Just assuming apprenticeships are essentially same in ROI as UK. If that’s the case (and I don’t see how it wouldn’t be) what OP describes is pretty normal (with a large caveat re. who apprenticeships are designed for). Apprenticeships always pay around that, it’s not a red flag. As @Sky020
says, apprenticeshipss are generally for people first entering the labour pool. In particular, very often they are coupled with [vocational] college. This is why you get two-year apprenticeships, why it’s not strange. You’re talking about 16, 17 year olds most of the time, there is zero expectation that an apprenticeship would ever pay anywhere close to dev wages. Less than minimum wage is normal: for one thing, the apprentice normally has to do work for college rather than company a significant % of the time.
The issue here is that yes, the apprenticeship will probably get you a job in the end. But it isn’t really aimed at your situation. I think the person you’ve been talking to is possibly giving you honest advice (yes, you’ll almost certainly get a software job at the end of it), it’s just not very good advice for you financially.
(sorry that this isn’t particularly helpful: again, if ROU is anything like the UK, then good options for retraining are basically non-existant if you don’t have a pile of cash, you’re often in your own)