Let us hear the Deputy's views on it rather than on the process.

The Deputy did not say that. He is saying it now.

I thank all those who engaged in the debate on this Bill and for the facilitating of today's debate and for the further work that is going to go into this legislation, including Committee Stage amendments and trying to get the Bill through the Houses before the summer recess. As the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, mentioned in his opening speech, the chief purpose of the Bill is to amend the substitute consent process, which concerns retrospective environmental impact assessments or appropriate assessments in exc…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. General practice is at the heart of primary care, and a robust general practice and GP out-of-hours service is essential to the delivery of primary care health service. The Government recognises there are capacity challenges facing general practice. However, the Minister for Health's ambition for general practice is to ensure everyone has access to a GP when and where they need it. Currently, there are 2,551 GPs contracted to provide services under the General Me…

I thank the Deputy. Her requests are noted and will be transmitted to the Minister for Health and the HSE. I assure her that the Government remains committed to ensuring that patients throughout the country continue to receive adequate access to GP services and particularly to out-of-hours services. We know we could do with more GPs. We all face that fact in our constituencies. The preliminary census numbers have been published and show an increase in our population to 5.1 million. That is another factor causing th…

I thank the Deputy for raising this topic, which is important to her constituency and her constituents. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I understand that the question relates to the inclusion of Skerries and Balbriggan in the TFI 90-minute fare initiative. The Department of Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. However, the Department is not involved in the day-to-day operation of the public transport services nationally. The National Tran…

I assure the Deputy that the NTA is engaging regularly with the Department of Transport on public transport fares. I further advise that the introduction of the TFI 90-minute fare, as envisaged by the BusConnects programme, has hugely benefited public transport users across Dublin. I have been advised that when the boundaries were first established for the 90-minute fare structure, the existing longer distance rail zones were taken into account. The NTA advised that any extension of the current flat fare would make…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on protecting persons who engage in public participa…

I thank all Deputies who have contributed and those who have indicated they intend to support the motion. I will make some specific points and, in doing so, I will underline the importance of the proposal and our opting in to it at this stage. The Government has decided that, subject to the approval of the Dáil and Seanad, Ireland should opt in to the proposal at this stage to ensure we can participate in the discussions on the proposals and that the final text of the directive is shaped to accommodate our common l…

Apprenticeship is a statutory-based programme of structured education and training that formally combines learning in the workplace with learning in an education or training centre. The completion of an apprenticeship prepares the participant for a specific occupation and leads to a qualification recognised under the national framework of qualifications, NFQ, from level 5 upwards. Apprentices are employed under a contract of apprenticeship. The action plan for apprenticeship sets out to make apprenticeship a valued…

I will finish my contribution then.

I thank all the contributors to these statements. The importance of apprenticeships in society, both now and into the future, has never been more apparent than it is today. The action plan sets out new ways of structuring, funding and promoting apprenticeships to make apprenticeship more accessible to employers and learners. Expansion to date has widened the impact of apprenticeship to areas of skills shortage such as engineering, technology skills, logistics and fintech. Apprenticeship has undergone transformation…

I thank Deputy McNamara for his question. I know he has raised it previously. The backdrop to the current waiting lists for essential practical training for apprentices is reflected in the extended shutdown of on-site learning activity from March 2020. The closure of education and training facilities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic precluded access to off-the-job training. The very welcome growth in registrations has compounded these pressures. However, the education and training system is responding energetic…

I thank the Deputy. We all share the same ambitions and it is good to see that those ambitions are, in the main, being realised. The apprenticeship action plan set out a target to achieve 10,000 new apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. In the year 2021, a record 8,607 new apprentices were registered on the system. That is an increase of nearly 40% on the comparator year, namely, 2019, which was, as the Deputy is aware, prior to the pandemic. On the backlog, we have the added problem, which is a good one,…

It is important to reiterate that significant money was applied towards creating additional capacity. I have explained to the Deputy the additional number of posts that have been approved, which is more than 100. There were also other interventions in the delivery structures of phase 2 off-the-job training and the facilitation of a third intake. Last December, there was an opt-in rapid employer assessment for phase 7. Many new changes have been brought in. We also have to be mindful, upon which I believe we will al…

I thank the Deputies for the question. A range of skills are needed to support delivery of the new national retrofit scheme, including general operatives, those with short retrofit-related courses, craft apprentices and those with professional qualifications in areas such as architecture and engineering. Consequently, education and training relevant to the skills needed for retrofitting targets are delivered across the full remit of the tertiary sector system, through mainstream education and training as well as th…

I thank Deputy Calleary. This is of high priority. Our Department is engaged actively and proactively through each of our ETBs. There have been several reports arising from the work of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and also the work on having a zero-carbon economy. They have produced targets in respect of which we are trying actively to create awareness and ensure that all apprenticeships and course offerings meet, in their built-in modelling, our climate-action requirements, particularly in the retrofitt…

In reply to Deputy Calleary, an NZEB centre in Sligo is being worked on and is to be opened soon. On Deputy Conway-Walsh's concerns, we will talk to the national apprenticeship office.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the invitation to address the House at a very busy time in the third level education sector. I will start by giving the House an up-to-date position on the sector’s response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The Government has been unequivocal in its welcome and I am proud to see that this approach is widely reflected throughout our society and in our sector. However, facilitating the significant number of people arriving is challenging, not least for the education sector. I record…

I thank the four contributors. We have taken note of everything they contributed to the statements here today and will follow up on some of the queries raised. As we move forwards towards the Estimates process, we will be working with colleagues to advance the priorities of our Departments with regard to funding reform and support for Ukrainian students, as well as all other students. The challenges faced by us are being faced by other European countries as well. They are not unique to us and we have to learn from …