Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. From my experience I know this is a very difficult time for them because I used to be an education spokesperson and I was a lecturer in colleges. Since last Thursday I have had 134 contacts from students. It is the worst crisis I have seen with regard to student grants. It reminds me of the mess when medical card applications were first centralised.

Has the problem in administration been pinned down? What action has been taken to rectify it? Has contact been made with the universities and colleges? When students contact me they tell me they were told weeks ago that the money was on the way but it has not come. What action has been taken to intervene to save their places in college? Some of these students do not know whether they are coming or going and it is affecting their learning. It also puts pressure on their parents. Some of these kids are just hanging on and we must remember they are only 18 or 19.

This is not the first time this has happened as we have had backlogs previously and, for example, if NUI, Galway received confirmation from the student grant office the students' places would be held and they would be allowed into the library. Have these interventions been made? Why were students told the money was on its way when it has not yet arrived? Is the application method web-based whereby if not all of the information is received the application cannot be processed?

If all of the information is not being submitted, the application cannot be processed. One third of applications are incomplete. It is not as simple as booking a Ryanair ticket, as one needs a great deal of supporting documentation, but a method of fool-proofing the web-based process at the beginning could expedite matters.