Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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150. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform what plans he and the OGP have to provide for the recruitment of a minimum number of craft apprentices in the context of the State's public procurement framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22369/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In 2021 Simon Harris T.D., as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, published the Action Plan for Apprenticeships 2021-2025.

The Office of Government Procurement, an office in my Department, published an information note on Apprenticeships and Public Procurement on 18 April 2023 in line with Action 6.4 of the Action Plan to deliver guidance on the inclusion of an apprenticeship/staff development provision within Public Sector tendering processes.

Inclusion of apprenticeship provisions and the monitoring of the impact of such provisions is primarily the responsibility of each individual contracting authority.

Contracting authorities may wish to carefully consider, on a case-by-case basis, whether it is appropriate to include apprenticeship provisions as part of the procurement, having regard to the conditions relating to such incorporation. A key consideration for any contracting authority is whether incorporating apprenticeship conditions within a procurement competition is related and proportionate to the subject matter of the contract.

Provisions setting requirements for construction sector craft apprenticeships are already included in certain projects. For example, Dublin City Council has a contract performance condition which stipulates that 5% of the person weeks worked under the contract are carried out by individuals who are employed under a registered scheme of apprenticeship or an equivalent national training or educational work place arrangement.

A requirement for a specified target percentage of workers on the site who are to be engaged in an approved registered apprenticeship, training or educational work placement scheme has been included in the PPP programme and certain education projects that are being delivered by the National Development Finance Agency (on behalf of several departments) for several years now.

Under the Action Plan for Apprenticeships, the National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) has been established with responsibility for all aspects of the management, oversight and development of the apprenticeship system in Ireland and for implementing the Action Plan, including monitoring and assessing targets.

Furthermore, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) has been proactive in advising on the use of strategic procurement, including apprenticeships, by contracting authorities with the publication of an Information Note on Incorporating Social Considerations into Public Procurement in 2018 followed by Circular 20/2019: Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement.

It is not intended to include blanket provisions into the suite of public works contracts around apprenticeships since they should be introduced following careful consideration by the contracting authority of the project’s scale, location and the scope of the works.

Not all projects will lend themselves to the application of apprenticeship provisions, however, consideration is being given to developing template contract clauses and guidance for contracting authorities to deploy in public works projects on a case by case basis where the scale and nature of the project lends itself to apprenticeship opportunities.