Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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25. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures his Department is implementing to clear the backlog of apprentices awaiting completion of their training. [12498/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Craft apprenticeships are a vital route to qualification and employment for the construction sector, and strong employer demand has led to a 34% increase in craft apprenticeship registrations since 2019, increasing from 5,300 in 2019 to 7,100 in 2024.

My Department continues to oversee the implementation of a priority plan put in place in November 2023 by the National Apprenticeship Office (NAO) to expand apprenticeship capacity and reduce apprentice waiting times for training.

As a result, I pleased to say that the number of craft apprentices waiting six months or longer for phase 2 off-the-job training has fallen by 79% since the implementation of the NAO plan – from 5,319 in October 2023 to 1,140 in February 2025.

To successfully remedy the issue, significant resources were invested in expanding the apprenticeship system.

Budget 2024 and Budget 2025 allocated an additional €67 million and €77 million respectively to apprenticeship delivery, bringing the total apprenticeship current budget to €339 million.

This investment enabled the recruitment of over 110 new apprentice instructor staff, and the conversion of over 80 instructors from fixed term to permanent contracts to support retention.

These measures have led to a 43% increase in craft training places in Education and Training Boards, rising from 5600 at the end of 2023 to some 8,000 in 2025.

My priority is to ensure craft training capacity meets skills needs now and into the future, and my Department has directed the NAO to implement a robust monitoring system for craft training capacity by trade.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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26. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the shortage of places in a trade sector (details supplied); the actions he will take to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14505/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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A priority for my department remains the continued growth of the national apprenticeship system to meet Ireland’s skills needs now and into the future.

Pipefitting is a craft apprenticeship programme that takes 4 years to complete, with off-the-job training phases delivered through Education Training Boards (ETBs) and Technological Universities (TUs).

Munster Technological University (MTU) is currently the sole provider of phase 6 off-the-job training for pipefitting at its Bishopstown campus.

At the end of February 2025 there were 414 pipefitting apprentices nationally, of which two were waiting for phase 6 off-the-job training.

SOLAS have advised that these two apprentices completed their phase 5 on-the-job training within the last four to five weeks, at which point they joined the national waiting list for phase 6 training, and that these apprentices are not currently delayed in their training.

In response to increased demand, MTU has boosted its capacity to deliver phase six pipefitting training from 32 places in 2019 to 48 in 2024.

In 2024 a small team of lecturers equating to two to three whole time equivalents delivered three intakes of pipefitting training with 16 apprentices in each intake.

In 2025 there is capacity to continue delivering 48 pipefitting phase 6 training places.

MTU are actively working with SOLAS to monitor training capacity and ensure sufficient supply of apprenticeship training places.