Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions. All members who indicated have contributed at this stage.

In terms of the Erasmus programme, to follow on from what the Minister was saying, there seems to be quite a focus on educational mobility and encouraging students to avail of opportunities, be they within Ireland or abroad. I would agree with the Minister that we need to encourage more students to do that. Certainly, it would have been the preserve of more of the affluent families that would have been able to afford to fund a student to go abroad for a semester or a year.

I would like to hear how we might make Erasmus more financially accessible for students. It should become a realistic opportunity for students, particularly those availing of the SUSI grant or those who fall between two stools because they might not qualify for the grant and would certainly would not have the means to fund even a semester abroad. We should look at how we can make it more accessible.

I agree that we will probably see more students from other member states coming to Ireland to avail of the opportunity to speak English as a first language here. There might be some concerns around that. While it is great that we are providing additional third level places, do we have the capacity to deal with this potential influx of students from other member states? Would that have an impact on Irish students accessing places here? The accommodation issue has been raging for the past decade and getting accommodation is a challenge for students. Many of the students coming from other member states can probably afford to take that hit and pay a little more for accommodation. I would have some concerns that this might have an impact on Irish students trying to get access to what is already quite a limited resource of student accommodation. How might we address that issue?

The matter of SUSI again flows from making education and third level accessible to all students. My experience of SUSI in the past number of years is that it has been difficult to access because the income ceiling per household is quite low. Many students are falling between two stools as they just do not have the means. Accommodation is becoming more expensive and the registration fee, while reasonable, is significant. I worry about the effect that, coupled with there not being as many jobs in retail and hospitality, will have. When I was a student, I worked in hospitality all the way through college because there was the option to get a part-time job. I am concerned that those part-time jobs may not be there in the same abundance this coming academic year as they would have been in previous years. SUSI may need to be a little bit flexible to make sure third level does not become the preserve of those who have the most money to spend. Those are just some of my thoughts. I again thank the Minister for his time.