Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Our discussion has revealed that a crisis exists. I am not being smart when I say that the huge human cost has not been adequately acknowledged. Ms Stewart has acknowledged that the proposed solution will not alleviate the problem for at least 10,000 students. We will have a problem leaving this meeting, although it is nothing compared to the students who cannot sit their exams, go to the library or pay rent. We need some form of emergency action.

The proofs demanded from people are like a bureaucratic fetish. Is there any way in which we can simplify the procedure? If, for example, somebody can provide a tax assessment, why does he or she need to draw up a profit and loss statement to prove he or she did not earn money on a little bit of land? It should not be necessary if the information is already available from the Revenue Commissioners. It is not good enough to acknowledge that people will be left hanging.

If staffing is the answer, I ask Ms Stewart to quantify her resource requirement. Perhaps we will need to meet the Minister for Education and Skills or officials from his Department to discuss emergency measures, because it clear that the colleges will have to be dealt with so that the students who are being treated as second-class citizens through no fault of their own can be allowed to continue their education while this mess is being sorted.