I agree with the Deputy about Jim Hargis and the excellent work he is doing at St. Andrew's Resource Centre. I have been there twice. If anybody wants to see how to help to get young men and women into different sectors through traineeships and apprenticeships in a supportive and inclusive way, they need to look at what is happening there. It is an excellent example. I commend the Deputy on mentioning it. The question is about expanding apprenticeships and trade-focused education. He specifically mentioned north Dublin. To meet our ambitious housing delivery targets and offshore renewable energy developments over the next decade will require a skilled workforce. Apprenticeships are central to supporting these demands in supplying skilled workers for housing developments, construction and the renewable energy sectors. The programme for Government sets an ambitious target of 12,500 annual apprentice registrations by 2030, with two thirds of those in craft and construction. This reflects the vital role construction plays in infrastructure and economic growth. Significant investment underpins this commitment. Budget 2026 saw €79 million allocated to apprenticeship delivery nationally. In addition, my Department recently announced a further €20.5 million capital investment to expand training capacity in higher education institutions, including 39 additional training blocks in TU Dublin. Alongside this investment, my Department's Careers in Construction: Action Plan, launched in 2023, aims to make construction careers more accessible and attractive. That is what the Deputy is speaking about. These efforts are delivering results. We see that craft apprenticeships increased by 63% from 2020 to 2024 and construction-related apprenticeships grew by 50% from 2020 to 2025.

Sentiment score: 0.35

Again, I agree with the Deputy. We are making real efforts to try to ensure that apprenticeships are seen as plan A, not plan B or C. They are not something students get involved in if something else does not work out. They are real, meaningful pathways and opportunities to employment. The Department is very actively involved in a number of programmes to highlight and showcase the attractiveness of apprenticeships. For example, one programme, Facts, Faces, Futures, uses female role models, specifically, to highlight the benefit aspects of apprenticeships. That is run by the national apprenticeship office. We have a large social media campaign, Building Heroes, which takes what is called a peer-to-peer approach to dispel some of the myths surrounding apprenticeships. I have met many of the young people involved in this. It is a really positive programme to show that apprenticeships are for everybody.

Sentiment score: 0.43

The Deputy and I are both in agreement. We recognise the need to increase the number of apprentices. Sometimes, we have to change people's minds before we do anything else. Certainly, a lot the programmes the Department is progressing are attempting to do that. I mentioned the Facts, Faces, Futures and Building Heroes programmes. We also have the Build Back Home programme, which is an international programme aimed at skilled Irish construction workers living abroad to try to entice them back, specifically from Canada and Australia. The Department is making real efforts to, first of all, entice workers back to Ireland but, equally, to get more and more students to take the apprenticeship pathway. One of the ways we are trying to do that is through modern methods of construction, MMC. We have a Skillnet MMC Accelerate platform, launched in May this year, which highlights MMC projects and how students can avail of what is available.

Sentiment score: 0.21