Professor Diarmuid Hegarty:

The approach is to deal with the obstacle. Let me explain what the obstacle is. The problem with apprenticeships is often getting the mentors. Small and medium-sized firms in many ways provide an ideal surrounding in the sense that the mentors are actually there and they are doing it day to day. Those mentors might be owners of the business or their relatives or senior people in a small business. The main obstacle is that the small to medium-sized firms cannot afford the two days when apprentices are out attending tuition. If that were funded through the National Training Fund, that would significantly increase the uptake of apprenticeships in small and medium-sized firms. I accept Deputy Conway-Walsh's point that that is where private funds could be used to fund a public good. We need to remember that he who pays the piper calls the tune. If employers feel they are paying for it, it is important they should see a return and the return is very much in the public interest.