Sinn Féin costed it at €65 million when it is actually about €135 million.

I heard Deputy Seán Crowe, who I have great time and respect for, talk about how it is a core policy of Sinn Féin to abolish fees. Someone needs to tell the Northern Ireland Executive that because fees are €5,600 across the Border and there was recently talk about bumping them up. That kind of partitionism would make a unionist blush. People see through that kind of rhetoric. They see where that leads us. Let us not speak out of both sides of our mouth. Let us speak truth and tell people that we will do our very be…

I have reiterated-----

I have reiterated my commitment to the programme for Government. Some parties want to make noise; I want to make progress.

It is not a policy decision. That is what I am saying.

Not all the parties.

Some more than others.

Absolutely.

I thank the Deputy for the question and for the earlier debate. It is going to be a long evening and we are both here for the duration, which is right and proper given it is such an important topic. I want to put on record again my commitment to easing the financial burden on students and families, and my commitment to reducing the cost of education in a way that is sustainable, and not just temporary but permanent; that is equitable and fair, and gives the most to those who need the most; and that is targeted, so …

I did not say that.

I reiterate what I have said already. No decisions have been made. There is a budgetary arithmetic that has been spelled out by me and others, including the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for public expenditure. It has been spelled out multiple times since that decision was made by the Government. That is the situation we find ourselves in, and that is where we will work towards in the budget. That is normal. If we look at last year, the temporary €1,000 reduction that has been a…

It is your party.

Actually, that is exactly what happened. It was said and it happened in the last three budgets. Exactly the same process is playing out in this year as it did in every other year. I have listened with great sympathy and great interest to, and I have taken note of the detail of, many of the cases raised in debates in the House and elsewhere and a great number of students and their families are already receiving significant supports. Of course, €1,000 is a lot of money and of course they are paying additional fees, b…

Everybody under that threshold will get some support and many will get far more fulsome support. Sixty-five thousand students will get a full grant support from Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI. One hundred and forty-three thousand students will have their tuition fees paid by the State. Those thresholds go up, again and again. I intend to revisit all of those measures in October for the following year also.

I acknowledge the Deputy's integrity and interest in this subject. We have had a number of discussions on it in the past. The Deputy commented in the previous debate. Indeed, Deputy McGettigan did also, in fairness. Both Deputies, as spokespersons for their respective parties, engaged in the process constructively and I welcome that. I would ask that we continue that engagement. When I publish the cost-of-education paper this summer, I would invite both of the Deputies and their parties to make submissions to it. L…

I appreciate that. It is worth putting on record some of the increases that are already kicking in for this September. The threshold for 100% payment of the student contribution grant - this is aside from SUSI maintenance grants, which are paid out to help with the living expenses of students - rises from €55,924 to €64,315. That means that 44,500 extra people will now avail of a full student fees on top of the maintenance grant. The 50% student contribution grant - the half-fees paid - threshold goes from €62,000 …

I acknowledge that. We have heard talk in the past week about a scheduled increase and a plan and an increase and an announcement of increases. Let us be clear. We have had none of that. There has been a lot of hyperbole. Some of the Opposition leaders and others have hyped it up a little bit. I suggest they listen to the interview that I gave on RTÉ and maybe read the transcript. I have a copy and I could make it available to anyone in the House who wants it. Let us be clear what I said. I said that we have a budg…

The Deputy is likely aware that the rate of pay of an apprentice is a contractual matter between the employer and the apprentice, depending on the nature of the apprenticeship. If it is a craft or consortia-led apprenticeship, it may come under a sectoral employment order, but it is sometimes governed by contract. Breaches of the contract, if any, come under the remit of the Payment of Wages Act 1991, which is a matter for my colleague, Deputy Peter Burke, as the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. One…

I am meeting representatives of SOLAS this week and I will raise it with them because it is not good enough if that is happening on the ground. I will make sure I engage with them on that matter. To some extent, all of us in any job end up taking on additional tasks or roles that may be slightly outside what we might be tasked to do. However, it should not be at scale, should not be routine and should not be repeated. Employers have no automatic entitlement to take on apprentices. Employers must fulfil their part o…

I will recap on some of the measures that are available if there is any breach. There is a code of practice for employers and apprentices and sanctions are available. SOLAS imposes those sanctions should they arise. Section 11 of the code of practice sets out such measures as a written warning, a final written warning, suspension from being able to take on apprenticeships for six months, and indefinite suspension. It is a very legitimate concern. However, the recent survey confirms that overall it is largely a very…