Vol. 454 No. 8
8 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Defence the number of motor mechanic apprentices to be recruited by the Defence Forces in 1995; and the effect, if any, this will have on the staff requirement at the Army Apprentice School. [11456/95]
Competitions for the recruitment of apprentices in the Army and Air Corps are currently under way in my Department. This year there are a total of 30 apprenticeships available in the Defence Forces — 15 in the Army and 15 in the Air Corps. The number is lower than in previous years due to a reduction in the number of vacancies for technicians in the various trades as result of low wastage in recent years.
There is no requirement this year for an intake of motor mechanic apprentices. This will have no impact on the permanent teaching staff of the Army Apprentice School, Naas.
Did the Department contact County Kildare Vocational Education Committee and inform it that the services of one of its teachers involved with motor mechanic apprentices will not be required for the coming year?
There is no need to recruit motor mechanic apprentices this year as numbers are sufficient as there has been very low wastage in recent years. There are 12 civilian teachers employed by County Kildare Vocational Education Committee at the Army Apprentice School in Naas, seconded to my Department on a repayment basis. One additional teacher was seconded on a two-year contract, which will end on completion of the current academic year. He will revert to the County Kildare Vocational Education Committee if the Army Apprenticeship School does not need his services, but the remaining 12 civilian teachers will remain.
Will the Minister agree that his decision not to recruit any motor mechanic apprentices this year has resulted in the services of this individual no longer being required? Will he also agree that we have obtained extremely good value for the money expended on those motor mechanic apprentices who won 11 national awards since 1986? While we pump money into other training schemes, the end result of which is doubtful, will the Minister agree there can be no doubt about those apprentices receiving training, unequalled nationwide, since they won awards annually since 1989, and have usually come first or second in national examinations? While the Minister said he did not intend introducing a compulsory redundancy scheme — pointing to low wastage as the cause of lower recruitment will he agree on the urgency of bringing forward his proposals to implement real reform within our Defence Forces?
The number of apprentices recruited annually is dependent on vacancies for technicians in the various trades and in recent years there has been a lower number of technicians leaving the Defence Forces, that phenomenon being reflected in the number of apprentices being recruited. Over the past five years the numbers have been reducing steadily simply because people have not left. I do not know whether the EAG will recommend a change in that position but, since those entering will be young, it is unlikely they will want to leave. The most recent teacher employed was employed on a two-year contract basis from County Kildare Vocational Education Committee. It was obvious from statistics from the preceding five years that the number required were steadily reducing. That was a wise decision by my predecessors. There is little point in having people engaged there if their skills are not being used when they could be used, perhaps by the vocational education committee, somewhere else. I share the Deputy's praise and admiration both for the level of teaching at the apprentice school and the fine apprentices it is turning out. That reflects overall the high quality of our young people.
