Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions. To echo what Deputy O'Brien said, the statement that worried me most this morning was that the system is working. It clearly is not. Does the delegation not accept this? Does it acknowledge the considerable distress and hardship experienced by applicants? As Deputy Daly and others said, SUSI should apologise to the applicants. If the delegation acknowledges that the system is not working, there will be some hope of having it fixed. Until then, there will be none.

If documents are not being lost, why are applicants asked repeatedly for documentation they have already submitted? I do not refer to the seeking of further information. There are many examples of what I describe in my constituency and I am sure the other Members have examples also.

What is the nature of the telephone system? What is the average time for which one must wait when one telephones about an application? Am I correct in stating one person might have had to wait for 26 minutes only to be given a very unclear message, the only audible part of which relayed him back to the online system and referred to SUSI's e-mail address? What does SUSI intend to do about staffing? What is the current staffing level? What new staff will be put in place and what is the timeframe be for the arrangements?

Considering that the system is largely online, it is absolutely unbelievable that people cannot scan documentation and e-mail it to SUSI. We tried to do so through our office but were told to put the documentation in the post. It is like a pub not selling drink. If SUSI cannot accept scanned documentation in the same way that Departments and other online application facilities do, it is unbelievable, especially in this day and age. I would like answers to these questions and I would like the delegation to consider acknowledging that the system is not working.