The reason we are describing this as an exercise in cynicism is as follows. There was a legitimate debate in the House a couple of weeks ago as to when we should have the budget and on the size of the budget package. The Government responded, moved the date of the budget forward and will now deliver a budget package bigger than previously planned. However, instead of now allowing the Government to knuckle down and get on with that job, the motion Sinn Féin has tabled would result in the dissolution of the Dáil, the…

I note Senator Higgins has removed amendment No. 55. I fully agree with her on the principle of using the Public Appointments Service. It is used already in respect of the board and it will be used in the future. It is the policy intent to use it. We just do not believe it is appropriate to put the Public Appointments Service, PAS, into primary legislation. Processes can evolve and names can change and so forth, but the Public Appointments Service should always be used for the appointment of people to the board of …

Cheaper shoes.

This is an important question on an important issue. We all know that we need to dramatically increase the supply of all types of housing and accommodation. This obviously has a direct impact on students. This is why, when the Government launched the Housing for All policy, which is led by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, we set out a series of actions that will be delivered to address the housing crisis. This plan is backed by the largest housing budget…

There are a couple of elements to this issue. There is what can be done right now, immediately, for September. The factual answer to that is that hundreds more college and student accommodation beds will be open this September compared with last September. Another 674 bed spaces are coming on board through NUI Galway as well later in the college year. We must also be conscious of the rent-a-room scheme that is available. Last year, there was a bit of a perfect storm, if I may use that phrase, and understandably so …

I could come in here and bamboozle us with figures, but I do not think that would be terribly useful. Under the official student accommodation strategy, we are, from what I can see, either on or ahead of target. Approximately 25,770 bed spaces were either completed, under construction or had planning permission granted at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. That kind of misses the point though, which is that we need a new model. I agree with the Deputy that we need a model that does ease concerns with affordabil…

Following the establishment of my Department, I, as Minister, have tried to place a focus on having an affordable higher and further education system and on what we can do to not only address the sustainable funding of the sector but also to reduce the cost to students and families. This is demonstrated by the broad range of initiatives we have introduced and are planning. For example, more than 43,600 students have already been approved, through the student grant scheme, for the college year starting in September …

It is 42%.

I accept that there is more we can do. However, I do not accept that everything we have done has been minor. The provision of free laptops has made a substantial difference according to the students I have heard from.

Up to 20,000 of the most disadvantaged students will receive them. I presume the Deputy would want me to target the most disadvantaged. A 50% reduction in the cost of public transport is a very big step forward brought in by my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. We have abolished, in its entirety, the fee for post-leaving certificate courses from September 2022. Some students will also see their grants increase by between 20% and 33% as a result of the changes made to adjacency, but we need t…

I would not know about the private education system. The Deputy cannot come into the Chamber and mention figures or anecdotes that are not backed up by facts. He quoted a figure of 30%. I accept that he acknowledges this figure may not be accurate. A lot more than 30% of students received student grants. From my memory, the figure is up to 42%.

There is a pretty big difference between 30% and 42%.

I will provide them in writing as well as the figure for the number of students who did not complete third level education. I have no evidence, nor did the Higher Education Authority, HEA, provide me with any, to suggest an increase in the drop-out rate. We will look at the figures for that. In the context of the cost-of-living pressures that people are facing, which I fully accept are a real issue, it is important that students know we have a student assistance fund, which the Deputy has not acknowledged. It conta…

The Deputy makes a fair point. We introduced a number of measures that she has acknowledged and welcomed. She also made the not unfair point that when a measure is introduced in the budget, a student or indeed anybody has to wait many months or until the next academic year to feel its impact. I am encouraged by the fact that with the publication of the summer economic statement this week and the comments of the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, there is a clear acknowledgement that measures w…

The Deputy and I are in ultimate agreement on the need to do more in this regard. She says she would like to see the cost of education paper earlier. It is the first time there has ever been one. It is a new policy development. There will not, however, be a great mystery to it. The SUSI student review published in May is very instructive. The second thing I think will be very instructive relates to how, if we wish to do so, we can consider reducing the student registration fee and the costs associated with each cou…

I welcome the opportunity to provide some clarity on this matter. In fairness, and as the Deputy will know, applicants are assessed on last year's income, so the measure is very much a benefit for this summer. Students applying to SUSI for September will be assessed on what they earned in summer 2021. What we tried to do this year was ensure that a student working in a bar, a hotel, a shop or a restaurant would be able to earn a little more than €2,000 more this year. Applicants are not assessed on that income unti…

I am aware of the Deputy's interest in and knowledge of this area. I know there was a lot of worry and concern among new students of graduate entry medicine when a bank made a decision to withdraw a loan product that had been used by many students of such courses. For the record of the House and for the Deputy's information, I have corresponded with Bank of Ireland on this. The bank made it clear to me that while it was making a commercial decision to withdraw the product, people could continue to apply for the pro…

The short answer as to what I would be willing to consider is that I will consider any and all options. The most direct way in which we can assist include the Deputy's second suggestion regarding the level of subvention through the free fees initiative that the State provides. Deputy Berry has not suggested this, but sometimes it is suggested that the State does not provide any funding in this regard. That is not the case. The case, as the Deputy rightly said, is that we do provide some subvention. Could we provide…

I am delighted to do so. As anyone in this House will know, I am fundamentally opposed to the concept of student loans and have ruled them out as a funding model. This is an anomaly in respect of graduate entry medicine. I would like to take a more hands-on policy intervention approach. In the interim, there is a Bank of Ireland product available. People will probably be watching these proceedings with interest, so I will share with the Deputy and the House the following. When I corresponded with Bank of Ireland on…

That is an interesting question from the Deputy. We have been trying to do everything we can possibly do in order to try to reduce waiting times and increase the number of professional places. A key focus of Funding the Future, our funding plan for higher education, is to ensure that we have an appropriate pipeline of suitably qualified individuals to enable the provision of essential public services in areas such as health and social services, as referred to by the Deputy. This priority is now being advanced by my…