asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state his reasons for not including representatives from the federation of builders, contractors and allied employers of Ireland in the discussions which have taken place concerning the proposed legislation regarding the recruitment and training of apprentices; and if, in view of the fact that no less than 11 different types of trades are engaged in connection with building operations, he will grant the federation facilities for consultation on and examination of his proposals in any future discussions.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Building Trade Apprentices.
I felt that preliminary discussions on the wide and difficult problem of apprenticeship regulation should be confined to as few representative organisations as possible. Preliminary discussions with representatives of all interested organisations would have made progress on the general principles slow, if not impossible.
If general principles were submitted to me as a result of these initial discussions it was, and is, my intention that all interested organisations of employers and of workers should be afforded an adequate opportunity of expressing their views.