Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2024
568. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of raising the gender-based apprenticeship bursary to €3,000 and lowering the representation threshold to 50%. [38890/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraApprenticeship funding is determined as a part of the annual Estimates process and is provided from the National Training Fund.
As part of the implementation of the national Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, a €2,666 grant was available to employers in January 2022 on any national apprenticeship programme with a greater than 80% representation of a single gender who employ apprentices on the under-represented gender. It is paid directly to employers in two instalments. €1,333 is payable following completion of 6 months training by the apprentice. The second payment of €1,333 is payable following completion of 18 months training by the apprentice, eligibility is dependent on the gender profile represented by the previous year.
The Department is advised by the National Apprenticeship office who hold the data and administer the bursary that, based on a complete set of 2023 figures and registration, if a 50% threshold was applied, then 65 apprenticeship programmes would be eligible for females and 7 apprenticeship programmes for males.
This would total 1,545 individuals eligible to apply (1,118 female and 427 male based 2023 registrations) for the gender-based bursary for apprenticeship.
Applying an increase from €2,666 to €3,000 and assuming all those eligible applying, then this would pose a cost of c.€4.6 million to the National Training Fund.
