Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The key point is that a modest request is on the table, which is that we ensure every worker in this country is paid the minimum wage and that if somebody is doing an apprenticeship that involves work and education, he or she will be paid the minimum wage.To go back to what I said at the start of the debate, it is to get away from that misty-eyed notion that it is young lads of 16 and 17 doing apprenticeships. People go into apprenticeships when they are much older. People want to make career changes. We are not facilitating them in doing so by having those pay rates, particularly in years one and two.

We look forward to hearing the outcome of the discussions. We would like to hear a timeline as to when the Minister of State hopes to be back to us with the outcome. I have seen in this Chamber before votes being put off for 12 months. In my naivety in my early years here, I thought something would happen. Now there is probably a little bit of the cynic in me saying we will be having this debate in 12 months' time and we will be still looking at sub-minimum wage rates with regards to apprenticeships. All the while, we have a Government that is failing to meet its social housing targets amid a massive housing need across the country. I ask the Minister of State to take on board all the contributions that have been made. There is an urgency about this issue and we want to hear that same sense of urgency from the Minister of State. We did not hear that in his contribution. Unfortunately, we will have to call a vote because this is an important issue for us. There are apprentices and contractors tuning into this debate who want to know that the Government is taking the issue seriously.