Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, first, would like to follow on the words of a young apprentice called Jodie Whyte from Johnson & Johnson in Limerick. She was nominated for the Apprentice of the Year award recently. Jodie started her career as a chef and is now participating in an apprentice programme to be an engineer. This is something that is close to the Acting Leader's own heart, which is encouraging women to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM. When she was nominated for the award, Ms Whyte was very vocal regarding the difference it has made to her life. She said that she has worked with so many influential people alongside her on a daily basis at work. She is earning a living, yet she is going on to study her degree, and she is learning so much every day from the people who are alongside her and those who are training her. This is something that we need to highlight more to encourage people to go forward, get involved and participate in apprenticeships, especially females. Female participation has to be encouraged and I know it is something that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has been encouraging. We need to use more people like Ms Whyte in highlighting the difference that it has made to people's lives in encouraging people to participate.

I would also like to congratulate the management team at Shannon Airport on turning itself around. The coming weekend is the Hallowe'en bank holiday weekend and they expect to have more people flying out of the airport than they had back prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is really fantastic because new routes have been advertised recently. A flight to Paris is coming onstream, flights that were never out of the airport. I want to congratulate the management team at Shannon Airport because it really is good to see that regional balance, and to see Shannon Airport back where it should be.