Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am aware of the importance of advocating for all workers and ensuring that no one worker is overlooked. The Department of enterprise is committed to ensuring that every worker's contribution is recognised and valued. The Department will continue to review the relevant legislation and advocate on behalf of these groups. Work is under way to tackle the issue of bogus self-employment through the platform work directive. The Department will continue to lead Ireland's negotiations on the traineeship directive.

The priority of the apprenticeship system is to ensure that apprenticeships are well equipped to continue to grow and respond to the skills needs of industry, particularly construction as the Senator has mentioned, and to adapt to the challenges facing the workforce from digitisation and climate change. Significant progress has been made towards reaching the 10,000 registrations per year target in the current action plan for apprenticeships, with over 9,300 registrations last year. Substantial work on these matters is under way at national and EU level. I will keep the Senator apprised of the work and developments on the issue.