Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay. I refer to the 1,861 cases in which the appeals were not upheld. Most people, when I raise the issue of this independent appeals board, the membership of which I have just read out, are not even aware of its existence. It is not referred to in the system. The fact that only approximately 100 appeals have gone to that independent appeals board shows there is a complete lack of awareness among the student population. I am not just stating it shows it but am making this point categorically. Journalists who deal with this area and even representatives of the Union of Students in Ireland were not aware of this separate independent appeals board chaired by Maureen Waldron. As I noted, there are seven people on the board. In his reply to my parliamentary question two days ago, the Minister stated "The Appeals Board is fully independent in the performance of its functions". However, I also asked who carried out the administrative support for the appeals board and the last sentence in the Minister's reply was "Administrative support to the Appeals Board is provided by my Department". Presumably the independent appeals board can only make decisions on the information provided to it but the only people providing information to it are departmental officials. How can one claim this is an independent appeals board in the interests of students if the only information going to it comprises files from the Department's officials? I do not accept its independence if the files being prepared for it are coming from within the Department. That is not independence.

I will go further. Why has the Department constructed such a system this year in which applicants who came into the system since last May or whenever they began to apply last summer have no right whatsoever to go to the Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the operation of SUSI? The Ombudsman's office has confirmed to me directly that she has no role or entitlement to consider this issue. She will have an entitlement to deal with maladministration, unfair appeals or processing of applications for next year, that is, for those applications that will pertain to the academic year 2012-13. The Secretary General should explain the reason the Department constructed this system for year one to exclude the right of students to go to the Ombudsman which is there for practically every other public body?