Questions

2108. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the lessons his Department has learned from the shortcomings of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021–2025 in relation to construction workforce development; and the changes which will be made in the 2026-2030 strategy to address these gaps. [58224/25]

2109. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department has conducted a gap analysis comparing current apprenticeship output with the labour demand required to meet the Government’s commitment to deliver 60,000 homes annually; and to provide a copy of that analysis. [58225/25]

2112. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the specific measures his Department will adopt to rapidly increase construction apprenticeship numbers, given the current crisis-level shortage and the urgent labour demands associated with national housing and infrastructure targets. [58228/25]

2114. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will clarify the policy under which an apprentice's training allowance is reduced when their employer rejects college placement offers, even though the apprentice has accepted the placements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58348/25]

2115. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will outline the appeals process available to apprentices whose training allowances are reduced in such cases; if he will consider revising the guidelines to ensure apprentices are not financially penalised for circumstances beyond their control; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58349…

2136. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students from Kildare north enrolled in apprenticeships for the 2025-2026 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59123/25]

2151. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his Department’s plans to increase the up-take of apprenticeships in the building trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59831/25]

2155. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students who will attend ATU Mayo from phase one to six under the Electrical Apprenticeship Programme for 2025-2026, by number of students for each phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60018/25]

2156. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the capacity of the college phases for the newly introduced Electrical Apprenticeship Programme at ATU Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60019/25]

2157. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if there are plans to increase the intake of students for Electrical Apprenticeship Programme in the next three years at ATU Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60020/25]

235. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of apprenticeships registered in County Kildare in each year from 2022 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57480/25]

902. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of craft and non-craft apprenticeship registrations in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025. [56937/25]

903. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount of additional craft and non-craft apprenticeship places funded in Budget 2026, for the year 2026; and the allocation for those additional places in Budget 2026. [56938/25]

906. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on his Department’s commissioned research into the landscape of apprentice pay; to ask when he expects this final report to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56984/25]

907. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update from SOLAS regarding The National Apprenticeship Office’s commissioning of an independent economic assessment to incentivise participation in national apprenticeships by both employers and apprentices, drawing on international practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56985/…

910. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of people accessing apprenticeships each year since 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57351/25]

5. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the further actions he intends to take to increase craft apprenticeship participation given the additional funding announced in budget 2026 and the urgent need to increase the number of people qualified in the trades; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56315/25]

12. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps being taken to expand apprenticeship and skills training opportunities in rural areas such as County Galway, where access to approved training centres remains limited; if consideration will be given to establishing mobile or satellite training hubs in partnership with ETBs to reduce travel and dropou…

20. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reason a disparity in pay exists in the way in which some craft apprentices are supported during their off-the-job phases of training, that is, engineering craft apprentices are paid according to outdated 2016 training allowance rates, while construction craft apprentices receive the updated 2025 r…

24. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if it is possible to ensure apprentices are offered taught phases in facilities close to their home as often as possible. [55307/25]

34. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for an update on the implementation of the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55561/25]

36. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the engagements he has had with a union (details supplied) representing apprentices since becoming Minister in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56052/25]

41. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if there are plans to introduce apprenticeships into further business sectors similar to the existing apprenticeship in insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55611/25]

43. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps he is taking to encourage more uptake in apprenticeships in skills necessary for the green transition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55311/25]

44. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the plans his Department currently has in place to promote apprenticeships, particularly in the construction sector, to school leavers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55566/25]