My colleague, an Teachta Mairéad Farrell, has repeatedly raised the crisis in the apprenticeship system, with the major backlog and waiting time for off-the-job training. Yesterday I was contacted by a young person in Roscommon who is one of the 9,000 waiting to complete that training. He was due to start phase 2 of the training in February 2024 but has been told it will not start until April 2025. He will wait 14 months for phase 2 of off-the-job training. This will add at least a year to his apprenticeship before qualifying. We know apprentices are dropping out and that the average time to qualify is close to six years. If a teaching or nursing course took an additional two years to complete, it would not be acceptable and it should not be acceptable for apprentices. What will the Government do to ensure apprenticeships are completed within a decent and proper term?

I was here yesterday when Deputy Farrell raised this matter with the Taoiseach. He said he would raise the matter with the Minister and he agreed with what Deputy Farrell was saying. We are investing in apprenticeships to meet skills needs. The apprenticeship narrative in this country has completely changed and that is a good thing. If people are waiting, we will do everything we can to address those backlogs.