I am sure the Taoiseach, as a former Minister with responsibility for education - I have another here beside me - will value the major changes that are occurring in apprenticeships. We are going from 25 traditional apprenticeships to 100 potential new apprenticeships. One of the things that has been holding this back is the very limited involvement of the public service in apprenticeships. Will the Taoiseach consider, through either the July stimulus package or the national economic plan, providing for the public service to take on an ambitious programme of apprenticeships? Many of the apprenticeship areas are now relevant, including laboratory technicians, engineering services staff, maintenance engineers, accounting technicians, financial services staff and supply chain specialists. They are very much at the core of what the public service should be doing. It would be a great boost to apprenticeships. Let us compare Ireland to Germany. A total of 500,000 people enrol in apprenticeships every year in Germany. In Ireland it is only 1% of that number.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. The public services need to do far more in terms of providing apprenticeships and opportunities, especially in the current crisis. They should provide opportunities for young people to avail of apprenticeships and internships.

One thinks of the great role semi-state companies played in the past in terms of apprenticeship and training across the board. It is something that needs to be rekindled, regenerated and rejuvenated in the modern public service. The Deputy has made an important point and it is one I take a personal interest in. The Minister with responsibility for higher education has raised the issue of apprenticeships and initiatives for young people in the context of the July stimulus.