any sector asks me to make changes in departments, I will ask them whether they have engaged with the systems and departments that try to solve these problems which are of a more local nature.