We are not taking anybody for fools.

Right, Minister.

Do not worry.

We need to recognise that grade inflation is only part of the story. The fact that CAO points are going up is also about how many places are available. Every year more students are sitting the leaving certificate, but as the Minister has admitted so many times, third-level education is not adequately funded. He must take responsibility for that. His party has been in government since 2011. This has led to an increase in the number of courses that are cheaper to deliver rather than an expansion of in-demand courses …

-----the in-demand courses or the stress of leaving certificate students. That needs to be faced up to. It is important that we admit that the skill needs in our society are not being met in a number of vital areas, particularly healthcare and construction. There is a shortage of dentists, nurses, mental health professionals, as well as quantity surveyors, engineers, architects and many others. There is demand from students and a need from society. We need to join the dots here. A clear example of this is that the …

The Minister has a responsibility to ensure that people are being trained to have the skills that our society needs. It is not simply about students getting onto the courses that they want; it is about the proper planning for the skills that we need in the future. Almost 4,000 students enrol in pre-nursing courses. Fewer than 5% of them go on to further education to get nursing degrees in the State. Similarly, people go abroad. The Minister constantly mentions pre-law courses when discussing alternative pathways, b…

Too many apprentices have been failed throughout the pandemic. They were unable to access the offsite training they needed to complete or advance their apprenticeships and become the qualified tradespeople we sorely need. It is truly alarming that there has been a 17% increase in apprentices waiting to access off-the-job training in the past two months, with figures back up to just under 10,000. That represents half of all craft apprentices. What has caused this and what steps are being taken to address it?

I thank the Minister of State. On the phases, in September, we had 1,000 in phase 6 and 2,000 in phase 4, but the vast majority - 7,000 - were in phase 2 at that time. In one sense, when the Minister of State gives the figures and says that phases 4 and 6 will be cleared by April, I obviously welcome that, but the vast majority are in phase 2. We need to be careful of that. It is positive that apprenticeship registrations are up, and this is to be welcomed. The Minister of State should, however, be careful of what …

There are 500-odd fewer apprentices who became qualified tradespeople in 2021 than in 2020, despite the reopening in September. I want to know when the waiting lists will be cleared and the apprentices will be able to complete the training in the allocated four years, like every other student? The people with the skills we need to meet housing and retrofit targets need to be valued and the system that trains them needs to be functioning properly. Instead, the Minister of State's Department, over 2020 and 2021, save…

We are facing a crisis in the cost of living and students and families have to pay the highest fees in the EU. As a means of taking the pressure off students and their parents, will the Minister and the Department reduce fees as part of a sustainable funding model for third level education? I am also conscious of the fact that they need help now so I again call on the Minister to increase SUSI support for this academic year. In addition, reducing the looming cost of third level fees coming down the line would be a …

We have to be conscious of families who are really struggling at this stage, and of students who, because they cannot get accommodation even at a very high price, are driving long distances and of the extra cost that is putting on students. In addition, it is time for a new accommodation strategy because the cost of accommodation is prohibiting students from attending and participating in the colleges they wish to go to. We must do everything we can to bring higher education within the reach of everybody. That is w…

The Minister should not worry. He should concentrate on the students down here-----

-----where he has a mandate.

The difference between Sinn Féin and this Government is that we listen to students and to what they want. The Minister knows that the only reason the fees in the North are not £9,250 as they are in England is that Sinn Féin in is government in the North as well. The Minister twisting his play of words is not fooling anybody.

It is not; it is a truthful answer. I want fees here to be reduced. I do not want the highest fees in the EU; that is not a label we want in this State.

We must work together to make sure they are reduced. The Minister said that some people do not pay fees. Yes, many do not. However, we see the people who are working day and night, the people who are excluded, locked out and not entitled to anything because they are just above the thresholds. We must help those students. We must give those students and their families the opportunities they deserve. We do not need to punish them for going out to work and for earning a very modest income that then excludes them from …

Not at all.

We do not have control of those finances.

The Minister knows we do not control those finances.

The Minister should speak to British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.