Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2021
476. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will request his Department to collect the data on wages paid to apprentices in consortia-led apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62684/21]
View answerApprentices are employees, who are paid under an apprenticeship contract of employment. This contract sets out the terms and conditions of the apprenticeship including the rate of pay applicable to that agreement. Sectoral Employment Orders apply to a number of sectors and these would include rates of pay for apprentices. These specific agreements apply to those sectors covered by the existing craft apprenticeships. Any breach of these conditions is an employment matter and is covered under existing employment appeals mechanisms, which are beyond the remit of the education and training sector.
Rates of pay for apprentices not covered under the above agreements are set by the employer and the apprentice. These rates will fluctuate depending on a number of factors including prior experience of the apprentice, the level of the apprenticeship or whether an apprentice is a new hire or an existing employee who is undertaking an apprenticeship to upskill or reskill within an organisation.
At this time I do not propose to collect information on the wage rates paid to the 23,500 apprentices registered to over 7,000 employers across 62 different programmes. Whilst this exercise may be undertaken in future system-level reporting for information purposes, I have no function in wage setting for employers beyond those employers involved in the delivery of further and higher education and training.
