Apprenticeships: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

The Minister of State is from my constituency, and I know the hard work she does. She has to be commended. We have met on many occasions in our own ETBs. I know the work she does in the area, and it is well recognised. Katelyn is also welcome. It is great to see more women on apprenticeships. That is what we need. I raise the issue of apprentice pay. People know I brought forward a Bill before Christmas, which would make it compulsory that apprentices be included under the national minimum wage Bill. I was disappointed that it was not supported in any way by the Government and that it was not even given a timed amendment because we did not just draft it on a whim.
We put a lot of work into it and there was a lot of consultation with different representative bodies, from Connect Trade Union to the Irish Council of Trade Unions, to SIPTU, to the National Youth Council. There have been great strides and there has been more uptake of apprenticeships, which is absolutely commendable and wonderful to see. Unfortunately, however, there is still an issue that 20% to 25% of people are dropping out - I am talking about craft apprenticeships - in their first year. This is what came-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-10