Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise an issue relating to the education and training boards. Over the past number of years, we have seen the magnificent work that was done in the ETBs, particularly in respect of apprenticeships. I must applaud the previous Ministers of State with responsibility, Deputies O'Donovan and Collins, for the work they did to ensure there was an expansion of delivery, particularly for the trades. We also need to look beyond the trades at health and social care. We need to look beyond SNAs and towards the training of occupational therapist assistants. We need to look at the training of speech and language assistants and physio assistants. There are some very good models of where this works. The Leas-Chathaoirleach will be aware that Limerick has some really good models for the training of physio and occupational therapy assistants. It has been delivered in St. Gabriel's for a long number of years, with phenomenal success.

I genuinely believe that our ETBs need to be able to make that model of health and social care available to ensure that we have a balanced regional approach in the delivery of health and social care supports. We see the impact of SNAs, but we also need to realise that health and social care need supporting. While we have fantastic clinicians who can write up fantastic programmes, they need to be delivered by assistants who actually have the time and the training. An apprenticeship model was put in place at Tusla. We now need to look to an apprenticeship model for OTs, physios and speech and language therapists throughout the country. I would welcome the opportunity for a debate in the House on that with the Minister of State with responsibility for apprenticeships and FET.