Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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615. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is any assistance that can be given to people who wish to apply for apprenticeships but have been diagnosed in the past as colour blind; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49526/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Currently, there are 73 national apprenticeship programmes available in Ireland. Of these, 58 have no qualifying criteria associated in regards to colour blindness. More generally, to support apprentices, information is sought at the point of registration on any additional supports that may be needed due to a disability. Education and training providers offer learning and other supports to apprentices during their training and many employers also provide accommodations in the workplace to apprentices with disabilities. Approximately 3% of the apprentice population have declared one or more disabilities, and are receiving additional supports. A majority of these identified themselves as having dyslexia or other disabilities related to learning.

However, for a small number of professions, trichromacy (i.e. normal colour vision) is an important ability to possess, on the grounds of safety. For our apprenticeships, this impacts on the participation requirements for 15 programmes. Specifically, for these programmes apprenticeship applicants must pass the Ishihara colour vision testwithout the use of corrective lenses.

The list of apprenticeships that this requirement applies to is set out below.

• Aircraft Mechanics
• Electrical
• Electrical Instrumentation
• Instrumentation
• Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
• Electronic Security Systems
• Floor and Wall Tiling
• Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) Engineer
• Painting and Decorating
• Agricultural Mechanics
• Construction Plant Fitting
• Heavy Vehicle Mechanics
• Vehicle Body Repairs
• Motor Mechanics
• Plumbing